ScottC wrote:
Why do you want a higher score? If you get a new job that pays $10 million a year and pay off all your debts your credit score goes down. Your ability to pay off debt is not a factor in your credit score. The truth is, a credit score is really an “I love debt score”. It tells the banks how profitable you have been to other lenders.
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I’ll know that we are succeeding with money when my FICO credit score is zero
Wow! Talk about an off base non sequitur with little basis in reality.
Your FICO score has nothing to do with how profitable you are to banks. The people who are most profitable are those who are teetering on the edge of BK, or who really need to declare BK and any honest economist would tell that person they should.
Your FICO score is all about your ability to pay off debt. The lower your score, the more of a credit risk you are. One can argue over whether certain aspects of FICO scoring are truly indicative of risk, but risk is the name of the game. Fair Isaac has been so successful because lenders know it is generally a good indicator of risk. The CRAs and the banking industry has been searching for it's own algorithms, and some are using alternatives. But the lionshare use FICO.
Most credit freaks have figured out the merits of scoring low APR, high CL, no annual fee CCs--through FCUs and other lenders. There are a number of folks with several hundred thousand dollars in available CL, no annual fees, no balance, and high FICOs.
You appear to have little grasp on FICO scoring if you think you're ever going to get "back" to a FICO score of zero, because it doesn't exist. Those with thin files might have too little info in their file to generate a score, but once you have a score you're unlikely to ever get back to the point where you have no score.
Yeah, I suppose if you did hit the lottery or otherwise score $10 million dollars, you could PIF your mortgage, your car, and have zero debt. But you'd be a daft fool. Any economist with half a brain cell would tell you to refi your house and get a rate down in the low 5's then invest your money. Paying 5 some odd percent interest on your home, but getting 12-18 percent return in the stock market or mutal funds makes sense. PIF your home does not.