This exercise will better help you understand the importance of credit. Take a 30-yr mortgage, for example. Price of the home is $250,000. You can acquire this note at 3.725% because you have good credit. However, your friend (Jon) has bad credit and therefore can only acquire the same $250,000 note at 5.725%. How much money are you saving on a monthly basis compare to Jon? Take it a step further. How much interest, in dollars, are you saving over the life of the loan when compared to Jon?