Bad Credit

A credit score or credit history that makes lenders unwilling to lend money or to only offer high interest rates.

How bad does your credit score have to be to be deemed bad? It depends on the lender, but generally anything below 400–500 ain't pretty. There are lots of "bad credit" credit cards and loans out there that promise to help people who are in this situation, but they usually come with lots of limits and very high costs, so credit carder, beware.