Why Manage FICO Score Month to Month?

[Anonymous]

I kept a MyFICO subscription another month to see if my scores rebounded after they dipped when I added a couple credit cards. (answer: not entirely, but close)

The other part, and honestly why I have my scores in my signature, is I realized my scores are high and in these forums it makes me feel important and respected. Silly? Absolutely, and I know high credit scores don't mean anything regarding who I am as a person (other than I pay off loans). It's more of an ego trip than anything else.

[Anonymous]

---

@Anonymous wrote:

I kept a MyFICO subscription another month to see if my scores rebounded after they dipped when I added a couple credit cards. (answer: not entirely, but close)

The other part, and honestly why I have my scores in my signature, is I realized my scores are high and in these forums it makes me feel important and respected. Silly? Absolutely, and I know high credit scores don't mean anything regarding who I am as a person (other than I pay off loans). It's more of an ego trip than anything else.

---

Love your honesty! 

I check mine because everytime it scores goes up, I'm happy.  LOL And then I'm on here browsing to see which will be my next card. haha 

[RobertEG]

It is good to play the score-tweaking game for a few reporting cycles to see what the effects are of having 9% vs 11%, having 0, 1, 2 cards report with balances, etc, etc. as a learning tool.

Then, in the future, when about to apply for new credit and thus wanting to tweak for real, you will know what the expected benefits are.

[FireMedic1]

I was advised by my lawyer to get a monitoring service after BK to make sure no one relisted or added past CA inputs on my files. I did catch TU and EQ adding bogus payoff balances on my auto loan after reaffirmation for no reason at all. Nor was it my lenders that told them to do it. Plus getting that text message that my score has changed on here is like a surprise gift. Just look below. I've had many alerts since DC. My hard work to learn from here and apply it to my best credit ratings ever. It's well worth it. JMHO.

[Revelate]

When I'm in one of my non-application phases (Amex Zync and SCP in my past not withstanding, though I didn't prep for those) I tend to let balances report where they may; I don't spend that much anyway so it's never a material difference on my revolving utilization unless I have a large tax payment or similar.

I do get clean every couple of months just to see where I am, unfortunately my score is typically so flat I just get disappointed in doing that... unless I'm testing something then I try to get to a known datapoint ($20 reporting on a single tradeline) if I am trying to track something like my AAOA 2->3 years change which turned out to be a big fat 0 on the score profile =/.  Lot of disappointments in recovering from truly awkward credit haha.

[CreditMagic7]

When you haven't been in the credit loop for some years like myself (except for only personal loans/auto etc.) you tend to want to rush things early on as much as possible and then you have to apply that first short lull followed by subsequent longer lulls in credit seeking in order to measure how lenders will be toward your efforts (payments/CLI's) going forward as well as tracking the progress from FICO scoring variations too, and that takes plenty of time. Hence the micromanaging for not only the initial immediate affect (and/or gratification) but also gauging how gainful (or not) those efforts have been and where adjustments might be needed.

The way i see it, as a first timer anyway, 2-3 years with any lender fairly well (for the most part anyway) settles both them and you and if things are running to satisfaction on both ends of this spectrum, then it begins to afford you some space to relax from measuring various swings because you'll have a pretty solid handle by then on how best to make the most of the particular card(s) you're looking to use long term and moreover what score swings to expect too.

I feel like i'm only 1/3rd of the way into my own credit goals before feeling relaxed enough to draw back from routine micromanaging of all of this and that's been a long drawed out affair but glad the ambition was there to take it on at the time which i did.