[JackFr]

> For a period I had no FICO score, yet I was able to secure a loan from a Credit Union.

The credit union was content to use its own capital and hold your loan to maturity on its books. (I'm presuming you were probably a banking customer of the credit union, though I realize not necessarily.)

Non-credit union lenders though most often want to either sell your loan to investors or pledge it as collateral to borrow money for themselves, and for that they need a FICO.

> The score from what I have gathered when I learn really rewards those who remain in debt and pay substantial interest, not the frugal and financially stable (check to check is not financially stable). Basically encouraging to keep self in debt just at the edge of financial disaster's precipice.

That's not really true. Using a credit card for most of your expenses and paying it off in full every month is actually a great boost to your credit score. It's both an indication that you live within your means and you honor your agreements.

[officeplant]

Meanwhile paying down my debt faster than I'm supposed to often leads to my score dropping a few points. I've also lost dozens of points for closing rarely used accounts to reduce my financial attack surface. It's all bullshit. I was in the mid 700's while struggling my ass off with debt only to drop into the high 600's for cleaning up my debt habits.

[ensignavenger]

Revolving accounts like credit cards using them each month and then paying them off is good for your score, fixed accounts like mortgages, car loans, etc, when you pay them down/off, the amount of credit you have drops with the balance, and once it is paid off the account is closed, so it actually drops your score. If you don't use a credit card (and increasingly for me, if I don't use a card enough) the issuer will likely close the account or reduce your available credit, which will reduce your credit score...

So yeah, it is a pain in the rear to maintain a very high credit score.