Why I'll Probably Never Have Perfect Credit Again -- and That's OK

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KEY POINTS

  • In my 20s, I managed to have a perfect credit score.
  • I don't see that happening again due to changes in my spending habits, but that's also not a problem.

It's a really hard thing to get -- and not worth the effort to pursue.

When I applied for my first apartment during my 20s, I was shocked -- in a good way -- to learn that I actually had perfect credit (or so said the management company representative who processed and approved my application). These days, however, my credit score isn't perfect, and it may never be perfect again. And frankly, I don't care.

How I got perfect credit

Back when my credit score was a perfect 850, I had a few things going for me. First, I'd had bills in my name for several years that I'd never once been late paying. I also hadn't applied for any new credit cards in a long time, and I always paid off my (relatively low) credit card balances in full. The latter move helped keep my credit utilization ratio nice and low.

Plus, of the two credit cards I did have, one was my parents' card that I was an authorized user on. To be clear, I didn't make charges on that card -- I was added to my parents' account for emergency purposes only. But since their account had been open for many years, that helped give me a longer credit history.

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All of that combined led me to have a perfect credit score. But things are different now.

Different spending leads to credit score fluctuations

These days, I have really good credit. My score tends to hover around the low 800s to the 820s, which any lender is apt to look at favorably. But I no longer have that 850, and for a few reasons.

First, I have some recent hard inquiries on my credit report due to having applied for new credit cards. Each of those took my credit score down by about five to 10 points.

I also tend to charge more on my credit cards now than I did back in my 20s. That's because I have more expenses these days. And while I make a point to pay off my credit cards each month to avoid interest charges, for that brief period of time until my bills are paid, my credit utilization ratio tends to swing upward a notch (not to the point where it hurts my credit, but enough that it stops me from having perfect credit).

It's not a big deal

While it was cool to learn years back that my credit score was perfect, it doesn't bother me that it's no longer the case. First of all, perfect credit is really hard to get. Something as innocent as applying to refinance a mortgage will effectively make it so your credit score can't be perfect for many months due to the hard inquiry on your credit report. But in some cases, refinancing a home loan can be a smart decision, and one that's not worth putting off to avoid a tiny credit score hit.

Also, no matter what type of loan or credit card you're applying for, once your credit score is in the 800s, it's apt to be looked at favorably. And so if my credit score right now is an 812, guess what? I don't need it to be any higher. I'm unlikely to have a different borrowing experience with an 812 versus an 832 versus an 850.

This isn't to say that I don't like to keep tabs on my credit score. But I've given up on having perfect credit, and I'm totally at peace with that.

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