The window AC in my studio was rattling on its lowest setting when I checked my bank app on Tuesday morning. My score had moved again: 765. A year and a half ago, when I started this blog, it was 668. I didn't even feel like celebrating. I felt like making a list, which for me is basically the same thing.
This spring was the first real test of my credit since I started fixing it. I applied for an apartment, set up a car insurance policy in my own name and opened accounts for electric and internet. Here's what happened to the number along the way.
The score since spring
These are from the same free score in my bank app, checked around the middle of each month:
- April: 752, right before I applied for the studio.
- May: 747, after the tenant screening.
- June: 750, the month I moved in.
- July: 758.
- August: 762.
- Early September: 765.
So, one small dip, and then a steady climb. Your number might move differently even if you do the same things. Scores come from several models, and each lender or app may show a different one. I just watch one model and pay attention to the direction.
The dip, and why one inquiry barely mattered
When I applied for the studio in April, the screening showed up on one of my credit reports as a hard inquiry. A hard inquiry happens when a lender or landlord checks your credit because you applied for something. It can knock a few points off, usually less than ten, and it only affects most scores for about twelve months. It falls off your report entirely after two years.
My score dropped five points, from 752 to 747. That was the entire cost of the screening on my credit. I was approved, signed the lease in April and moved in on June 1. By June I was back to 750.
The reason it barely mattered is that it was the only one. I hadn't applied for anything else in more than two years. Several inquiries in a short window, especially for new credit cards, can look like someone scrambling for money. One inquiry for a place to live looks like what it is.
I was worried about the car insurance quotes. I got four, ranging from $131 to $198 a month, and went with the $131 policy starting in June. All four insurers checked my credit in some form, but those were soft checks. Soft checks don't affect your score, and only you can see them on your report.
The electric and internet accounts didn't show up as hard inquiries either. Some utilities check credit to decide on a deposit, so it's worth asking, but neither of mine did anything I could see on my score.
What moved it up
Once the inquiry dip passed, the climb came from things that were already in motion:
Payment history. Every bill has been on autopay since last November, and my last late payment was November 2023. That one is nearly three years old now, which means it weighs less than it used to. Every on-time month makes it a smaller part of the story.
Lower loan balances. My student loans were $24,600 when I started this blog. They were $9,740 at the end of May and keep dropping at $550 a month. Installment loan balances matter less than card balances, but paying them down still helps a little.
Account age. My oldest card turned seven this year. I kept it open after I paid it off for exactly this reason, and it quietly keeps aging in the background.
Low utilization. My cards report close to $0 every month. I pay the full statement balance automatically, and I don't carry anything over. This didn't change this year, and that's the point. It's not something I want to change.
At 765, I'm in a range where most lenders treat you well. I'm not going to chase 800 by opening cards I don't need or by "optimizing" anything. My next big credit event will probably be a car loan, someday, when the Corolla finally gives up at whatever mileage it decides. It's at about 130,000 now. Until then, my plan is the same plan: pay everything on time, keep balances low, don't apply for things I don't need.
I told my dad the new number over the phone. He said, "That's higher than mine," and then admitted he hadn't checked his in two years. I sent him the instructions for pulling his free reports. He said he'd print them out, of course.
