TIL my friend thought a 30% credit card balance was 'good' for his score

We were talking about buying a new TV and he said he keeps his card at about $1,500 out of a $5,000 limit on purpose. He thought using a lot of his available credit showed he was a 'good customer'. I had to explain that using more than 30% of your limit can actually hurt your score, and under 10% is the real sweet spot. I showed him my own score jump 40 points last year just by paying my cards down before the statement date. Has anyone else had to gently correct a friend on a basic credit rule like this?

4 comments

4 Comments

davidkim2mo ago

I believed the same thing until my score tanked.

pat7812mo ago

That's a tough break, but it doesn't mean the method is wrong for everyone. Sometimes a score drop is just a temporary glitch or bad luck. Have you looked at what specifically changed before the tank happened?

beth2762mo ago

Actually found that tracking daily practice questions helped spot patterns before big drops.

robert6591mo ago

lol @davidkim I feel that in my soul. One time I tracked my practice scores for two weeks straight and the only pattern I spotted was that I apparently do worse after eating Chipotle. Real scientific breakthrough there, right? Like cool I found out I shouldn't eat a burrito before a mock exam but that doesn't exactly help me with the actual material lmao. But hey at least we're consistent with our bad luck patterns right david?