My FICO score this year reached 706 (main one) and some scores on Credit Karma went up to 747! I was pre approved for a small mortgage on my own as a female small business owner and was able to lease a new car for Christmas. I did the math and it works out the same to own or lease for us the way we were doing it, so why not drive a new car? I obtained Chase MC with my husband with 2200cl, Capital one on my own with 3000cl, Discover on my own with 1000cl. I had to pay extra taxes for 2013 and now have a long discharged student loan back from 1983. Didn't know that could happen! It's been a year full of ups and downs and my credit went down to 685 after too many inquiries and paying balances to zero fastidiously. I think it's going to bump up again soon and thank this forum for leading me here!
Looking forward to 2016 and signing up for that challenge. Biggest lesson I learned this year is that using credit cards is mostly to get cash back. Never carry a balance longer than you have to. My Discover card started as 500cl was doubled after they saw within a few months I wouldn't max it out and paid it in full within days of using it. I got back a couple hundred dollars in cash back this way this year!! It was like winning a prize. I used whichever card would pay back the most instead of using a debit card. As soon as the balance showed up, I paid it from the account that I would have used to begin with. I can't remember my exact starting point but think it was low 600's. I would never have imagined I could come this far this fast. Thank you and Happy New Year to everyone! May your FICO score numbers soar!
Starting Score: 500
Starting Score: 544