credit score

For my 2020 goals – I put something on there I couldn’t completely control. I wanted to hit a specific number on my credit score. If you have ever looked into this topic you know this is mainly in the hands of the 3 major credit score companies, and even they don’t agree. Then there are all the new spinoffs like FICO and Vantage Score, so why would I try to make this a goal?

As my financial IQ has increased, I see ways I could improve this area, even if I didn’t have total control of it. In 2015 I made a commitment to be debt free. In 2018 I discovered the FIRE movement. I started crushing my debts and learning about personal finance. The momentum was building. Why not make this goal? It’s not like anything bad would happen if I didn’t accomplish it. Worst case scenario, it would just plateau or grow more slowly than I’d prefer. No big deal. At least it wouldn’t go down because I was finally making smart financial decisions. No way that could happen with all of the positive forward momentum I had…right?

In December 2019 my credit score had just hit 700. I made a goal to hit 800 by December 2020. It seemed like it was ticking upward pretty quickly in spite of my former delinquent years with my successful course correction. I had all of my payments automated, no more late fees, I was becoming solvent. Let’s do this. I was pumped!

I checked it every month and it increased every month as expected. January 713. March 748. May 764. “Oh!”, I thought, “I’m going to hit this sooner than expected”. June 738. Wait, what? OK. I took out an interest free credit card to transfer the remainder of my car loan balance. Just a snag. We’ll be back in a minute. Yep, back to going up. August 766. October 769. By December it was back down to 762 because I paid of the car loan and the account fell off my history. I also paid off the zero interest credit card that I transferred the balance to. I don’t agree with the math behind these systems because the way it formulates negative points for good behavior like paying off a loan, but whatever. I didn’t hit my 800 but my score went up 62 points in 2020 and that was still fine by me, so I decided to try again for 2021.

Of course now I am starting with 62 more points than the year before with the same goal so I bump it up to 825 for 2021. Seems reasonable, right?

January 789. OH. OK. Nice start. So I get confident and forget to record the next few months. May 753. UGH. What a blow. I bought a new property, and did a cash out refi on my other mortgage. FINE. I decide to ignore it again for a few more months. I’m too busy crushing goals to babysit this thing, and I know it will come eventually. I’m going to break 800.

Once in a while I check in. It’s up. It’s down. Minimal changes are happening in this yoyo period, like 3 or 4 points each time. The annoying part? It’s on that line between good and great or great and excellent. So I have a glimmer of excellent and then it falls back again. You’re excellent! You’re NOT. Don’t look at it. Just put it away and hope for the best.

Finally I gain traction again in September, 763. October 789. “Wow!”, I think, “I may really hit 800 this time!” I look back on my notes. Right. I had 789 in January when I started so I’m just back at square one 10 months later. OK. Come on home stretch, give it to me this time. It’s just 11 little points. Please!

Then I look at my New Years Goals. Oh Yea. I upped the anti to 825. Well. Hmm. I have no idea if I’ll hit 800 or 825 but here’s to mega manifesting. Can you please send some good juju my way?? Girl just wants to get in that 8xx zone already!

There are 2 more updates before the end of the year. Do you think I’ll hit 800? 825? Somewhere in between or not even close? Would love to hear your bets!

ps Prior to taking control of my finances circa 2015, I had a very low credit score (in the 300s for a while), delinquent loans (went through a loan rehabilitation program), and delinquent credit cards (creditors called me on the reg). If you think this isn’t possible, I’m here to tell you it can be done. Keep reading. Keep learning. Keep stashing. You got this!

Want more ideas about New Years Resolutions? Check out: New Years Manifestations

As a goal oriented person, I always love setting New Year Resolutions, or New Year Goals, every year. I know alot of people that are adamantly against this. People say, “why bother if you’re just going to fail.” I see their point (kinda), but I have always followed the ideology of it’s not how many times you fall, it’s how many times you get back up. Fear of failure isn’t an option, but what’s more, it gives me something to work towards, as well as an opportunity to set an intention.

One of my New Year Goals for 2020 was to raise my credit score to 800. This one was tricky because I knew so much of this achievement would be out of my hands. First of all, there are 3 credit bureaus calling the shots and they don’t even agree with each other. Second, it’s a mystery to me how it even works. There is a lot of bait involved in this credit business. For example, my credit score would slowly tick up as I paid off debts and kept lower balances, but when I had a car emergency and had to take out a car loan, I was stunned to see that my credit score shot up several points after taking on this new large debt. Why? I didn’t feel I should be rewarded for that, but it’s some weird formula to encourage you to keep spending, and most people spend beyond their means when it comes to credit. Third, it took me years to get to 700 alone. I got my first credit card in college, along with the school loans, and promptly threw my score in the gutter for over a decade at just over 300 points. To say I was irresponsible with my credit is an understatement. I came from extreme poverty with a subzero financial IQ before I turned this ship around.

So, as you can see in the image, I did not achieve my goal of 800 points, BUT I did gain 89 points from the year before. In December 2019 before I made this goal I had just hit 700 even. Is this a failure? NOPE. This goal gave me mindfulness. Every month I recorded my updated score. I was encouraged because I was actively paying down debt, learning to live within a budget, and watching the score go up. I’ve been working on my budget for years but it takes a long time to master! Having this goal made me focused and vigilant to get the best results possible by persevering and course correcting as needed. I’d call this a win.

A credit score of 800 or higher is considered perfect and I was able to get so close that now I can definitely have it as an achievable goal for 2021. Even though it will take me a little longer to get there, I’m stoked to have stayed the course and to keep reaching higher.

What financial goals are you setting for yourself in 2021? Remember, it’s never too late to start anew. I re-evaluate my New Year Resolutions every quarter to make sure I’m on track and make updates if anything has shifted. It’s not written in stone, it’s your life novel to write and edit as you deem fit. You can do anything you set your mind to. I believe in you!

If you can believe it, you can achieve it.
~ Napoleon Hill

Tag: credit score

Can I Hit It?

Credit Score Goals