Illustrative FICO Scorecard · NuLeaf Credit Academy

Illustrative FICO Scorecard

Hey everyone 👋🏼 this is a chart i got directly from FICO employees over at CreditCon last year and i wanted to share it EXCLUSIVELY on NuLeaf Academy.

I love this chart because it demystifies a HUGE credit myth that’s often talked about in the community.

Look under the “Outstanding Debt” section.

You’ll often see credit “gurus” talk about you have to keep your utilization under 30%

Although TECHNICALLY they are correct, there is a better % that you can use to optimize for a higher score and that’s to have your utilization between a 1-5%

Now you might be wondering why is 1% better than 0% ?

Doesn’t debt make you a higher risk regardless.

Well FICO is an algorithm that uses data to determine how likely you are to default on debt within the next 24 months, and having 0% doesn’t show them ANY data so they have nothing to work with.

1-5% utilization actually gives them enough data to make a calculation but the levels of debt aren’t high enough where you get dinged for being a risk.

Any questions ? Drop them below fam 👇🏽

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