Originally Posted by
at6d
Just FYI, your credit score is NEVER irrelevant. Your credit will be checked anytime you apply for a loan or try to rent a house or apartment. If you have a knock on your score for failure to repay a debt, landlords may choose not to rent to you.
You want a better mortgage rate or loan rate? Have good credit.
Character matters. You aren’t entitled to walk away from a consent agreement without penalty.
If you don’t want to accept the risk, don’t agree.
Don’t be foolish.
I was going to say something along these lines. One of the most important things you can do is take care of your credit history. It effects everything. Not just whether you get the mortgage, but the rate you pay. The rate you pay on your credit cards and your auto loans. The premiums you pay for insurance. It effects where you can live. I think some employers look at it too.
As far as whether to take the money or not. Always take the money. The only way you're guaranteed to short yourself money is to not take the bonus. If you don't take the money and you stay for two years, you've lost out on $15,000 (or whatever the going rate is at the time) pe-tax dollars.
If you leave and you have to pay it back, yes, you're going to have to pay back the pre-tax value even though Envoy gave you the after-tax amount. That's because Envoy paid money to the IRS on your behalf in that amount. If you file your taxes correctly, you'll either get a bigger return, or a lesser bill so it will all come out in the wash. You will not 'lose money' on the exchange.
So, the sound is advice is to take the bonus and put it away. Learn to live on your regular wages, meager as they may be as a regional FO. That 4 digit priced Bose headset can wait, the Miata can wait longer.