Deputy U.S. Marshal Deals with Demotion and a Falling Credit Score

Posted by Andrea Lewis | No Comments »

Thomas Wolfe once wrote a novel called “You Can’t Go Home Again,” whose title emphasizes how much people and places change, no matter how fondly we remember them or how much we wish they would remain as we once knew them. For Deputy U.S. Marshal Raylan Givens, the antihero of the FX original series “Justified,” going home entails discovering how much he, his hometown and his credit score have changed.

From Florida to Kentucky in One Shot

The son of a notorious con man, Givens left his home in Harlan County, Ken., as a young man, hoping to escape life in the coal mines. As a U.S. marshal, Givens specialized in fugitive retrieval in Miami until he shot a known gun thug in a restaurant.

During the media frenzy that followed, Givens’ angry superiors sent him back home to Harlan County, the very last place that he wanted to go. According to a pay scale published on Indeed.com, Givens was making approximately $51,000 per year in Miami, which is about 5 percent less than the national average.

Since the transfer to Harlan County also is a demotion, Givens probably sees his pay grade reduced to an even lower level. The government pays its marshals based on their geographic location, so Raylan’s annual salary could easily take a $10,000 hit thanks to that one careless shot and his transfer back to Kentucky.

Relocation Costs Can Affect Credit Scores

In a turbulent economy, many people must pack up and move to a different city to take a new job. Relocation is stressful enough, but Givens has to leave Miami in a hurry, which means he may have to leave some essential things behind and have them shipped later. If he takes an apartment or rents a house in Kentucky, that means additional credit checks, and too many of those can lower a credit score to an unacceptable level.

Suits, Stetsons and Sidearms

Even at the top of his game, Givens is a man of simple tastes, with the exception of his clothing. Cultivating a modern cowboy look, Givens is rarely seen without a tailored suit and a well-fitting Stetson hat; his ever-present sidearm and holster complete this ensemble. The Stetson Retro Fedora that Givens favors costs around $50, but a more stylish Stetson Brewer Panama Fedora carries a price tag three times that price.

Raylan also enjoys wearing cowboy boots and, depending on the material used to make them, these can become a pricey accessory. With Givens’ devotion to Cowboy chic, it is a safe bet that he carries at least one credit card from a men’s specialty shop or department store. Department store cards like these tend to carry an annual interest rate that exceeds 20 percent.

Rebuilding a Reputation, Career and Credit Score

In the blink of an eye, Deputy U.S. Marshal Raylan Givens lost nearly everything he had worked for. Given a second chance, Givens has to live on a lower annual income and avoid the credit traps that come with relocation. If he doesn’t scale down his fine taste in clothing, though, he may watch helplessly as his credit score spirals out of sight.

Steven Bryan

Credit Cards Guide