The highest possible credit score is 850. But apparently, no one ever gets that score. Tom Pavelka of Westlake, Ohio, recently was congratulated by a credit bureaus for having a credit score of 848, which "ranks higher than 100 percent of U.S. consumers." How did he do it?
He has a few simple rules:
1. Never charge something without having something to show for it.
2. Never spend money without knowing when you can repay it.
3. Pay your bills on time.
You might think you have to have no debt to have a really high credit score, but that's not true. Credit scores are formed in part based on your payment history. If you never have debt, you have no track record for repaying it.
In fact, the Pavelkas have a mortgage (with four years left,) an equity line that he usually uses to buy cars and then pays off, four credit cards with amounts due this month (they pay the bills in full each month) and a total of eight credit cards with available credit exceeding $120,000.
But here's what might be the biggest factor in building such a reputation for financial responsibility: the Pavelkas have no children. Link -via Consumerist
(Image credit: Gus Chan/The Plain Dealer)