I know you are all hard at work with your credit goals. Have you progressed as far as you hoped? Were there any unforeseen expenses that cropped up and may have thrown you off schedule?
As a reminder, participation in these monthly check-ins is optional but encouraged. The goal is to help keep you on track, so feel free to post your progress updates here. This is a judgment free zone; feel free to say what's keeping you up at night or give yourself a Kudo for having it all together.
Did you hit any potholes or speedbumps? Achieve some milestones, either small or mighty? Change your goals or add new ones?
Let us know how you're doing!
What have been your biggest accomplishments and obstacles so far in the myFICO Fitness Challenge this year?
The end of the year ... time to consider what is next.
This year I closed some accounts, added some new accounts and made science with Fico Scoring. Through all of it my score dropped to Fico 08 784. Not serious as I had no real credit needs. Did move to credit unions and have increased my earnings. Also, do get tired of the constant changes some of the big banks make!
For 2025 I do not see any new accounts or cards. Will probably stop playing with my Fico Score. It is sitting around Fico 08 800 now. Reduced my expenses considerably by not owning any real estate.
Enjoy the Holidays and visit with those you don't get to see often. 
One more page turned on the calendar, and only one more page left to the year.
Still gardening and down to 1/24. Nothing on the wish list for new cards at present and the only change this year was an updgrade from BCE to BCP, which looks to be well worth the AF given our grocery bills.
Groundhog Day around here. Scores are rather stagnant--to be expected as they don't change too much. TU is lagging, due to the many INQs this year related to the house and the car. Refinanced the bridge loan in November, so there shouldn't be any new INQs in the foreseeable future.
Carrying a balance on a 0% offer, because it's 0%. Will pay it in full in the spring. Did the math on what we have spent on the new house in products and services since August. OUCH! Almost done with major upgrades, though.
Canceled SW. Been on a sweetheart deal for over 15 years. Price went up and the value just isn't there for what I receive. Will continue monitoring EQ via CK and get the FICO (EQ and TU) once a month from EX.
Starting Score: 469
I'm in a holding pattern credit-wise for the moment, so it feels like a good opportunity to see how far I've come in 2024.
Honestly, it's been the best year for financial accountability I've had maybe ever, and some of that is due to directly to this board. So thank you. Highlights:
* I started off the year with one sub-prime credit card with a $1000 limit, and I'm ending it with four prime cards with $22k limit overall. This is enough to get me to my mortgage, so I don't plan on any HPs until then. I pif every month, and I'm on a cli plan for each, with info gained from this board.
* I paid off my old COs that had been haunting me for two years, and the debt behind them for much longer.
* My scores went up almost 100 points across the board. I'm now in upper 600/low 700. This is a huge relief, and I am hopeful that by the end of 2025, I'll be able to get mortgage score of 750. That is my #1 goal for 2025
* I moved to a cheaper place that I can much better afford. It is not perfect, but also that is motivation to buy my own place.
* I am in the process of cutting some personal relationship ties that are very integrated with money. I think they've been holding me back for a long time, and I think I'll find myself in a much different place when they're fully gone. Either way, I've had a number of hard conversations this year, and I'm better for them.
* I have a new savings system that is actually working. Slowly and with not much money right now, but it's in place for the future.
* I had a very realistic conversation with a realtor this week about housing and mortgages in my area, and I feel like I have clearer, achievable goals now.
* I have a plan to go back to school in the summer to get a high school teaching license. Ugh, this is not what I want to do, but it is a hoop I need to jump through to get the kind of work I think I'll find fulfilling enough to support my real work (art) in a sustainable way. Again, I do not want to do this, but I guess I want to support myself long-term more.
I really appreciate everyone here who shares their stories to help people like me make our way through the muck of getting to a better place. It's really appreciated. Hope you all have a safe holiday.
After getting turned down by Wells Fargo for the new Attune card, specifically for 5/24 as the only rejection reason, I committed to gardening for an extended time. I actually managed to stick to that pledge and reached 1/6, 1/12. I can reach 0/6, 0/12, and 4/24 in Jan, then 3/24 in April.
However, my overall Team Cash Back strategy has been blown apart by the increasing success of my business, which will cause me to travel a lot more. I picked up a BBP this month, but it's a hidden tradeline so I am still technically in the garden as far as any other creditor can see. Chase and WF want nothing to do with me, Citi and C1 are chilly, USB is stingy, but Amex seems to have this insatiable desire for my business, so Amex is now my travel partner of choice and I'll be looking to accumulate MR in the future, and maybe a business Gold.
VS4: 703
