This post is for those people worried about their score dropping or raising for seemingly no reason or more than they expected for something for a reason.
Relax. The very nature of the scoring system is that it is a system. One based on an unknown algorithm that presents a score based on a statistical model that indicates a level of risk to a lender at a moment in time.
From personal experience, I can tell you to not worry, don't obsess. From a rebuilding start several years ago and a starting score in the low 460's, I have intentionally played with my score. I lost almost everything I had in the meltdown. Two houses, my truck, most of my belongings. I actually had to take my family to a storage shed to live for a couple of weeks while I worked to get enough money to get us into a tiny studio apartment.
I started with a secured card and worked on several 30/60/90 day lates, several medical collections, 2 judgements, 6 state tax liens and a IRS lien. Since then, I have recovered a great deal, but I'm still working on it.. My lates have aged off. I got several PFD's, I made a lot of seemingly unaffordable paymentss. My $500.00 secured card reported ar 99 percent UTIL several times, I applied for store cards with tiny toy credit limits, but was so excited just to be able to get food after my paycheck went poof two days after getting paid.
Along the way, I have seen my scores go up and down. None of them in lockstep. I have been in several scoring buckets. Some CRA's either receive their information at different times or work it into ther formulas at different times. Sometimes I have seen the changes take 3 months to 'equalize'. My Experian score went up 45 points while my TU score dropped 30. All my scores dropped when I thought I was doing everything right. All my scores went up when I knew I did everything wrong. My scores dropped almost 90 points when I got a car loan for a measly $6,500.00. The scores tend to recover over time.
My point is, The thing to do is don't worry so much about your scores in the short run. Worry about the things you can do something about and work on them. Pay your credit on time! Get your credit reports and work on getting 'baddies' removed if you can. Make sure they are correct. Reduce your utilization before the payment due date so the next statement reports a lower balance. Live within your means. Get a handle on the information in your reports and the score will follow.
Remember, time heals. I now enjoy the use of almost $35,000 in credit. My overall utilization is low and I don't have to take any one credit line over 30%. I spread out apping for new credit to no more than 1 or 2 a year at the most. I got a sweet deal on my latest card, a Discover It with an initial CL of $4,400 and I recently got a CLI on it. My scores at last check were all near or above 700, but they are still anywhere from 10 to 40 points different. On average though, my scores raise a bit over time. My last, the lien from the IRS, will be withdrawn in July and I expect that, and the fact that my AAofA will hit 5 years at the same time, should bump all my scores into the 740 or better area, but I don't expect to see all of them to improve during the same reporting period.
Even if I don't quite get that high, I know my scores will continue to change. Yours will too, so again, just relax. You'll live longer.
