So yes, this might just be a little rant for anyone that will listen. Just need to vent a bit...
A while back, I posted a thread outlining my confusion when my score climbed 3 points from 811 to 814 when I added a small balance to a 2nd credit card. I had always been under the impression that only one card should carry a balance. So i decided to do some testing... I let the second card go back to a $0 balance, and sure enough--my EQ FICO dropped back down to 811. Someone here suggested that the "rules" for FICO scoring may not always play true with high scores like this. So, I decided the next month to let the 2nd card report it's minimum balance again--about $39, same as before. I keep the primary card's balance the same all the time (~$1,200 or 3% of my total available credit). I don't pay interest on it, I pay off the old $1,200 each month, and then leave a new $1,200 worth of charges for the next cycle. The only reason I carry the balance is for scoring purposes.
So in month 3, with both cards reporting a balance, I fully expected to see the score back up to 814. Whatever works, right? Every little bit counts... wrong. Score dropped to 794. Grrr... I'm just over a month away from closing on my mortgage. While I'm sure this won't impact our eligibility, it's frustrating and embarrassing to see such a big drop, and not have time for it to recover before they pull my last report (which they did today).
With that in mind, I'd like to report the unpredictability of FICO scoring. 
DISCLAIMER: I know that some of you will feel inclined to "slam" me a bit for complaining when my scores are so high, and I get that. I'm not trying to be insensitive to those of you who are still working very hard at rebuilding. I've been there... I started with a 585 score about 8 years ago. These are just my personal frustrations related to my current scores.
