For the first time ever, all three of my FICO 8 scores are 740+. That was my original goal when I first started the Fitness Challenge. 
(I have since moved the goal to 780.)
Equifax updated today. I know it says based on data as of 05/05/2021, but I know I checked yesterday, 05/06, and it was still at 738. (So Equifax may have updated the score on 05/05, but MyFICO didn't get the memo until 05/07. And I did not get an email notification, which is weird, because I usually get notifications.)
Starting Score: EQ8 680, TU8 713, EX8 701
Happy May Everyone!!
Still working hard on credit goals which include paying bills on time and paying off CC's. I've tried to monitor my spending and use cash/debit card more for purchases, if possible! Trying to save money while doing this feels challenging and stressful. However, each month I've been committed to paying off or paying down something. My credit score is still low which is confusing considering I have paid on time for at least 4+ years.
I'm looking forward to having my CU as close to zero as possible and these check in's help me stay focused on that goal.
Have a great Month!
May has been a super weird month for me. I'm making progress to tackle this student loan but at the same time I'm extremely discouraged. I think when the debt is so big and you can only make small progresses it bothers you. The lack of instant gratification sucks. I look forward to the September when I plan to do another lump sum payment and make a bigger impact. But anyway I'm still plugging along. I did decide to take my loan out of the administrative forebearance. I'm making the payments anyway and I still can take advantage of the 0%. This way I don't have to manually pay each month. I was curious to see what my loans would look like back in active status. It appears they pushed my due date to 5/14/2022 due to the payments I have made during the Covid forebearance. I was initially disappointed to not see the length decrease instead. But, I will take that as a positive sign that if something terrible were to happen I have a bit of a safety net.
I hope everyone is making positive strides this month on your goals, no matter how big or small. Just remember, even if you get off track, it will definitely pass and you can always push on!
Super late for my May check-in! No score changes but a lot has happened in the last month and a half...
- After living at home for 14 months during Covid (and paying a TON of debt off + saving), I finally got my own apartment again. 
I will miss the extra money that was helping me super-speed my financial goals along but my mental health will benefit greatly from this. And my credit score was good enough to get approved for my apartment + utilities. 
They interestingly looked at my FICO 2s.
- Last update, I had just gotten a CLI from Disco and had just done (was about to do?) my second balance transfer. That is almost paid off! And since then I have gotten yet another couple balance transfer offers from Disco and one from Citi.
- My Amex (my last card to battle down!) had significantly gone down recently and they even surprised me with a CLI up to $29,700! But then some health expenses + my move = card moving it's way back up to 64%. Last month I moved my due dates around so that I could take better advantage of BT's and time them around reporting dates... Very glad I did that this month. With all of my other cards paid off or significantly lowered (and paid for this cycle), I am putting the bulk of my paycheck tomorrow (that doesn't go into savings) immediately towards my Amex, then do both a BT to Discover and a BT to Citi after each report $0 this month, so my Amex should be able to report as 21%, and I'll work on paying down Disco & Citi out of my next couple paychecks.
- As my debt feels in a more manageable place and I have just committed to new monthly expenses, I have changed my auto deposit of my paycheck to send 40% straight into my savings and the other 60% into my checking. While I had to take some money out of savings for my apartment deposit, my intent is to build up a min. 6 months of expenses in my savings. I'm currently at about 2 months.
- Raised my Banana Republic VS limit to $10k
- Got a 0% promotional APR from Disco for 12 months
- Got a 1% reduction in APR from Amex for 12 months (new purchases)
- Getting hopeful for AZEO before the end of the year.
This month is a test of the good financial habits I rebuilt and reinforced over the past year. Must maintain!