Have you cancelled any cards? And I found out mine isn't as good as it could be BECAUSE I pay it off every month. Whoda thot?

I would definitely check since they specifically mentioned ones you know you don't have. Mine also went down when we paid off the house! And I pay every thing off each month which can make it go down. It doesn't seem to make much sense. We are debt free except for the motorhome. My current score is very high and even when it dropped it was great but I don't like seeing it drop like that for paying off monthly balances.

You are finding one of the problems with charging all your expenses to a credit card. Although you pay the balance every month when your credit rating is adjusted it could be adjusted any day of the month. Fine if it is done a couple of days after your payment is credited and your balance is low. But if it is adjusted just before paying your ratio is too high.

If you have store cards those are/were considered revolving loans especially if they can only be used at a particular group of stores.

That happens to me too. I have a credit monitoring service and it adjusts a few points either way every few months. I don't worry because it will alert me if any new lines of credit are opened, or any other major changes.

Credit is funny. My score went even higher when I added on a $30k auto loan because it was a new type and they like diversification, I guess.

Car loans must be extra good to have for your credit report. Each time I pay mine off early the score lowers about 5 or so points. Last time I did it was when my car/home??? insurance was due. Because of the lowering I was surcharged by AAA because of worsening credit report. It was still above 800 but could not get them to make a correction.

I put everything I can on my AmEx card each month - it's the only major credit card I have, and I almost never use any of the store cards I also have. I pay my AmEx bill in full, each month. The balance due varies month to month. I also have a car lease and a mortgage. My credit score never varies. I would look into this much further.

Utilization is 35% of your score. There are all sorts of little tricks you can employ to raise your score (paying off all but $2 so it reports at 1% utilization, though $4 for Discover, etc.) Lots of good info online.

I don't know my credit score. I don't care what it is. A) I'm not borrowing anything, and B) When I have gotten reports and tried to correct (minor) errors, it was impossible to do so.

We probably have low credit scores because we don't need credit for anything beyond ordinary CC purchases, which are paid in full each month. Our reports are also frozen -- have been frozen for a decade or more.

Twenty years ago a realtor asked for credit information to 'pre-qualify' us to be shown houses we considered to be in our price range. I don't think it was a wonderful number, but our broker's signed statement sufficed.

sleeperblues, I wouldn't worry about it.

"You are finding one of the problems with charging all your expenses to a credit card."

Yeah, really?

Called credit utilization. "Even if you pay your credit card balance in full every month, your credit score might still suffer from high credit utilization ratios. Your balance is usually the amount reported on your card’s end-of-cycle statement, though it can be reported at any time during the month. For example, if you have $750 in charges on a card with a $1,000 limit when the credit card company reports your balance, you’re shown as using 75 percent. It doesn’t matter that your payment isn’t late yet, or even that you will pay it in full." Easier to look it up. Copy and paste from Experian.

I doubt many people (aside from the stereotypical credit card abusers) run up high balances, as a percentage of their limits, just by charging their normal living expenses. And for most people, credit scores and the minor ups and downs matter much less than the attention everyone seems to pay to them would suggest.

I think variations are normal. Here's mine for the last 3 months - you can see the fluctuations. It was 15 points lower in January for some reason but now it's back up.

Chi if your chart gives dates try and match what the balances were several days before that date. I know BIA only sends information to the credit reporting companies once a month but it takes about 3 days for the scores to update.

I don't see that it reports it to that level. My credit limits are pretty high though for some reason so even a few thousand dollars will only be 1% or 2% of my usage, so I don't know how much that would impact the score.

Could someone tell me what individuals do care about their personal credit scores and why?

I care because I know it will increase this years house and car insurance rates. My rating because of having to gut and repair my basement after a flood has dropped. Last time it dropped I was given a 10% surcharge and that was only for 5 points.

Most people really do not care about their score until they go to purchase something except for bragging rights.

This topic struck me as a rerun, so I checked and here's the rerun - in my state, since 1988, insurance companies are prohibited from using customer credit scores to set premium prices. There are several other states with similar rules. So, it matters for some, not for others, but I can't imagine that small changes as sleeperblues describes would matter.

Bragging rights? I don't think I've ever heard anyone talking about their credit score. Who would care what someone else's is or isn't?

Go to buy something? If someone is buying something they can afford, what difference would it make?

I don't believe in judging a person by a number. Someone could possess a great credit score and blast loud music and abuse their pets. People are not numbers.

I find this worry, a SCAM. All the commercials, all they hype, Discover sends me notes that say my score is 840+ is that really even a score? Who cares--not me. In all my years NEVER has this been an issue. Even when it was discovered I had an unpaid Sears bill--four years old-- it didn't STOP the latest house purchase. BUNK I say this is all BUNK. Should you be concerned? HECK NO!!!

I agree she couldn't be concerned with a slight variation, but credit scores and reports are important. I think it's interesting that you think it's a scam, arcy.

With excellent credit you can get the best rates and the best credit cards with rewards. Credit isn't only for people who can't afford cash. We make thousands a year in free money by responsibly using our credit in our advantage via credit card rewards/cash back and low interest rates. The best credit card perks are reserved for those with good credit.

Paying attention to credit reports is also important to catch identity theft as early as possible. It's a very real problem these days. We will probably be freezing our accounts soon to help prevent it.

I do know people who do brag about their credit scores, or the bragging about them is implied. I would look for other signs of virtue in a person. Some people like myself have suffered catastrophes which lowered the score. Does that mean I am some kind of "deadbeat?" I think not.

Talking about credit scores is not in my everyday lingo in casual conversation. I am concerned because I have been notified 3 times in the last 2 years that I have been part of a data breach. Yahoo, equifax, and Anthem. And it's weird for me to see my score go down when I am a responsible payee. I owe nothing, and pay all my debts monthly. I don't care enough to leave a small balance on my credit cards, though. Thanks for the tip, though.

My daughter is about the most responsible & frugal young person you'd want to meet. She had a good job lined up outside NYC. When she was apartment hunting, having a suitable credit report was a BIG DEAL. Our collective mistake was, when she was in college, she had a Debit card -- not a Credit card. So her responsible use of her debit card didn't count towards her credit score. She ended up having to double the amount of the security deposit for the owner to accept her as a tenant.

We've since learned there are a few reasonable tricks to raise your credit score. If you think you would benefit, I'd talk to a financial officer where ever you bank -- things change and I don't want to give bad advice.

My property manager uses credit scores for my rentals. Their score has to be above 659. She does make exceptions if they're military and pay a double deposit. I do agree that meeting a person and liking them is important. People will often warn that a credit report will not be high, before one is run. The honesty factor is big! Bigger than the actual credit score, IMO. I have liked everyone who's ever rented from me. Had an old renter see our SUV & stopped by to see us on Saturday when I was painting.

I have no idea what my credit score is and I really don't care. I have no plans to borrow any money. I do have a couple of credit cards that I use frequently and pay off each month. The mortgage on my home has been paid off for over 25 years and when I buy a vehicle I will pay for it.

Nicole, do you also ask prospective tenants for contact information so you can speak to prior landlords?

Scott I can see where you’re coming from. There are a ton of people with lower scores that are misrepresented by them. Especially after the recession and now the reporting of unpaid medical bills.

Years ago when I was an underwriter our favorite color was “gray” because it was obvious that the score did not, could not provide a complete financial history. Sadly computerizing the industry has turned lending into a practice that is much more black and white vs gray.

I lease my car and believe me, ones credit score DOES matter when the rate of the lease is calculated. Having one in the mid-800's gets me a very attractive rate - it also helped me when I refinanced my mortgage in order to re-do my kitchen and make a few other capital improvements to my house.

People with poor credit history often got that way by living way beyond their means, and having no savings.