Hmmm.. this whole credit score thing is a mystery and sort of a scam. I'm 31, my score is low 800s - here's my situation: I have 2 credit cards (didn't get them until after college!), no mortgage, no car loan, student loans that I always pay on time. I also pay my cc bills in full every month and don't carry any sort of balance.

Lenders don't just look at your credit score, that's only a piece of your history. If you own a care and home outright that's fantastic. The only way to increase it is to get some sort of installment debt, like a car loan or mortgage. Unless you'd like to find some investment property I'd be happy with that score!

I think mine is about 760. I think?? I looked at it a few days ago. I’m 37.

I only have 2 credit cards (and one debit). Idk if this is true but I heard it wasn’t great to have too many credit cards. I canceled a bunch of credit cards about 10 years ago. I think you’re not supposed to cancel cards but I did.

OP I think you stressing over something that I don’t think you need to stress about.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Buy something $20 on your credit cards and pay the minimum for a few months, then pay it off. Yes, you are paying unnecessary interest, but it’s worth it to increase your score.

Buying your car and house with cash is HORRIBLE for your credit score.

This person is a moron. 740 is a great score. Do not pay interest on your credit cards.

Terrible for your score but better for your wallet if you can afford to do it.

If the interest on $20 is going to break the bank you have bigger problems. Carrying a balance for a few months shows them you know how to deal with debt. By paying everything off and paying in cash they have no way of knowing if you can manage debt.

One thing you can also try is get a charge card, not a credit card. My parents use an AMEX (the original green one) for the points and pay it off every month. Because it’s a charge card, it’s expected that you pay it off. My parents have a great credit rating (but they also have a mortgage).

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Buy something $20 on your credit cards and pay the minimum for a few months, then pay it off. Yes, you are paying unnecessary interest, but it’s worth it to increase your score.

Buying your car and house with cash is HORRIBLE for your credit score.

This person is a moron. 740 is a great score. Do not pay interest on your credit cards.

Terrible for your score but better for your wallet if you can afford to do it.

Anonymous wrote:Buy something $20 on your credit cards and pay the minimum for a few months, then pay it off. Yes, you are paying unnecessary interest, but it’s worth it to increase your score.

Buying your car and house with cash is HORRIBLE for your credit score.

This person is a moron. 740 is a great score. Do not pay interest on your credit cards.

Anonymous wrote:It's also more difficult to get above 750 without more than 15 years of credit history

My highest score was in the low 800s and I think it was mostly because I had several accounts open for 15+ yrs. Plus, I paid everything on time for that entire time.

Probably a combination of spending near your total credit limit as people described above and not having a variety of loan types like a mortgage, car loan, etc. Your credit score reflects that the algorithms think you’re a good risk, but they can’t be sure how you would deal with other types of credit because they don’t see you doing it, if that makes any sense. Overall I wouldn’t even worry about trying to game it until about a year before you plan to take out a big loan.

It's also more difficult to get above 750 without more than 15 years of credit history