Understanding FICO® Scoring

[Andrew22]

So, my credit journey is pretty much complete: last piece of the puzzle, a 5 year-old state tax judgement public record for a whopping $99. Assessed in 2007 (I was never notified) and it was paid in 2009 from my tax refund. Dropped off last week (PRs drop after 5 years in my state), and my EQ score went from 721 to 792. No other baddies at all on my sheet, just a few credit pulls for a mortgage re-fi...just an FYI for those interested in how FICO rates things. And, a cautionary tale. We're talking about a $99 judgment and it cost me 71 points for years..SMH.

[brother7]

CONGRATULATIONS! What a wonderful Christmas present!

I encourage you to not end your journey, but to continue on... only 8 more points to reach 800 nirvana. Not to mention the fine art of CC wallet building to maximize cash back and points rewards 

[bettercreditguy1]

Congrats! Your score shows how damaging an upaid account is to the overall score. It relly hits home! Good luck and Merry Christmas as you leave this station and embark on a continuing journey.

[Epcot]

Nice, congrats! That's a good warning for others.

[gingerdad]

Congratulations!  

I am stuck at 694 with only 1 baddy (a 6-yr old medical collection of $180).

[Jutz]

Congrats!  Sounds like you got yourself a shiny new bucket!

[percy81]

Kudos, nice jump!

[Andrew22]

gingerdad, you're close to getting a big bump once that final baddie drops...patience, you're really close! And, one other thing I might add about my 71 point bump, that $99 tax judgment never reported to Transunion, so my TU score was already 794. Everything else on the reports was close or identical. So, yes, indeed, that 71 points was directly tied to being in a dirty bucket with just 1 small public record. 

And, I might also add, I started my journey in October 2009 with a 647 score. My fault that I never paid attention to any of this stuff. But thanks to the advice I got here, I was able to clean up some mistakes with a good strategy, persistence, and some patience. I was able to get a good mortgage in early 2011, and just finished a re-fi at 3.85%, whichis saving me a ton of money every month. So, yes it can be done, and yes it makes a difference. I've resolved to never let things get away from me again, god willing. But, truth is, you never know, a serious illness can bankrupt anyone in heartbeat, which is a shame and is utterly unforgivable in a great nation like ours.

But I can say this, the knowledge I gained on this site, speciifcally on these boards, was invaluable. I'm grateful!

[92235]

Gingerdad, I would also like to add that I had a $173 medical collection on my account that fell off early this year. A few months before it fell off I opened a checking account with a CU. They pulled my EX FICO at about 690. After it fell off I applied for the Amex BCE card. I was approved and they sent me a letter saying my EX FICO was 790. I was floored. I believe my EQ was around 700 before and it has gone up to 757 after the drop. I can't say my TU score because I can't get a good FICO for it.

[gingerdad]

Andrew, thank you very much for the perspective. 

Part of my frustration is that I strated off adulthood staying on top of this, but have a slow deterioation in my credit starting when I had kids 6.5 years ago (the medical collection was in the year my twins were born - tons of medical bills, stopped paying attention to a personal medical bill that should have been picked up by insurance).  Went from 750 to 650 fairly quickly.  Dropped faster than rebuilding to your point.

Rebuilding now!  Slowly but surely.