Why you don’t need a perfect credit score

You know you need a high credit score to make your financial life easier. But if you’ve been striving for a perfect score — typically 850 — you need to know that it’s not worth it. Here’s why there’s really no need to hit that perfect three digit number.

A Perfect Storm

To reach 850, a lot of things need to happen… perfectly. You need a long and almost flawless credit history. You also need to have a long, blemish-free payment history, low total credit owed and a solid credit mix. And even if you do everything right, not everyone uses the same credit score model. As US News reports, while many lenders use FICO, others use VantageScore. Those models both weigh your credit factors differently, making a perfect score quite elusive.

Changing Looks

Trying to catch an 850 credit score is difficult because your score changes often. Most lenders report your payment info to all three credit bureaus, but some might only report to one, and some might report to two. So you might have an 850 with TransUnion, but not with Equifax. In other words, chasing an 850 is like chasing a single moment in time.

Lower is Fine

If working toward an 850 has you stressed out, consider something more attainable: 750 or higher. That number is good enough to get you the best credit card and loan offers. Can’t seem to reach 750? Use SavvyMoney, available free to Fortera members through online banking, to check your credit and find out how to improve it. Yes, 750 or higher isn’t perfect, but your financial life doesn’t need to be flawless. Anything 750 or above and you’ll be feeling great.

Article distributed in partnership with SavvyMoney with reporting by Chris O'Shea