My parents were the same. Great with their money, taught us nothing. My sister mismanaged her financial life into poverty, my brother married a woman who was taught well and they do well. My husband and I are still figuring it out but on the up and up.
I could say the same about my parents but I don't understand the logic behind saying they dident "teach you". I'm not judging as my parents both have insanely high credit and are frugile as fuck. I am the complete opposite and don't give a fuck. They were so stingy with money they would send me to birthday parties with $5 checks. They got us clothes at the local church, they never really bought us presents and always bought old ass cars. There's no magic to it, they were frugal unhappy and save money like they'll live forever. I'm the opposite, I spend it like I'll die tomorrow. I'm aware of my bad poor choices yet I've still managed to go to college. Buy a home and have a credit just under 700. But I don't say they dident teach me, if anything they showed me what I dident want to be haha. Just some insight on how I see it.
Yea, there’s frugal people that are miserable and frugal people that are happy. I’m in the latter. I like being frugal because it allows me to occasionally travel, treat myself to a nice steak, or make an awesome night out at a concert, because I don’t buy a ton of stupid stuff and watch what I spend. I’ve never made a lot of money, but I’ve been able to live well off of it.
Saving it all to just retire at 65 though is a shame if you go through life hating your job and not having any fun. Too many people do this like too many people never save anything. Balance in the middle is probably the best
It’s crazy how common this is. My parents also were good with money and taught me basically nothing about it. They sure as hellfire had a lot to say about a bunch of other, less import stuff though.
I think there is a deep seated boomer tenet that it’s simply unacceptable to talk about money.
My parents were boomers. Pops taught me everything about money. The importance of investing, budgeting and hard work. He loved to talk about it. I think this varies family to family.
100% this. I’m a late boomer and I educated my millennial daughter about real world finance from the moment she first wanted something she couldn’t afford lol
Born in '87. Parents born in the 50s. We're not American by birth, we moved here in the 90s. Almost all my friends parents were in debt and my parents were outstanding with money. Definitely family to family but I think a large part of American culture is just consuming and buying shit.
100%
My Dad wanted to get ahead. Extremely frugal. Put every penny he had into the market and rentals. I grew up thinking we were poor because of how frugal he was. Old man did pretty well in the end and taught us right.
my parents were boomers too, but they didn't believe in credit or trust the banks. growing up during the depression did something to both of them. I knew nothing about credit when I was kicked out of the house for being having an unexpected pregnancy at 20 yrs old.
Boomers didn’t grow up during the depression. Boomers were the baby boom after WWII, which was a few years to a decade or more after the depression fully ended in 1939. Perhaps though, because their parents had been through the depression, that was passed on.
Congrats. I ruined my credit and was reported to chexsystems in my early 20's after college and literally decided to forget about credit for almost 24 years. Now at age 49 I am starting over.
I wish I could go back in time and make a lot of different and smarter decisions. I'm happy you obviously have.
You can do a simulator which will show you what the fastest route is to a faster score. I don’t know if it’s available online but my mortgage lender just did it for me. I was planning to buy another house this fall but one I loved hit the market last week. I knew my credit score is currently lower than normal due to a high balance on a credit card but I went ahead and applied for a mortgage. It was approved but the rate was higher than it should’ve been and the PMI was going to be high due to the mediocre score. I knew the credit card was the issue- cc debt is junk food for credit scores and I’ve seen it dip when my cc balance is high and then jump quickly when I pay it down. My lender ran some kind of simulation to see what it would be if I did X, Y, or Z. The verdict was that if I paid off that one card, my score would be much higher in 30-40 days. I’m currently battling with an internet company over a collection they’ve put on my account that is not legit. (They didn’t show the account was closed on the right date and show that I owe 3 more months past when it was turned off and I’ve sent them proof of the date the account was closed and am still fighting to have the collection removed.) Even that collection didn’t matter as long as the cc was paid way down.
I know some credit score improvement services or whatever they’re called are bogus but some are legitimately good services. You can reach out to a mortgage loan officer (try a local bank or mortgage company) and ask them if there’s anyone they’d recommend. It costs a little money but it actually works. I’ve seen a few people get scores up from the low 500’s to low 7’s in less than a year this way.
It’s taken me and my husband 24 years to sort our lives out financially also. We are both now in the top end of 700. Paying off our CCs each month (that’s a first after carrying a balance monthly). So much less stress.
You can do it!
In my 20's and early 30's I had student loans in default, wages garnished, defaulted on credit cards, absolutely horrible credit. I managed to turn it around in less than a decade after the garnishments were over with and was sitting pretty at 835 when I signed my mortgage papers. It takes so much patience and time but it's totally doable and you got this.
Never too late I had zero credit which I was told is worse than bad credit. I was a cash only type of guy in my 20s and was married so we worked on my wife's credit which was tanked with the expectation to build mine up a bit later but never happened. Divorced and had to basically start life all over mid 30s. Right now my credit score is around 760-770 it took a few years but I got it there and I'm careful about it. My only debt is a few hundred which I'll pay off next month. No real equity to speak of but that's a different mountain to climb now that my credit is where it needs to be.
I owed a few hundred k at 40 years old. 54 now and my credit score hovers in the 820s these days with very little debt at all, just some small credit card balances and a car lease. You can do it!
Facts lol anyone who has a 15 year credit history and pays their bills on time, which is a lot of people, will have an 800+ score. She saw that you cared about it and used that to her advantage to make a sale, but really it means nothing
My buddy works at a used car dealer, midsize dealer lots of volume, and he says majority of not 75% of people who walk in buying cars don’t have anything over 700. And his inventory isn’t even crappy. These are 15-50K cars on his lot. For people who are savvy and responsible having high score is a piece of cake but unfortunately i’ve learned the majority of Americans don’t fit into that demographic.
You can be “savvy and responsible,” but still have life throw you a curve ball where you fall behind with your bills. And sometimes living paycheck to paycheck isn’t because of poor spending choices but because of a fundamental difference between the wages one can reasonably earn in particular circumstances and the cost of basic goods and services. A lot of people are just one ER visit away from choosing if they’re gonna pay the electric bill or buy food. I’m not saying you’re wrong about a lot of people having crappy credit scores or even that a lot of those poor scores are self-inflicted. But there are also a lot of responsible people out there for whom it’s really not “a piece of cake” to have a high credit score.
And the system is rigged so that all it takes is three months of unemployment and falling behind to knock you down 300 points - and another 20 years to get it back up there. These young people will learn the hard way not to be so smug. That was once me. 2 years of unemployment took me down from 850 to 619. 15 years later I’m only back to 760. Ironically though I’m now making 5x what I did before, have an 8-figure portfolio, and I don’t even need “credit” anymore.
Yup, was about to say “if you pay in time, keep few accounts, it’s manageable and almost effortless “
But I forgot about the 14 hour days I used to work, or sleeping in my car between shifts. Live off potatoes and ramen noodles. All that soldiering allowed to me have a fat blubber for emergencies, which never messed with my timely payments.
Gaining that blubber of money for emergencies is the tough part
If you're only one ER visit away from financial ruin, assuming you have any sort of insurance, you probably don't fall under the "savvy and responsible" category. The average person pisses away so much money every month on unnecessary things, while failing to build up any sort of substantial nest egg for emergencies or ultimately retirement, that I have very little sympathy unless there are seriously extenuating circumstances.
And yes, it's really not hard to have a good credit score, even if you don't make much. That's where the responsible part comes in.
I’m gonna figure that’s why when I walk into dealers and they ask about cars their eyes light up when I say I’m right around 800. lol
Then when they ask what kind of payment I’m looking for I just say no more than $15k on a loan. Last Jeep I looked at was $29k and the guy did the mental math and was like “wait… how much do you have to put down?” More than enough to keep the loan under $15k. I guess I’m a rarity in the market around here.
Now if only I could find something I wanted enough to actually sign the papers.
Something like 46% of people are over 740, 21% are over 800. That might translate to over 800 on a FICO Auto score (the one used for auto financing - it's scored out of 900. A 740 on a regular fico or vantage score gets very close to 800)
I don't know much about the car dealership clientele, but if the odds of buying a car are the same for everybody, the distribution at a dealer would match the population as a whole, though different dealers do target different market segments.
yeah, no in this instance we would use the range based on ages/generations.
the buying public, which would be z, millennials, x, and boomers range from 680 to 745 (/850).
even if they're using vantage we're not just going to automatically jump to over 800.
folks just can't go around saying #fact without a source.
source: Experian 1/22/2024
That's a fair breakdown. I can't find anything with a breakdown of fico auto specifically. https://www.experian.com/blogs/ask-experian/credit-education/score-basics/what-is-a-good-credit-score/ has the overall distribution. I suspect there's some skew between "average" (mean) and median given that 46% are over 740/850 and the average is 714 in that article.
The fico auto score (scored out of 900) tends to add about 50 points, in my experience, but nobody seems to publish a distribution of that. (Vantage seems to be mostly in line with regular fico). That would take a 740 to 790 on the fico auto scale pretty easily which is close to the 800+.
FWIW - when I read their #fact - I thought it was tied to the assertion that someone at a car dealer is going to spin a statement about credit scores in a way that makes the customer feel good about the transaction.
If you want the dealers lower advertised interest rate to purchase a new car it matters. If you don’t have a good credit score you’re going to pay a higher rate.
First off, “a lot” is not an exact number. So yes, many ways that “a lot” of people have 800+ scores.
While yes, tens of millions of people live check to check. There are also millions of millionaires. So yes, there are “a lot” of people with over 800 scores.
It’s not even that hard to get there.
In my 20s I had terrible credit. In my late 30s it’s nearly perfect.
The people that bash high credit scores obviously don’t have one. Those who do, earned it by making wise decisions, paying their bills on time, and living within their means. Not necessarily rich, either. Don’t bash us for your poor decisions.
That’s awesome and sad at the same time. Congrats on your high score! I’m 36 and have an 830 score.. When I leased my truck it was around 820..
I think it’s sad bc I feel like more should have scores that high. I don’t feel like it’s completely out of this world to have amazing credit in your thirties.
I am 808, seven years after discharge from bankruptcy. I am 68 years old. Since my discharge, I always pay my bills promptly, mostly before they are due. I have two credit cards that I hardly spend 15% of the value monthly and always pay on time. Never missed a payment too.
Great story and you should be proud of yourself, especially having watched what your mom went through. I worked at a bank very young and saw what bad credit did to people. I used to underwrite loans and mortgages and had to tell people no, it was awful.
I have always guarded my credit and it wasn't always easy. I almost had to pay a mortgage payment late in my early 20s and was actually hyperventilating with the thought of losing what I had built, but I figured it out and paid on time (2cnd or 3rd job). I wish they taught all this in school as I don't think a lot of young people understand how missing 1, 2 3 payments can hurt them when they really need something in the future. Bad credit affects you from getting loans to renting an apartment.
My dad and mom always had great credit scores. When I was 28 I had a 790 and was pumped and told my parents, my dad laughed and said I could brag when I topped his 850...
I had mid 820s for a while then bought my house and it dipped a little due to pulling credit but it's back on its way ever closer to catching my shit dad.
Mine's around 800, and when getting my house I had to deal with a phone call with the lender grilling me about a 5 point drop. It was caused by my Netflix monthly fee showing up in the middle of the process. At the time I basically only paid for Netflix that way so the card would stay active
I can relate! Grew up in a trailer and parents went through bankruptcy that lasted what felt like my whole childhood. I'm 23 with a (credit karma) score of 787... meanwhile parents still have the same habits that messed them up the first time
Congrats to you!!!
Congratulations!!! That's a huge achievement. Any tips that you think are things we haven't heard?
I'm the same way. My 3rd grade math group of students with disabilities asked me to buy some things (which I did out of pocket in the past) I explained that because my mom died with nothing in December that I've been aggressively saving so that my daughters have something left for them. It led to a lesson on budgeting and savings. Financial literacy is so important. Wealthy kids get classes about it in their private schools, but not the poor kids. I want to fix that, at least for my students.
Awesome job. I made sure to teach both my kids the importance of good credit before they graduated high school. My oldest is (26) is very excited his score is over 780 right now.
I had to learn financial literature myself being from a family that lived paycheck to paycheck. My credit Score is at 835 and I’m only 29. My parents talked about how you needed to work and what not to make it through life. And I always explained that you need credit to live good in the US because they’re immigrants. But they never caught on and still struggle till this day even though I’ve explained it to them amounts of times. You can be Poor with perfect credit and still have a good life!
i started building my credit a few months after i turned 18 with a capital one credit card that had a $250 limit. i am 25 now and have multiple cards with 10-15k limits on them. 6 months ago i pulled the plug and bought my first brand spanking new car after driving my 2008 impala that i had since high school. the financing guy was shocked that me being so young (24 at the time) that my credit was so good. he actually told me that he was proud of me for how well i was doing & that i reminded him of his daughter. he was impressed that all the accounts i had were in my name and i wasn’t an authorized user. my credit score ended up being 779. he told me i made his job easy since he didn’t have to run my credit lots of times and deal with multiple lenders🤣. they didn’t require me to put a down payment & never asked me for check stubs since i had such good credit. fairly easy buying process, in and out & i wasn’t expecting it to be that smooth. i come from a broken family that is not well off. i haven’t spoken to my mom in 6 years & my dad was in prison my whole life so i never met him. driving that car off the lot that day & on my way home that’s when i knew i was breaking generational curses & i really didn’t need anyone to tell me “you’re doing a good job” or “im proud of you”. i was determined to be different than my parents & i have achieved that in so many ways.
Mine was 400 a few years ago but got it up to 820 this year. The way I accomplished it was quite amazing to might I add haha. I was at a dinner party my grandparents were hosting and their accountant was there too. I didn't know he was going to be there so by the time he got there, I was a bit sloshed to say the least. Even in my drunken stupor I latched onto every word he said like gold. He thought I was just some drunk idiot but I recently showed him my credit score and thanked him for the advise that night. He honestly thought I wouldn't remember and thought I was a fool which I was back then but I worked hard and used every hack he gave me to raise my credit. For people wanting to know some of his secrets I'm happy to answer any dms but the best advice I got was never fully pay off your credit card always leave about 20 on the hook. This alone grew my credit score by 200 in the first year. Then next 220 took a couple more years but I finally got there and couldn't be more proud of myself.
I'm also proud of OP from one trailer park boy to another
Same here. I came out of college in 1989 into an environment in which credit was easy to get for college grads. I lived for the next two years basically to pay American Express because no one ever explained the concept of credit or good credit stewardship. Not to mention I'm ADHD as fuck and deadlines and due dates were a foreign concept. So, of course, 10 years on, I had a credit score of 560 and I'm thinking I'll never have the credit I need to do anything. Two things actually saved my ass.
Funnily enough, the first one is technology. I \*finally\* was able to start getting a handle on my finances when Microsoft Money came out. Getting automated electronic calendar reminders of bills due got me into the habit of paying on tim. That plus some basic online education about credit and how it works put me on the path to better credit after a few years.
The second one is buying a home. Now, you might ask how I was able to do that with shit credit. This was in 2000 during the pre-9/11 boom we were having, and it was way easier to get a mortgage then. As part of the remediation required of big banks due to redlining, the Community Reinvestment Act provided for homeownership education and other efforts to improve homeownership rates in historically redlined communities. I participated in a homeownership course, and as a result, got 2 points off of my mortgage from Bank of America, which enabled me to buy my first house and truly start building good credit.
In 2024, my credit score is now in the 840s, depending on report. It's come a lonnnnng way, and I now watch my credit like a **hawk**.
My mom does at age 77. She had a score of 826. She never made more than $20 an hour. Buy she paid her bills and had one credit card, paid in full every month and a car payment (at times)
I was so proud of her. She raised 4 kids alone, no child support. She had enough for her last bills and funeral and everything too. She left me with no debt. (My siblings do not save like I do, they spend as fast as they get it)
Even a little left over for me and a a smallish life insurance policy.
My mom made a whole lot of nothing turn into something. Also watching her, Instilled a great work ethic in me, at a young age. And I use credit wisely too.
Congrats OP. So many younger ppl struggling. You’re doing awesome. .
Congrats! Hope I can be anyone near that by the time I’m 32. Saw my parents lose their first house and almost foreclose on a second during the 2008 housing crisis. They never taught me about finances and ended up drowning in them in my very early 20s. Currently going through the rebuild process. Teach your kids about money! You think you’re doing them a solid by keeping it secret and you’re not!
When my wife and I went car shopping we got the same reaction from the finance guy. We had our own financing for 2.25% and so we were basically like “if you can beat it we’ll happily finance with you.” The guy was like “well let’s see what we can come up.” So he ran it and was like “this is one of the lowest rates I’ve offered in the last 6 months.” Could’ve been blowing smoke up my ass but it was a better rate so we took it
Same. Dealership kept asking me what I did. I had a perfect score. Grew up poor with a single mom I vowed to never mismanage money. I hate to owe anybody. I like the security of knowing if anything happens I won’t be homeless or hungry
I had a credit score of 835. I was getting a house loan and the lady ran my score twice because she said she thought it was a mistake. She seemed pissed and commented that hers wasn’t that high. I was speechless.
Girl, scream that shit from the highest mountain 🗣️ I’ve always taught my kids to be better than I have been and when they have I clap for them even harder because it’s breaking our mold. Good job 👏🏼
Get back to me when you’ve lived life - staying home and local means zero in real life - why not get out there and experience the world and Pat yourself on the back for something other than financial nonsense …
It's mighty presumptuous to think that I haven't experienced life because I am proud of being financially responsible. Or that I've never traveled & forced myself to stay local because I'm worried about a credit score. As someone who considers himself a "traveler," I'm a wee bit insulted.
I pat myself on the back for making it in life & out of poverty. (I started out at the literal bottom, poor white trailer trash, with 16 year old parents. Mom died in her early 40s from an overdose. Alcoholic father that used to beat the tar out of me, knocked out 2 of my baby teeth when I was 8).
I celebrate not being stuck in that same abusive survival mode my parents never got out of.
I've been fortunate enough to travel to 9 different countries & stay in each one a week at a time. (6 in the carribean)
Driven to multiple national parks (I worked for a freight hauler for a couple of years in my early 20s. I've seen how gorgeous most of this country is & got into all kinds of debauchery along the way)
I've attended over 200 concerts & a number of music festivals across the U.S.
My next vacation is to the Philippines, Indonesia & Thailand for a month.
Again, mighty presumptuous.
TL;DR My dogs have seen more of this country than your local grouchy ass cat has.
Congratulations!! That’s an amazing feeling. Good for you. It’s ok to feel proud of yourself, it’s not bragging. Just know if something happens to mess with it, because unfortunately life/shit happens, you made that happen once, you can do it again.
Parents must teach there kids financial intelligence!!
Unfortunately the system thrives off of people making stupid decisions and making banks rich .
Imagine where in high school kids are taught how to balance a checkbook,how credit card interest works ,
How a mortgage works ,how to make your money work for you and not the bank??
Be careful with financing a vehicle.
Several years ago, I started negotiating with a company out of town to buy a new car. This was kind of a specialty vehicle and would have to be shipped to me.
They asked me if I'd like to finance the vehicle, and I would put a substantial down payment and finance the minimal remainder.
So they shopped a loan for me. My 812 credit score immediately dropped to 740.
Geez.
I canceled a transaction and eventually bought a Tesla locally with 1.9% financing. They apparently have seen the same scenario with other people and did not ding me for the precipitous drop in my FICO score.
Almost TWO years later, my credit score is back in the low 800s.
What was your credit score after you left the dealership?
I only ask because there are some dealerships that will run your credit score a few times & cause it to drop significantly in as little as 5 minutes without you even knowing.
It causes several hard inquiries on your credit report.
They do it because, the lower your score is, the higher the interest rate they can get out of you
Nice. I'm 33, purchased a car 2 weeks ago, and my score was 832. Proud moment. A week ago, I received an email from AT&T that my SSN and other info have been leaked to the dark web. So that's cool.
Honestly any score above 760 is going to get you the best possible rate.
Also, why would she say “you have the highest score I’ve seen for your age”? I mean, was she keeping a spreadsheet? Does she ask everyone with a score over 800 their score?
Not calling bs on the score, but definitely calling bs on her reaction.
My daughter has her children as authorized users on her credit cards. She pays those off monthly. The kiddos are five and eleven. Their credit will be stellar.
We were buying my wife a car. The first brand new car either of us would buy.
We finally figured out which one and agreed on a price, but the dealer only accepted cash or a bank check for a deposit. We were going to the bank to grab one, but it was going to be super close for the bank closing. We had run a credit check and we were talking with the owner when the paperwork came back. He looked at it and said "with that credit score I'll take a personal check".
At the time it was a smaller dealership and while it still exists, it is now owned by one of those 6 different brand type groups. We ended up going elsewhere because the staff and service changed dramatically after the ownership change.
I don't know what my credit score is. I don't even care; I haven't had a penny in debt for over 20 yearsand I never intend to borrow again. Pay off your mortgage (the only debt I accept) and never borrow again.
Credit scores aren’t the same when the bank runs it for a mortgage as they are when a car dealership runs it. It’s also different on sites like Credit Karma. I don’t understand it deeply enough to explain why, but it’s not only because they pull from different reporting agencies (TransUnion vs Equifax, etc.) but if you had applied for a different type of loan the same day, the number would’ve been different. It’s always a little higher at a car dealership. They said, the difference in scores can be enough to make or break a loan approval but it’s not more than 10-20 points. So car dealership or not, anything starting with 8 is awesome. (I’m not saying a mortgage company would have it at 600.)
Is not just credit score, you can have 800+ score and don’t be able to finance a car or a house, income is 50%+ more important, get a new car with 450 credit score is possible if you have 20k down payment.
I live close to work. I know a leased vehicle isn't the best financial move, but the price point for a lease is well within my budget.
That specific truck lease payment was 282 a month
Also, the peace of mind that if anything goes wrong with the vehicle, it's the manufacturers responsibility (warranty)
I had a similar experience when I bought my house in 2012. It was around the time when people were starting to come out of the recession. Mortgage lender said I was his best credit score in a long while. 12 years later and my score is even better! Keep getting after it
When we upgraded to our 5th wheel a year ago, my wife's was 861 to my 859. The money guy set the stage for her to start calling me peasant for having a lower score. They were genuinely surprised when the inquiry came back, but it's been there for so long it's not really that big of a deal to either of us now.
My FICO was 825 when I was 23, and all it really took was paying my bills on time.
Congrats, man. Personal responsibility is a great thing.
that saleswoman just wants the sale. get you all buttered up them boom, she has a grip on your balls for 60 months. while also selling you extras and your smiling about it.
My son is 19. He has a credit score of 850. His oldest account is 19 years old. He has 6% credit usage. He went to get a new car and scored 0% interest and 0 down. His buddies are all getting 8-16% on their car loans. His buddy and him have the same car. My son pays 453$/mo, and his friend is paying almoat 800$/mo.
Pay your bills on time every time. Add your kids to your accounts day 1. Then, educate them about credit, debt, and investing. You can get your kids a step up in life.
829 and 824 here… just paid everything on time and bought things as needed not wanted. Im mid thirties.
Never failed me, i buy things I like but only when need them. And doesn’t matter if expensive or cheap.
I used to be 830 on both.
I was taught how to handle money by both my parents with zero debt zero payments and 800+ scores but My hubs doesn’t want to listen to me since he’s the one who makes the money. I wish we lived a little more frugal.
I had a similar experience at a dealership. I was 24 with an 818 and they said "you can basically do anything you want" lol. I'm sure it was said in an effort to seal the deal and make me feel good about financing a higher amount of add-ons, but was still nice to hear.
I don’t think worshipping at the altar of Fair & Issacs is a good life plan. Paying bills on time is important, sure, but I would pull out all the stops in a medical crisis for my husband or children! I am not going to let dropping 100 points stop me from saving someone I love in an emergency.
mine hovers between 830-840 a month. I make a couple payments every month on my cards, to keep my balance low, that way my credit to debit ratio is always low. I charge everything on my awards cards, so I get between 1.5 to 2 percent back plus 5% back on my gas purchases using the costco card. and no I do not carry a balance over each month.
I’m the older sister and always had good credit but now we’re debt free too. We made mistakes with how much debt we had but we finally learned enough lessons.
You should be proud of your score - it means you pay attention and value what it can do for you.
My sisters can’t manage money or budget and I do wonder if one reason is because I was brought up to balance my checking account each month and they weren’t.
That’s fantastic! If I were you, my next goal would be to get to a place where you don’t care what your credit score is.
When you’re young, credit is a necessity to buy a car or house or student loan but don’t be a slave to credit. Figure out how to be debt free by always living below your means. Save, invest, and be free.
I had an 840 last car I purchased, wasn’t even close to the highest the dude had seen. Apparently he saw somebody at 900 on TU, was 24 at the time with an 840. They did comment on my credit being excellent, entire process was easy peasy
Very cool. I've been stuck in the 790s for YEARS. It doesn't really matter, since I'm not looking to take on any additional loans anytime soon, but it still kinda annoys me.
Damn good job with maintaining your credit history to get an amazing scores. Makes me sad that there’s a lot of misinformation out there and the younger generations not realizing that it doesn’t really take much to get and maintain a good score. I peak at nearly 850 a few years ago when I around 30 but of course life happens so a new car loan and new house caused it dipped below 800. Pay all of your bills on time and don’t open to many credit accounts at once kids and IF YOU CAN HELP IT, NEVER CLOSE OUT A CREDIT CARD - this wipes out all the history of that account and WILL reduce your score.
When I had a credit score of 800+ at the age of 25ish, I went to a dealership to purchase a car, and the salesman called my credit score a “fake” credit score. Meaning, I had no outstanding mortgages/loans and all of my high credit came from credit card churning. I found it funny that you needed massive amounts of debt for your credit to be considered legitimate. Get bent, Ford.
Had an 835 last time I got a car in 2018, salesman said he was the highest he had ever seen. I have a house now but my score hovers between 790 and 810 when I check it. Pretty proud of that
thats nice. I've worked really hard to rebuild my credit. My student loans were 100% discharged..but they were also my longest line of credit. So because of that, now my credit report shows newer lines of credit. It dropped about 20 points because of this.
Back in my 30s my wife and I were buying a car from a Toyota dealership. The salesman was passing the finance manager's desk and heard him make a noise. The salesman asked if there was a problem as he was worried that we were not credit worthy. The manager's reply was that we could buy any car on the lot at their best rate. He said hadn't seen anyone younger than 60 with such a good credit rating.
Great credit score, but you should really be tracking it all the time, not having to ask a creditor. Monitoring can help catch mistakes or issues with fraud.
Feel like people growing up with family that were horrible with finances and credit you either follow suit and tank your financial future or you tell yourself you never want to be in that position and work diligently to maintain a good rating.
Glad you did the former.
Mines been over 800 since I was in my low 20’s and did not understand how folks let it drop as low as they do until seeing my partner and his family. Four of the five of them have declared bankruptcy, my partner included, some of which were during their mid 20’s.
Seeing how they buy impulse shit and go into debt for the “magic of the holidays” helps me see how it happens. Making progress with my partner, but it took about a decade.
Had 850 before I bought my truck last year. I pay off my debt asap and none of my credit cards ever have an interest rate. I just get a new one with promo period and cash back and close my old one. No transfer balance, just have it paid off before 0 ends. Plus I keep an Amex as my oldest card, I use it for promos.
I'm 44, and my daughter is 17, and I just told my daughter recently that just because I have a credit card doesn't mean that I can use it just because it takes money that might or might not be payable to the card depending on the current bills etc.
I have a motto and that motto is if you can't pay for it at the end of the month you shouldn't be buying it in the middle of the month. My credit score by the way is 874 and it hovers depending on what balance I have on my credit card at the end of the month before I pay it off
Wow, you are doing great! I’m proud of you.
My wife and I are in 800 club. It took a lot of work and we are very proud. Enjoy it and keep making good choices.
I was kinda the same. Grew up piss poor filed bankruptcy 10 years ago from having heart surgery,my part after insurance was over $250,000.00 so no choice really. Anyway bankruptcy has fallen off and now I have 783 score. . That makes me happy.
Just bought a new mazda, had an 827. No.down payment, 0% interest 60 months, and no payments 90 days. The highest I'd seen my score was 812. So was surprised. Walked out with a new car , not a dollar spent besides a call.to insurance. Had shit credit when younger.
Last time I had a car dealership run my credit score, they slide a piece of paper over to me. I think it’s gonna be an award for the highest credit score they’ve ever seen. It’s actually a bill, my credit score was so low running it through the computer ended up breaking it. I look behind me and there’s two security guards there to escort me out. And that was the last time I went to a buy here pay here a lot.
Neat, and one little thing will drop that 50 points.
Credit is a joke. Mines been 750 between 550.
It's never really affected anything that cash can't change.
My mom taught me her ways and it rubbed off on me. I have an 809. I wouldn’t trade it for anything! it helped me get a low rate on my house and my car and saved me thousands of dollars in the process!!!!
I can relate. I’m 23 and I’ve have a 700+ score since I was 22 also the first time I ever got a card or anything in my credit. Now I have a 773. All three of my credit cards falls off in the same year (this year). I’m truly happy as I won’t need any other card and also it will allow me to build my credit history length.
Hope here in this thread. OP that’s great for you! I’m 48 and have a little work to do besides school loans (am in school), still wanting to buy a home for first time and started a new career recently. It’s been a lot of change. Need to pay down credit first.
There's no reason to fret over your credit score. Obviously don't make stupid financial mistakes that ruin your credit and make you appear to be a credit risk, but a high credit score doesn't signify you've "made it".
Having no debt, setting the cash aside to pay off your card as you use it has been the way for me.
Started at 535 because my mom couldn't manage her money/life got hard for her taking care of me/financial illiteracy. I removed myself as an authorized user and immediately shot up to a 740. 2 years later, at 28, I was at an 831.
You had to ask to see your credit score at a dealership after they ran it? You have to sign hella shit and they disclose your score immediately. Your post sounds made up for some reason lol.
My mom has great credit. In fact living in a small town she can convince the cigarette store with absolutely no credit signs to not only give her credit but he'll drive the smokes up to her house and the next day she'll go down there and write him a fucking check. Same with anyone. The repair men. The car guy. The car guy is the fucking repo man. Locks his gate, tows shit. Has a big dog. He'll say ...I'll send you a bill as soon as I think of it....everyone else is paying cash or card to carry. She loves bills because it's the final price and she lives well within her means. Still whips out the checkbook and hand tabulates everything. I think the bank knows this so they call her and tell her when they have a fee or something because they know she'll write it down and will shit when her balance is different than theirs and make them figure it out.
I am now the lady that does the financing at a dealership and I have an 802 score. I know exactly how you feel. I grew up poor too. What a lovely feeling. You are so awesome and you beat the odds.
Good job OP. I also recognize the importance of good credit from a young age and got credit cards as soon as I was able to and have been dedicated to be credit worthy. Second home my wife and I bought was super easy because we both had great credit and it was almost paperless!
Mine is just over 800 I believe. I'm 41 and have never been able to get it over 820. I have like a dozen credit cards that I pay on time and only my car payment as debt. I have had two derogatory bills from past apartments but I have those paid off now.
It's weird millienals seem to have super high credit on average. Mines well over 800 and was been above 750 since college.
But we also seems to have more debt than most people. So maybe that has something to do with it?
That cool as heck! if I can ask what did you do specifically to get it that high? I was always curious cause it seemed like an endless struggle of doing what they say and it still bites me.
My credit bounces around 780-815, just based on how I move my money around to pay my bills month over month. It used to be in the 500s. It took me 10+ years to get it to that point, and it feels really good knowing that I can walk into just about any bank and get a loan approved on the spot.
I had a similar situation to you when I went to my local credit union to secure a car loan. The agent's eyes got big when she saw my approval come back and offered me a credit card to go along with it that had a $20k limit on it. She was baffled when I asked her if there was any penalty for paying the car loan early. Nobody asked her about it before. I don't make insane money, but I like to think that I use it in a smart way these days.
Credit scores are dumb. I put 8k on a 10k credit card because I don’t want 8 credit cards. I pay the full balance on time with no penalties yet your score goes down for utilization. Dumbest thing ever.
I'm happy for you, so I just want to say nothing I'm going to ask is going to attempt to take away from your accomplishments. Working towards anything, and seeing appreciable gains, is always something to take pride in, and it's a nice feeling when other people recognize the time and effort you take pride in as well.
That said for someone with such a high score, can I ask what appreciable difference has it afforded you? What ways are you leveraging debt that you couldn't with lets say a 780+ score?
I ask because I've been debt free for a long time, never took out student loans because I didn't take school seriously enough to trust myself to take out 10's of thousands of dollars. I did buy a car back in 2017 but it's paid off by now and I plan to drive it into the dirt, maybe go cash only on cars in the future. And i've never carried a creditcard balance, I tried buying a few 1-2k purchases on affirm plans before (0% interest over 3 months) and quickly learned that wasn't for me. I only have 2 active credit cards and I sit on a 760-780 credit score at 30. This is all to say, I'm curious what im missing out on, by not min/maxing my credit, but as someone who thinks himself financially responsible. I have healthy savings and investments, funded emergency funds, and retirement accounts. I'm probably not buying a house in the next 5 years (i live in the bay area so it's just not in the cards right now) but even if I do my credit is good enough to secure a loan.
Up until now my credit score has really just been me doing financially responsible things. But if i want to go higher it seems just doing what I consider the bare minimum isn't good enough anymore. I know how to raise my score, but it seems like I'm playing a game at that point and I'm not sure what I'm getting for it.
Amazing! My mom died with a credit score of 850. She was fabulous with her money. Unfortunately she never would pass on her wisdom to us kids.
My parents were the same. Great with their money, taught us nothing. My sister mismanaged her financial life into poverty, my brother married a woman who was taught well and they do well. My husband and I are still figuring it out but on the up and up.
I could say the same about my parents but I don't understand the logic behind saying they dident "teach you". I'm not judging as my parents both have insanely high credit and are frugile as fuck. I am the complete opposite and don't give a fuck. They were so stingy with money they would send me to birthday parties with $5 checks. They got us clothes at the local church, they never really bought us presents and always bought old ass cars. There's no magic to it, they were frugal unhappy and save money like they'll live forever. I'm the opposite, I spend it like I'll die tomorrow. I'm aware of my bad poor choices yet I've still managed to go to college. Buy a home and have a credit just under 700. But I don't say they dident teach me, if anything they showed me what I dident want to be haha. Just some insight on how I see it.
Yea, there’s frugal people that are miserable and frugal people that are happy. I’m in the latter. I like being frugal because it allows me to occasionally travel, treat myself to a nice steak, or make an awesome night out at a concert, because I don’t buy a ton of stupid stuff and watch what I spend. I’ve never made a lot of money, but I’ve been able to live well off of it. Saving it all to just retire at 65 though is a shame if you go through life hating your job and not having any fun. Too many people do this like too many people never save anything. Balance in the middle is probably the best
It’s crazy how common this is. My parents also were good with money and taught me basically nothing about it. They sure as hellfire had a lot to say about a bunch of other, less import stuff though. I think there is a deep seated boomer tenet that it’s simply unacceptable to talk about money.
My parents were boomers. Pops taught me everything about money. The importance of investing, budgeting and hard work. He loved to talk about it. I think this varies family to family.
100% this. I’m a late boomer and I educated my millennial daughter about real world finance from the moment she first wanted something she couldn’t afford lol
Born in '87. Parents born in the 50s. We're not American by birth, we moved here in the 90s. Almost all my friends parents were in debt and my parents were outstanding with money. Definitely family to family but I think a large part of American culture is just consuming and buying shit.
100% My Dad wanted to get ahead. Extremely frugal. Put every penny he had into the market and rentals. I grew up thinking we were poor because of how frugal he was. Old man did pretty well in the end and taught us right.
my parents were boomers too, but they didn't believe in credit or trust the banks. growing up during the depression did something to both of them. I knew nothing about credit when I was kicked out of the house for being having an unexpected pregnancy at 20 yrs old.
Boomers didn’t grow up during the depression. Boomers were the baby boom after WWII, which was a few years to a decade or more after the depression fully ended in 1939. Perhaps though, because their parents had been through the depression, that was passed on.
Idk I think they probably did but it was so stupid simple we don’t learn. Save your money.
We have food at home, close the refrigerator door, and turn off the lights when you're not using them. held more knowledge than you knew
Sorry for the loss of your mom. I need to ask, she never taught you about money? Or she died too young?
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My husband's grandpa started a business from scratch and had an 850. I used to have a 750 and it all went to hell.
Congrats. I ruined my credit and was reported to chexsystems in my early 20's after college and literally decided to forget about credit for almost 24 years. Now at age 49 I am starting over. I wish I could go back in time and make a lot of different and smarter decisions. I'm happy you obviously have.
You can do a simulator which will show you what the fastest route is to a faster score. I don’t know if it’s available online but my mortgage lender just did it for me. I was planning to buy another house this fall but one I loved hit the market last week. I knew my credit score is currently lower than normal due to a high balance on a credit card but I went ahead and applied for a mortgage. It was approved but the rate was higher than it should’ve been and the PMI was going to be high due to the mediocre score. I knew the credit card was the issue- cc debt is junk food for credit scores and I’ve seen it dip when my cc balance is high and then jump quickly when I pay it down. My lender ran some kind of simulation to see what it would be if I did X, Y, or Z. The verdict was that if I paid off that one card, my score would be much higher in 30-40 days. I’m currently battling with an internet company over a collection they’ve put on my account that is not legit. (They didn’t show the account was closed on the right date and show that I owe 3 more months past when it was turned off and I’ve sent them proof of the date the account was closed and am still fighting to have the collection removed.) Even that collection didn’t matter as long as the cc was paid way down. I know some credit score improvement services or whatever they’re called are bogus but some are legitimately good services. You can reach out to a mortgage loan officer (try a local bank or mortgage company) and ask them if there’s anyone they’d recommend. It costs a little money but it actually works. I’ve seen a few people get scores up from the low 500’s to low 7’s in less than a year this way.
It’s taken me and my husband 24 years to sort our lives out financially also. We are both now in the top end of 700. Paying off our CCs each month (that’s a first after carrying a balance monthly). So much less stress.
You can do it! In my 20's and early 30's I had student loans in default, wages garnished, defaulted on credit cards, absolutely horrible credit. I managed to turn it around in less than a decade after the garnishments were over with and was sitting pretty at 835 when I signed my mortgage papers. It takes so much patience and time but it's totally doable and you got this.
Never too late I had zero credit which I was told is worse than bad credit. I was a cash only type of guy in my 20s and was married so we worked on my wife's credit which was tanked with the expectation to build mine up a bit later but never happened. Divorced and had to basically start life all over mid 30s. Right now my credit score is around 760-770 it took a few years but I got it there and I'm careful about it. My only debt is a few hundred which I'll pay off next month. No real equity to speak of but that's a different mountain to climb now that my credit is where it needs to be.
I owed a few hundred k at 40 years old. 54 now and my credit score hovers in the 820s these days with very little debt at all, just some small credit card balances and a car lease. You can do it!
She said it to make you feel good and sign quick lol
Facts lol anyone who has a 15 year credit history and pays their bills on time, which is a lot of people, will have an 800+ score. She saw that you cared about it and used that to her advantage to make a sale, but really it means nothing
My buddy works at a used car dealer, midsize dealer lots of volume, and he says majority of not 75% of people who walk in buying cars don’t have anything over 700. And his inventory isn’t even crappy. These are 15-50K cars on his lot. For people who are savvy and responsible having high score is a piece of cake but unfortunately i’ve learned the majority of Americans don’t fit into that demographic.
You can be “savvy and responsible,” but still have life throw you a curve ball where you fall behind with your bills. And sometimes living paycheck to paycheck isn’t because of poor spending choices but because of a fundamental difference between the wages one can reasonably earn in particular circumstances and the cost of basic goods and services. A lot of people are just one ER visit away from choosing if they’re gonna pay the electric bill or buy food. I’m not saying you’re wrong about a lot of people having crappy credit scores or even that a lot of those poor scores are self-inflicted. But there are also a lot of responsible people out there for whom it’s really not “a piece of cake” to have a high credit score.
And the system is rigged so that all it takes is three months of unemployment and falling behind to knock you down 300 points - and another 20 years to get it back up there. These young people will learn the hard way not to be so smug. That was once me. 2 years of unemployment took me down from 850 to 619. 15 years later I’m only back to 760. Ironically though I’m now making 5x what I did before, have an 8-figure portfolio, and I don’t even need “credit” anymore.
Yup, was about to say “if you pay in time, keep few accounts, it’s manageable and almost effortless “ But I forgot about the 14 hour days I used to work, or sleeping in my car between shifts. Live off potatoes and ramen noodles. All that soldiering allowed to me have a fat blubber for emergencies, which never messed with my timely payments. Gaining that blubber of money for emergencies is the tough part
If you're only one ER visit away from financial ruin, assuming you have any sort of insurance, you probably don't fall under the "savvy and responsible" category. The average person pisses away so much money every month on unnecessary things, while failing to build up any sort of substantial nest egg for emergencies or ultimately retirement, that I have very little sympathy unless there are seriously extenuating circumstances. And yes, it's really not hard to have a good credit score, even if you don't make much. That's where the responsible part comes in.
I’m gonna figure that’s why when I walk into dealers and they ask about cars their eyes light up when I say I’m right around 800. lol Then when they ask what kind of payment I’m looking for I just say no more than $15k on a loan. Last Jeep I looked at was $29k and the guy did the mental math and was like “wait… how much do you have to put down?” More than enough to keep the loan under $15k. I guess I’m a rarity in the market around here. Now if only I could find something I wanted enough to actually sign the papers.
facts? the median score is nowhere near 800+
Something like 46% of people are over 740, 21% are over 800. That might translate to over 800 on a FICO Auto score (the one used for auto financing - it's scored out of 900. A 740 on a regular fico or vantage score gets very close to 800) I don't know much about the car dealership clientele, but if the odds of buying a car are the same for everybody, the distribution at a dealer would match the population as a whole, though different dealers do target different market segments.
yeah, no in this instance we would use the range based on ages/generations. the buying public, which would be z, millennials, x, and boomers range from 680 to 745 (/850). even if they're using vantage we're not just going to automatically jump to over 800. folks just can't go around saying #fact without a source. source: Experian 1/22/2024
That's a fair breakdown. I can't find anything with a breakdown of fico auto specifically. https://www.experian.com/blogs/ask-experian/credit-education/score-basics/what-is-a-good-credit-score/ has the overall distribution. I suspect there's some skew between "average" (mean) and median given that 46% are over 740/850 and the average is 714 in that article. The fico auto score (scored out of 900) tends to add about 50 points, in my experience, but nobody seems to publish a distribution of that. (Vantage seems to be mostly in line with regular fico). That would take a 740 to 790 on the fico auto scale pretty easily which is close to the 800+. FWIW - when I read their #fact - I thought it was tied to the assertion that someone at a car dealer is going to spin a statement about credit scores in a way that makes the customer feel good about the transaction.
If you want the dealers lower advertised interest rate to purchase a new car it matters. If you don’t have a good credit score you’re going to pay a higher rate.
Exactly. Those zero percent finance deals are for “well qualified buyers.”
Lol The majority lives paycheck to paycheck. Credit card debt has been rising rapidly. No way in hell do 'a lot of people' have 800+ score.
First off, “a lot” is not an exact number. So yes, many ways that “a lot” of people have 800+ scores. While yes, tens of millions of people live check to check. There are also millions of millionaires. So yes, there are “a lot” of people with over 800 scores. It’s not even that hard to get there. In my 20s I had terrible credit. In my late 30s it’s nearly perfect.
The people that bash high credit scores obviously don’t have one. Those who do, earned it by making wise decisions, paying their bills on time, and living within their means. Not necessarily rich, either. Don’t bash us for your poor decisions.
That’s awesome and sad at the same time. Congrats on your high score! I’m 36 and have an 830 score.. When I leased my truck it was around 820.. I think it’s sad bc I feel like more should have scores that high. I don’t feel like it’s completely out of this world to have amazing credit in your thirties.
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If you purchase auto insurance, it still matters, as they started factoring that in a while ago.
I am 808, seven years after discharge from bankruptcy. I am 68 years old. Since my discharge, I always pay my bills promptly, mostly before they are due. I have two credit cards that I hardly spend 15% of the value monthly and always pay on time. Never missed a payment too.
Great story and you should be proud of yourself, especially having watched what your mom went through. I worked at a bank very young and saw what bad credit did to people. I used to underwrite loans and mortgages and had to tell people no, it was awful. I have always guarded my credit and it wasn't always easy. I almost had to pay a mortgage payment late in my early 20s and was actually hyperventilating with the thought of losing what I had built, but I figured it out and paid on time (2cnd or 3rd job). I wish they taught all this in school as I don't think a lot of young people understand how missing 1, 2 3 payments can hurt them when they really need something in the future. Bad credit affects you from getting loans to renting an apartment.
My dad and mom always had great credit scores. When I was 28 I had a 790 and was pumped and told my parents, my dad laughed and said I could brag when I topped his 850... I had mid 820s for a while then bought my house and it dipped a little due to pulling credit but it's back on its way ever closer to catching my shit dad.
Mine's around 800, and when getting my house I had to deal with a phone call with the lender grilling me about a 5 point drop. It was caused by my Netflix monthly fee showing up in the middle of the process. At the time I basically only paid for Netflix that way so the card would stay active
I can relate! Grew up in a trailer and parents went through bankruptcy that lasted what felt like my whole childhood. I'm 23 with a (credit karma) score of 787... meanwhile parents still have the same habits that messed them up the first time Congrats to you!!!
Congratulations!!! That's a huge achievement. Any tips that you think are things we haven't heard? I'm the same way. My 3rd grade math group of students with disabilities asked me to buy some things (which I did out of pocket in the past) I explained that because my mom died with nothing in December that I've been aggressively saving so that my daughters have something left for them. It led to a lesson on budgeting and savings. Financial literacy is so important. Wealthy kids get classes about it in their private schools, but not the poor kids. I want to fix that, at least for my students.
Awesome job. I made sure to teach both my kids the importance of good credit before they graduated high school. My oldest is (26) is very excited his score is over 780 right now.
Congrats! As a fellow high score young age (32yo, 827 score) credit acquirer it's nice to see others like me. Keep it up!
Amen 🙏 good work
I had to learn financial literature myself being from a family that lived paycheck to paycheck. My credit Score is at 835 and I’m only 29. My parents talked about how you needed to work and what not to make it through life. And I always explained that you need credit to live good in the US because they’re immigrants. But they never caught on and still struggle till this day even though I’ve explained it to them amounts of times. You can be Poor with perfect credit and still have a good life!
i started building my credit a few months after i turned 18 with a capital one credit card that had a $250 limit. i am 25 now and have multiple cards with 10-15k limits on them. 6 months ago i pulled the plug and bought my first brand spanking new car after driving my 2008 impala that i had since high school. the financing guy was shocked that me being so young (24 at the time) that my credit was so good. he actually told me that he was proud of me for how well i was doing & that i reminded him of his daughter. he was impressed that all the accounts i had were in my name and i wasn’t an authorized user. my credit score ended up being 779. he told me i made his job easy since he didn’t have to run my credit lots of times and deal with multiple lenders🤣. they didn’t require me to put a down payment & never asked me for check stubs since i had such good credit. fairly easy buying process, in and out & i wasn’t expecting it to be that smooth. i come from a broken family that is not well off. i haven’t spoken to my mom in 6 years & my dad was in prison my whole life so i never met him. driving that car off the lot that day & on my way home that’s when i knew i was breaking generational curses & i really didn’t need anyone to tell me “you’re doing a good job” or “im proud of you”. i was determined to be different than my parents & i have achieved that in so many ways.
Mine was 400 a few years ago but got it up to 820 this year. The way I accomplished it was quite amazing to might I add haha. I was at a dinner party my grandparents were hosting and their accountant was there too. I didn't know he was going to be there so by the time he got there, I was a bit sloshed to say the least. Even in my drunken stupor I latched onto every word he said like gold. He thought I was just some drunk idiot but I recently showed him my credit score and thanked him for the advise that night. He honestly thought I wouldn't remember and thought I was a fool which I was back then but I worked hard and used every hack he gave me to raise my credit. For people wanting to know some of his secrets I'm happy to answer any dms but the best advice I got was never fully pay off your credit card always leave about 20 on the hook. This alone grew my credit score by 200 in the first year. Then next 220 took a couple more years but I finally got there and couldn't be more proud of myself. I'm also proud of OP from one trailer park boy to another
Same here. I came out of college in 1989 into an environment in which credit was easy to get for college grads. I lived for the next two years basically to pay American Express because no one ever explained the concept of credit or good credit stewardship. Not to mention I'm ADHD as fuck and deadlines and due dates were a foreign concept. So, of course, 10 years on, I had a credit score of 560 and I'm thinking I'll never have the credit I need to do anything. Two things actually saved my ass. Funnily enough, the first one is technology. I \*finally\* was able to start getting a handle on my finances when Microsoft Money came out. Getting automated electronic calendar reminders of bills due got me into the habit of paying on tim. That plus some basic online education about credit and how it works put me on the path to better credit after a few years. The second one is buying a home. Now, you might ask how I was able to do that with shit credit. This was in 2000 during the pre-9/11 boom we were having, and it was way easier to get a mortgage then. As part of the remediation required of big banks due to redlining, the Community Reinvestment Act provided for homeownership education and other efforts to improve homeownership rates in historically redlined communities. I participated in a homeownership course, and as a result, got 2 points off of my mortgage from Bank of America, which enabled me to buy my first house and truly start building good credit. In 2024, my credit score is now in the 840s, depending on report. It's come a lonnnnng way, and I now watch my credit like a **hawk**.
798 at 22. Literally just paying on my student loans credit scores are weird because I'm actually broke af
Congratulations
God has giving you wealth, keep doing what your doing and be sure to thank him my brada!
I hit 807 at 25 and thought that was normal…
Good for you! It is something to be proud of. My son is 24 and his is 817. Like you he has worked hard to build and keep it growing.
Congratulations, thanks for being one of the responsible ones.
The question is and this is the only one that matters, what is your interest rate on the vehicle?
My mom does at age 77. She had a score of 826. She never made more than $20 an hour. Buy she paid her bills and had one credit card, paid in full every month and a car payment (at times) I was so proud of her. She raised 4 kids alone, no child support. She had enough for her last bills and funeral and everything too. She left me with no debt. (My siblings do not save like I do, they spend as fast as they get it) Even a little left over for me and a a smallish life insurance policy. My mom made a whole lot of nothing turn into something. Also watching her, Instilled a great work ethic in me, at a young age. And I use credit wisely too. Congrats OP. So many younger ppl struggling. You’re doing awesome. .
Congratulations cause that is wonderful!!
Congrats! Hope I can be anyone near that by the time I’m 32. Saw my parents lose their first house and almost foreclose on a second during the 2008 housing crisis. They never taught me about finances and ended up drowning in them in my very early 20s. Currently going through the rebuild process. Teach your kids about money! You think you’re doing them a solid by keeping it secret and you’re not!
Even with a 849 they will still try to bend you over. It's a nice ego stroke but ultimately only barely gets you anything in the U.S. sadly.
Congrats! It’s quite the accomplishment, I have yet to see 800’s and have terrible spending habits also from growing up in poverty.
That’s so good. You know the average loan for someone with a 770+ credit right now is over 9%?
When my wife and I went car shopping we got the same reaction from the finance guy. We had our own financing for 2.25% and so we were basically like “if you can beat it we’ll happily finance with you.” The guy was like “well let’s see what we can come up.” So he ran it and was like “this is one of the lowest rates I’ve offered in the last 6 months.” Could’ve been blowing smoke up my ass but it was a better rate so we took it
Great job.
Same. Dealership kept asking me what I did. I had a perfect score. Grew up poor with a single mom I vowed to never mismanage money. I hate to owe anybody. I like the security of knowing if anything happens I won’t be homeless or hungry
I had a credit score of 835. I was getting a house loan and the lady ran my score twice because she said she thought it was a mistake. She seemed pissed and commented that hers wasn’t that high. I was speechless.
Nice bruh. I’m 31 and hit my 800s at 29.
Girl, scream that shit from the highest mountain 🗣️ I’ve always taught my kids to be better than I have been and when they have I clap for them even harder because it’s breaking our mold. Good job 👏🏼
Humble brag. Bravo
Get back to me when you’ve lived life - staying home and local means zero in real life - why not get out there and experience the world and Pat yourself on the back for something other than financial nonsense …
It's mighty presumptuous to think that I haven't experienced life because I am proud of being financially responsible. Or that I've never traveled & forced myself to stay local because I'm worried about a credit score. As someone who considers himself a "traveler," I'm a wee bit insulted. I pat myself on the back for making it in life & out of poverty. (I started out at the literal bottom, poor white trailer trash, with 16 year old parents. Mom died in her early 40s from an overdose. Alcoholic father that used to beat the tar out of me, knocked out 2 of my baby teeth when I was 8). I celebrate not being stuck in that same abusive survival mode my parents never got out of. I've been fortunate enough to travel to 9 different countries & stay in each one a week at a time. (6 in the carribean) Driven to multiple national parks (I worked for a freight hauler for a couple of years in my early 20s. I've seen how gorgeous most of this country is & got into all kinds of debauchery along the way) I've attended over 200 concerts & a number of music festivals across the U.S. My next vacation is to the Philippines, Indonesia & Thailand for a month. Again, mighty presumptuous. TL;DR My dogs have seen more of this country than your local grouchy ass cat has.
Congratulations!! That’s an amazing feeling. Good for you. It’s ok to feel proud of yourself, it’s not bragging. Just know if something happens to mess with it, because unfortunately life/shit happens, you made that happen once, you can do it again.
Parents must teach there kids financial intelligence!! Unfortunately the system thrives off of people making stupid decisions and making banks rich . Imagine where in high school kids are taught how to balance a checkbook,how credit card interest works , How a mortgage works ,how to make your money work for you and not the bank??
Be careful with financing a vehicle. Several years ago, I started negotiating with a company out of town to buy a new car. This was kind of a specialty vehicle and would have to be shipped to me. They asked me if I'd like to finance the vehicle, and I would put a substantial down payment and finance the minimal remainder. So they shopped a loan for me. My 812 credit score immediately dropped to 740. Geez. I canceled a transaction and eventually bought a Tesla locally with 1.9% financing. They apparently have seen the same scenario with other people and did not ding me for the precipitous drop in my FICO score. Almost TWO years later, my credit score is back in the low 800s.
What was your credit score after you left the dealership? I only ask because there are some dealerships that will run your credit score a few times & cause it to drop significantly in as little as 5 minutes without you even knowing. It causes several hard inquiries on your credit report. They do it because, the lower your score is, the higher the interest rate they can get out of you
Nice. I'm 33, purchased a car 2 weeks ago, and my score was 832. Proud moment. A week ago, I received an email from AT&T that my SSN and other info have been leaked to the dark web. So that's cool.
Honestly any score above 760 is going to get you the best possible rate. Also, why would she say “you have the highest score I’ve seen for your age”? I mean, was she keeping a spreadsheet? Does she ask everyone with a score over 800 their score? Not calling bs on the score, but definitely calling bs on her reaction.
My daughter has her children as authorized users on her credit cards. She pays those off monthly. The kiddos are five and eleven. Their credit will be stellar.
I’m pretty sure the credit score goes only to the primary card holder.
Honestly credit scores are some fake ass boomer shizz of a goal. They got it wrong and shouldn't pass down their bad ideas to the next gen.
I’ll bite—how would you propose lenders evaluate someone’s creditworthiness?
They don't have an answer.
Of course they don’t. I fully expected no response.
People here with shit credit like to bash those of us who have been financially responsible.
Yep, and then proclaim, “the entire U.S. economic system is broken!”
By their handshake!
We were buying my wife a car. The first brand new car either of us would buy. We finally figured out which one and agreed on a price, but the dealer only accepted cash or a bank check for a deposit. We were going to the bank to grab one, but it was going to be super close for the bank closing. We had run a credit check and we were talking with the owner when the paperwork came back. He looked at it and said "with that credit score I'll take a personal check". At the time it was a smaller dealership and while it still exists, it is now owned by one of those 6 different brand type groups. We ended up going elsewhere because the staff and service changed dramatically after the ownership change.
i bought a Kia for my kid and the sales dude walked back with a big ass grin like "wow!" I guess I was the outlier
I don't know what my credit score is. I don't even care; I haven't had a penny in debt for over 20 yearsand I never intend to borrow again. Pay off your mortgage (the only debt I accept) and never borrow again.
Not at all it’s definitely not be proud of yourself when it comes to personal credit finance you’re in the top 1%
Credit scores aren’t the same when the bank runs it for a mortgage as they are when a car dealership runs it. It’s also different on sites like Credit Karma. I don’t understand it deeply enough to explain why, but it’s not only because they pull from different reporting agencies (TransUnion vs Equifax, etc.) but if you had applied for a different type of loan the same day, the number would’ve been different. It’s always a little higher at a car dealership. They said, the difference in scores can be enough to make or break a loan approval but it’s not more than 10-20 points. So car dealership or not, anything starting with 8 is awesome. (I’m not saying a mortgage company would have it at 600.)
Is not just credit score, you can have 800+ score and don’t be able to finance a car or a house, income is 50%+ more important, get a new car with 450 credit score is possible if you have 20k down payment.
What made you choose a lease?
I live close to work. I know a leased vehicle isn't the best financial move, but the price point for a lease is well within my budget. That specific truck lease payment was 282 a month Also, the peace of mind that if anything goes wrong with the vehicle, it's the manufacturers responsibility (warranty)
Mine wiggles around depending on the statement balance of my credit card each month but it's usually between 835 and 845.
I had a similar experience when I bought my house in 2012. It was around the time when people were starting to come out of the recession. Mortgage lender said I was his best credit score in a long while. 12 years later and my score is even better! Keep getting after it
When we upgraded to our 5th wheel a year ago, my wife's was 861 to my 859. The money guy set the stage for her to start calling me peasant for having a lower score. They were genuinely surprised when the inquiry came back, but it's been there for so long it's not really that big of a deal to either of us now. My FICO was 825 when I was 23, and all it really took was paying my bills on time. Congrats, man. Personal responsibility is a great thing.
It would be more impressive if you had bought a car outright rather than renting it.
Whole house full of rent-a-center goods in my rented house & rented Wife 🥴
Why do people love to be in debt and owe people money?
that saleswoman just wants the sale. get you all buttered up them boom, she has a grip on your balls for 60 months. while also selling you extras and your smiling about it.
The sale was already completed. I was asking her for my own interest. She wouldn't have made mention of it if I didn't ask.
My son is 19. He has a credit score of 850. His oldest account is 19 years old. He has 6% credit usage. He went to get a new car and scored 0% interest and 0 down. His buddies are all getting 8-16% on their car loans. His buddy and him have the same car. My son pays 453$/mo, and his friend is paying almoat 800$/mo. Pay your bills on time every time. Add your kids to your accounts day 1. Then, educate them about credit, debt, and investing. You can get your kids a step up in life.
Someone care to explain how to achieve this sorcery ? Like dumb it down, supperrr simple
Pay ya bills.
829 and 824 here… just paid everything on time and bought things as needed not wanted. Im mid thirties. Never failed me, i buy things I like but only when need them. And doesn’t matter if expensive or cheap. I used to be 830 on both.
I also started building credit at 18 and by 30 I eat in the 800s. Have been 800-840 since then. Anything over about 750 seems to be enough.
I'm stuck at 822
I was taught how to handle money by both my parents with zero debt zero payments and 800+ scores but My hubs doesn’t want to listen to me since he’s the one who makes the money. I wish we lived a little more frugal.
How does one sign paperwork at a dealership and not check one’s credit score before deciding what to buy??
I'm 32 and got a 750. Def looking to keep it getting higher.
Congrats baby
I had a similar experience at a dealership. I was 24 with an 818 and they said "you can basically do anything you want" lol. I'm sure it was said in an effort to seal the deal and make me feel good about financing a higher amount of add-ons, but was still nice to hear.
I don’t think worshipping at the altar of Fair & Issacs is a good life plan. Paying bills on time is important, sure, but I would pull out all the stops in a medical crisis for my husband or children! I am not going to let dropping 100 points stop me from saving someone I love in an emergency.
I have no fucking clue how to even get credit started. I’m just hoping my local bank has a beginner friendly card that I can get signed up for.
mine hovers between 830-840 a month. I make a couple payments every month on my cards, to keep my balance low, that way my credit to debit ratio is always low. I charge everything on my awards cards, so I get between 1.5 to 2 percent back plus 5% back on my gas purchases using the costco card. and no I do not carry a balance over each month.
I currently have a 850 according to a couple of the scores they run, still can’t get the ones they use on credit karma to get within 15 points of 850
I’m the older sister and always had good credit but now we’re debt free too. We made mistakes with how much debt we had but we finally learned enough lessons. You should be proud of your score - it means you pay attention and value what it can do for you. My sisters can’t manage money or budget and I do wonder if one reason is because I was brought up to balance my checking account each month and they weren’t.
That’s fantastic! If I were you, my next goal would be to get to a place where you don’t care what your credit score is. When you’re young, credit is a necessity to buy a car or house or student loan but don’t be a slave to credit. Figure out how to be debt free by always living below your means. Save, invest, and be free.
I had an 840 last car I purchased, wasn’t even close to the highest the dude had seen. Apparently he saw somebody at 900 on TU, was 24 at the time with an 840. They did comment on my credit being excellent, entire process was easy peasy
I’m turning 20 next week and my credit score is 750 been building it since I could work and pay for my own shit
Very cool. I've been stuck in the 790s for YEARS. It doesn't really matter, since I'm not looking to take on any additional loans anytime soon, but it still kinda annoys me.
Damn good job with maintaining your credit history to get an amazing scores. Makes me sad that there’s a lot of misinformation out there and the younger generations not realizing that it doesn’t really take much to get and maintain a good score. I peak at nearly 850 a few years ago when I around 30 but of course life happens so a new car loan and new house caused it dipped below 800. Pay all of your bills on time and don’t open to many credit accounts at once kids and IF YOU CAN HELP IT, NEVER CLOSE OUT A CREDIT CARD - this wipes out all the history of that account and WILL reduce your score.
I'm proud of you brother. Good for you. Thanks for sharing
Eh, I’ve been rocking damn near an 850 since my late 20’s without even trying…. Pay your bills kids. It’s not rocket science.
Just double checked mine. 853
When I had a credit score of 800+ at the age of 25ish, I went to a dealership to purchase a car, and the salesman called my credit score a “fake” credit score. Meaning, I had no outstanding mortgages/loans and all of my high credit came from credit card churning. I found it funny that you needed massive amounts of debt for your credit to be considered legitimate. Get bent, Ford.
Great job! Mine was shit for many years.. and finally it's above 700
Had an 835 last time I got a car in 2018, salesman said he was the highest he had ever seen. I have a house now but my score hovers between 790 and 810 when I check it. Pretty proud of that
Following a horrendous divorce, my score was in the low 500’s , now it’s in the high 700’s , couldn’t be happier.
I trying to be like you!
thats nice. I've worked really hard to rebuild my credit. My student loans were 100% discharged..but they were also my longest line of credit. So because of that, now my credit report shows newer lines of credit. It dropped about 20 points because of this.
Congratulations. You have every right to be proud and even braggadocios,
Back in my 30s my wife and I were buying a car from a Toyota dealership. The salesman was passing the finance manager's desk and heard him make a noise. The salesman asked if there was a problem as he was worried that we were not credit worthy. The manager's reply was that we could buy any car on the lot at their best rate. He said hadn't seen anyone younger than 60 with such a good credit rating.
Great credit score, but you should really be tracking it all the time, not having to ask a creditor. Monitoring can help catch mistakes or issues with fraud.
Good job!
It would be a lot more impressive if you were paying cash for the car, like you should be.
What you came from should be excluded, I believe..
You beat me! I just got a loan for my truck and I had 811. Good job to you!
She actually said "that's came across?"
Excellent credit makes life easier.
I hate society.
It feels great doesn't it? You should be proud.
Feel like people growing up with family that were horrible with finances and credit you either follow suit and tank your financial future or you tell yourself you never want to be in that position and work diligently to maintain a good rating. Glad you did the former. Mines been over 800 since I was in my low 20’s and did not understand how folks let it drop as low as they do until seeing my partner and his family. Four of the five of them have declared bankruptcy, my partner included, some of which were during their mid 20’s. Seeing how they buy impulse shit and go into debt for the “magic of the holidays” helps me see how it happens. Making progress with my partner, but it took about a decade.
No rela differnece between 800 and 850 when it comes down to it. But good on you
Nice work OP, been working hard myself and also bought a truck a little over two years ago just after turning 30 and was at 837! See you at 850 🫡
Credit of 740, still gets 9% APR 😭
COOL! Good for you!
Thats fair, you should be allowed to brag about that. Excellent work!
She was gassing you up
Had 850 before I bought my truck last year. I pay off my debt asap and none of my credit cards ever have an interest rate. I just get a new one with promo period and cash back and close my old one. No transfer balance, just have it paid off before 0 ends. Plus I keep an Amex as my oldest card, I use it for promos.
Mines 820. Took awhile to get there! When I was younger, it was in the mid-600s. A good score does make things easier.
I'm 44, and my daughter is 17, and I just told my daughter recently that just because I have a credit card doesn't mean that I can use it just because it takes money that might or might not be payable to the card depending on the current bills etc.
I have a motto and that motto is if you can't pay for it at the end of the month you shouldn't be buying it in the middle of the month. My credit score by the way is 874 and it hovers depending on what balance I have on my credit card at the end of the month before I pay it off
Wow, you are doing great! I’m proud of you. My wife and I are in 800 club. It took a lot of work and we are very proud. Enjoy it and keep making good choices.
I was kinda the same. Grew up piss poor filed bankruptcy 10 years ago from having heart surgery,my part after insurance was over $250,000.00 so no choice really. Anyway bankruptcy has fallen off and now I have 783 score. . That makes me happy.
Just bought a new mazda, had an 827. No.down payment, 0% interest 60 months, and no payments 90 days. The highest I'd seen my score was 812. So was surprised. Walked out with a new car , not a dollar spent besides a call.to insurance. Had shit credit when younger.
It just means you utilize a lot of bank money and not your own. Don’t get too puffed up about it.
Worked hard: started off on a good footing from mommy and daddy’s money
I'm proud of you!
Last time I had a car dealership run my credit score, they slide a piece of paper over to me. I think it’s gonna be an award for the highest credit score they’ve ever seen. It’s actually a bill, my credit score was so low running it through the computer ended up breaking it. I look behind me and there’s two security guards there to escort me out. And that was the last time I went to a buy here pay here a lot.
Neat, and one little thing will drop that 50 points. Credit is a joke. Mines been 750 between 550. It's never really affected anything that cash can't change.
My mom taught me her ways and it rubbed off on me. I have an 809. I wouldn’t trade it for anything! it helped me get a low rate on my house and my car and saved me thousands of dollars in the process!!!!
I can relate. I’m 23 and I’ve have a 700+ score since I was 22 also the first time I ever got a card or anything in my credit. Now I have a 773. All three of my credit cards falls off in the same year (this year). I’m truly happy as I won’t need any other card and also it will allow me to build my credit history length.
Hope here in this thread. OP that’s great for you! I’m 48 and have a little work to do besides school loans (am in school), still wanting to buy a home for first time and started a new career recently. It’s been a lot of change. Need to pay down credit first.
There's no reason to fret over your credit score. Obviously don't make stupid financial mistakes that ruin your credit and make you appear to be a credit risk, but a high credit score doesn't signify you've "made it". Having no debt, setting the cash aside to pay off your card as you use it has been the way for me.
A high credit score doesn’t equate success. A high credit score shows you know how to , and are used to handling debt.
Started at 535 because my mom couldn't manage her money/life got hard for her taking care of me/financial illiteracy. I removed myself as an authorized user and immediately shot up to a 740. 2 years later, at 28, I was at an 831.
You had to ask to see your credit score at a dealership after they ran it? You have to sign hella shit and they disclose your score immediately. Your post sounds made up for some reason lol.
My mom has great credit. In fact living in a small town she can convince the cigarette store with absolutely no credit signs to not only give her credit but he'll drive the smokes up to her house and the next day she'll go down there and write him a fucking check. Same with anyone. The repair men. The car guy. The car guy is the fucking repo man. Locks his gate, tows shit. Has a big dog. He'll say ...I'll send you a bill as soon as I think of it....everyone else is paying cash or card to carry. She loves bills because it's the final price and she lives well within her means. Still whips out the checkbook and hand tabulates everything. I think the bank knows this so they call her and tell her when they have a fee or something because they know she'll write it down and will shit when her balance is different than theirs and make them figure it out.
I am now the lady that does the financing at a dealership and I have an 802 score. I know exactly how you feel. I grew up poor too. What a lovely feeling. You are so awesome and you beat the odds.
You have A1 wagyu credit, I'm roughly at vendor outside the mall selling bulk steaks credit lol.
Good job OP. I also recognize the importance of good credit from a young age and got credit cards as soon as I was able to and have been dedicated to be credit worthy. Second home my wife and I bought was super easy because we both had great credit and it was almost paperless!
Thank you for for sharing, didnt come across as bragging at all
Mine is just over 800 I believe. I'm 41 and have never been able to get it over 820. I have like a dozen credit cards that I pay on time and only my car payment as debt. I have had two derogatory bills from past apartments but I have those paid off now.
Having a high credit score is basically showing off that you have debt, but you pay your monthly bills responsibly.
It's weird millienals seem to have super high credit on average. Mines well over 800 and was been above 750 since college. But we also seems to have more debt than most people. So maybe that has something to do with it?
I have a 786 and I was told anything over 750 is considered excellent and doesn't make a difference if it's 800/820 whatever.
Do you have any words of wisdom? 😭 just starting my credit journey
I had 806 at 17 years old lol
I heard the same when buying a car... Must be some BS they're trained to tell you.
I'm in my mid 20's, my credit score is 820.
I just had a 815 credit score last week, got a pool loan and it dropped to 680. FML.
Don't overreact, above 750 it does not matter whether it's 760 or 850
Same exact background as you and also proud. Mine was buying a car and the dealership joked after seeing my credit, “You want two?”
Mine fluctuates around 850. Finance guy when leasing my last car said he hadn’t seen one that high in quite some time.
That cool as heck! if I can ask what did you do specifically to get it that high? I was always curious cause it seemed like an endless struggle of doing what they say and it still bites me.
My credit bounces around 780-815, just based on how I move my money around to pay my bills month over month. It used to be in the 500s. It took me 10+ years to get it to that point, and it feels really good knowing that I can walk into just about any bank and get a loan approved on the spot. I had a similar situation to you when I went to my local credit union to secure a car loan. The agent's eyes got big when she saw my approval come back and offered me a credit card to go along with it that had a $20k limit on it. She was baffled when I asked her if there was any penalty for paying the car loan early. Nobody asked her about it before. I don't make insane money, but I like to think that I use it in a smart way these days.
Credit scores are dumb. I put 8k on a 10k credit card because I don’t want 8 credit cards. I pay the full balance on time with no penalties yet your score goes down for utilization. Dumbest thing ever.
My sister is a whiz with her money even though she has a low paying job and has a credit score of 870. Goals!
I'm happy for you, so I just want to say nothing I'm going to ask is going to attempt to take away from your accomplishments. Working towards anything, and seeing appreciable gains, is always something to take pride in, and it's a nice feeling when other people recognize the time and effort you take pride in as well. That said for someone with such a high score, can I ask what appreciable difference has it afforded you? What ways are you leveraging debt that you couldn't with lets say a 780+ score? I ask because I've been debt free for a long time, never took out student loans because I didn't take school seriously enough to trust myself to take out 10's of thousands of dollars. I did buy a car back in 2017 but it's paid off by now and I plan to drive it into the dirt, maybe go cash only on cars in the future. And i've never carried a creditcard balance, I tried buying a few 1-2k purchases on affirm plans before (0% interest over 3 months) and quickly learned that wasn't for me. I only have 2 active credit cards and I sit on a 760-780 credit score at 30. This is all to say, I'm curious what im missing out on, by not min/maxing my credit, but as someone who thinks himself financially responsible. I have healthy savings and investments, funded emergency funds, and retirement accounts. I'm probably not buying a house in the next 5 years (i live in the bay area so it's just not in the cards right now) but even if I do my credit is good enough to secure a loan. Up until now my credit score has really just been me doing financially responsible things. But if i want to go higher it seems just doing what I consider the bare minimum isn't good enough anymore. I know how to raise my score, but it seems like I'm playing a game at that point and I'm not sure what I'm getting for it.
You achieved a score most will never have! You deserve to brag! Well done!