I was adjudicated to TS with SCI eligibility last May 2019. I have incurred some debt since that time - nothing horrendous - mostly due to being unemployed. Will they even ask me directly about those debts? I spent approximately 5 months unemployed last year and ended up accruing some more debt on top of what I already had. This new position will enable me to have my debt cleared by the end of 2020 with the exception of my student loans and car loan easily. NONE of my debts are related to gambling or anything like that.
May be worth discussing with your security officer. It sounds like it is under control but don’t make things worse by not disclosing something that you should have. I don’t know the guidelines for self-reporting financial issues off the top of my head.
With the new “Continuous Evaluation” this sort of thing might pop up on the radar sooner than it would have in the past. Again, I don’t know the guidelines, if they are only worried about debts that have gone to collections or if a very low credit score could be a problem.
If they do ask, I think if you show them how you are paying down the debts and that you have a plan to pay it off by the end of 2020 that is very favorable.
If you have “acquired debt” you should be OK and I don’t see any reason to report or discuss with your FSO. If, on the other hand, you have acquired PAST DUE debt and your credit has suffered, you will likely be better off working with your FSO to make certain there are no issues.
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If it is normal every day debt, fixing the car, new tires, new roof on house, etc and not past due as Ed mentioned…I think you are okay. The amount also somewhat comes into play if you somehow acquired 900K in debt but make 22K. It is all relative. Even if you fell behind (it happens), get in contact with the debt holders and work out a payment plan. The rules say it is still treated as bad debt but it clearly shows you make responsible decisions in tough times. Keep in mind FICO scores aren’t used, it is the actual history leading to the debt and actions to resolve that are looked at. However, a solid 830 FICO maintained over 10 plus years indicates strongly you do stay on top of debt and make great decisions in the financial realm.
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