Hello myFICO-mmunity,
I was wondering how did you learn about credit? How did you survive the countless myths and rumors regarding credit scoring? I learned about FICO scoring on this site a few months ago. Years ago there was no online community to help the masses understand credit and credit scoring. Further, I was raised in a home that considered credit cards the devil 
How did some of the seasoned veterans in this community know to keep cards at a low utilization? Or that credit mix effects your credit score? I was just wondering where many of us would be if this knowledge was available to everyone decades ago, or where would we be if FICO never shared the criteria of what goes into a credit score today...
@teenastie wrote:Hello myFICO-mmunity,
I was wondering how did you learn about credit? How did you survive the countless myths and rumors regarding credit scoring? I learned about FICO scoring on this site a few months ago. Years ago there was no online community to help the masses understand credit and credit scoring. Further, I was raised in a home that considered credit cards the devil
Hello teenastie and welcome.
I can only speak for myself. I learned many lessons the hard way- by making the same dumb mistakes over and over until a light finally came on. That could be a pretty common theme among members here.
After I finally hit botttom by filing bankruptcy I was determined never to go to that dark place ever again. But I continued to make bad credit and money management decisions because I didn't know any better. I knew enough not to ever be late on any payments ever again but my knowledge didn't really go past that.
All my negatives had died of old age by the time I found these forums. Then my eyes REALLY opened! 
I have learned more here about credit in the last 2 years by reading and researching and contributing and asking questions than in the many decades preceeding.
From a BK years ago to:
EX - 3/11 pulled by lender- 835, EQ - 2/11-816, TU - 2/11-782
"Some people spend an entire lifetime wondering if they've made a difference. The Marines don't have that problem".
I would like to thank you few who responded. It's a bit comforting learning that most of us were had the wool pulled over our eyes regarding scoring! About 14 years ago I closed all my accounts. I kept several auto loans open over the years and paid in a timely manner. I thought my scores were pristine with all the "big ticket" loans. To no avail. I now know about how much weight revolvers have on the CR and have supplanted myself within this "game" firmly.
I had no idea what my credit score was until I went through a period of unemployment in 2008. I had pulled my credit reports before and checked them for accuracy, but I had never seen a credit score. I had never been denied credit, so I didn't pay that much attention. Perhaps rather stupidly, I even bought my first condo without knowing what my credit score was. I imagine it was provided to me at some point, but I have no idea what it was. I knew I was getting a competitive rate, but it never even occurred to me that there were things within my control that I could do to maximize my score. I understood generally that you don't want to be late with payments, but that was about it. It's inconceivable to me now that I entered into such a large purchase with so little information. Though I'm not sure where I would have turned for that information at the time (don't think FICO forums were running yet).
Once I lost my job, and ran through savings, my score tanked as everything fell behind. In late 2008, I started working again and I needed a credit card to float business expenses. Unfortunately, I was untouchable at the time as I was between 90 and 150 days past due on about 7 accounts. I remember the first few months at my new job were stressful because I was worried that someone was going to discover the horrible financial situation I was in. I applied for a Cap One card but was only approved for $500. I asked them for more, and offered to prove my annual income, but it didn't matter. It was a nightmare. I was still trying to get all of my debts current and climb out of tens of thousands of credit card debt, but I also had to keep enough cash on-hand to afford last minute airfare and hotel accomodations, sometimes for weeks at a time.
Finally, once I got everything paid current, even though my credit was still fairly horrible, I thought I would take a chance at applying for the company Diner's Club card, figuring that because it was backed by the company, my credit wouldn't be as big of an issue. I was denied. I can remember what a sickening feeling that was. I didn't know how I was going to keep floating expenses on debit cards and cash. Sometimes the travel expenses exceeded $10,000. Anyway, I had recently discovered this forum. I never knew about recons before that. I decided to ask for reconsideration explaining why I had the late payments, that I had been unemployed for an extended period of time, that I was working again and had paid everything current. Nothing had been charged off or settled for less than full balance. I needed the card for work expenses and everything was reimbursed by the firm. They granted the reconsideration request. It was such a huge relief. I no longer felt like I was going to get exposed at work. That was a major turning point in everything for me. My credit kept steadily improving as I paid everything off.
The information on this forum is unbelievably helpful. Without sounding too sappy, the information here makes real differences in people's lives. Every day there are people posting how they've been able to finally buy a home for their family or some other such success that would have seemed impossible just a short time ago. It's amazing how you can take very simple things for granted. I can remember how nice it felt to be able to check the mail again without fear of the bills and collection notices. How I no longer had to keep my phone on silent to avoid it ringing all day long at work with collection calls. There's still a bit of an adjustment. For so long I was paying so many credit cards and juggling so many debts, that it was a circus act to keep it all going. Now that it is all paid off, I still feel like I'm forgetting to pay something just because I don't have as many things to pay. I'm very grateful for these forums. I hope that anyone else starting out where I was a couple years ago can see that there is a light at the end of the tunnel.
Starting Score: ~500 (12/01/2008)