If you’re like me, the average American middle-aged (ugh) working folk, you tend to check your credit score occasionally, unless there is some reason for you to check it more frequently.  I’ve worked really hard over the past 25 years or so to keep mine as high as possible, and during the last ten years or so, I’ve rarely (if ever) carried a balance on any credit account other than a mortgage or secured loan, say for a car.  My score is pretty high as a result, running in the “excellent” category on FICO for quite a long time now.  I feel pretty good about that, although I also know absolutely and truly that some of their logarithms are junk science.   They have to be.

I checked it today, for instance, and the reason it’s dropped a few points over the past month was described by this photo.  What is insanely funny about this is that the last time I opened *any* account was nearly four years ago – for a boat that is paid off now.  Other than that, I haven’t opened a new account, other than a mortgage, in over 11 years.  ELEVEN YEARS.  Let that sink in.

With this statement on my credit score, one would venture a guess that I’m one of those folks who opens credit cards at every discount store, just to get the bigger discount.  They offer; I turn them down, as I get too many useable points on my AmEx card to use just about anything else, unless the place I’m shopping just doesn’t take AmEx.  I tend to avoid those places, in general, anyway, since the points and my paying the balance in full every single month is why I have the card in the first place.  Plus, I hate carrying cash.

The other funny thing about this is that this same exact statement has been appearing on my FICO and other similar credit scores for as long as I can remember.  It’s like bad luggage or the chicken pox virus – it never goes away.  Based on this statement from my BFFs at FICO, I assume someone has to be 100+ years old and have established their last credit account in the 1940s to qualify for a better score.  I mean, if 11 years isn’t good enough, then how long does one really have to wait? 20?  25?  67?  It’s like they just have to find an excuse, any excuse, to make sure your score is lower than you believe it should be, and than all of your paying-off, not-charging over, low debt-to-income-ratio should prove otherwise.

I guess I’ll have to wait until I’m 100 to see.  By then, I probably won’t want to buy anything at all, and I am pretty sure that FICO will then tell me this:

3) Credit scores are affected greatly by the age of the person.  Your score is lower than it could be normally because you are so old.  No creditor in its right mind would take a risk of giving you a loan because you’ll die of old age before you pay it off, and your relatives will just forgo probate to avoid paying the bill.  By then, you won’t own a house as you’ll be in assisted living or a nursing home, you won’t be able to drive, and we’ll just give up collecting because you won’t have any assets.  Also, you won’t care then about FICO because you won’t even remember what a credit score is, although at that point you’ll be a smooth 900 in our “Most Excellent and Exalted” category.  Have a great day!

Although I’m not really worried about my score, since it’s still “excellent,” I do wonder what it truly does take to ever get that statement to go away.  

And, just in case you’re wondering what (1) was on their reasoning for my score, I used my AmEx to book four cruise cabins for my parents, sisters, me, and our families to celebrate my parents’ 50th wedding anniversary trip this summer.  I did the booking and got reimbursed by the others.  It was easier that way, as I’m the travel guru, according to them at least, plus I got the points on my AmEx.  Win-Win.

And yes, come February 1, it will all be paid off, just like it has been every single month for the past 11 years.  Take that FICO!