government can't be completely trusted to pay its debt on time, bankrate's greg mcbride says lenders will become more worried about you. >> if uncle sam can default, lenders are going to be reluctant to lend to anybody out of the fear of risk of default, and then you could get a freeze in the entire credit system. and that's really what puts the economy and all of us at peril. >> reporter: but what if you are one of the few americans that does not rely on credit in your everyday life? well, you're still affected. many states and local governments would experience their own ratings downgrades, pushing up their interest rates. as a result, some states would be forced to cut services, others would opt to hike taxes. add it all up, and economists say debt negotiations could have serious economic consequences. >> you could wind up losing the job that you have. you could wind up destroying consumer confidence and pulling consumer spending back even more. and there's a very real chance this could precipitate a recession. >> reporter: unfortunately, even if the us keeps its triple-a rating,