How I Earned Perfect Credit Scores — and How Married Couples Can Too

If you have ever tracked your credit closely, you know how rare that number is. I had earned a perfect score before, lost it, and now earned it again. My FICO® Score landed at a perfect 850. Fast forward to November of 2025 and I noticed I did it again.

Here is the important part. Getting there was not about (many) clever hacks, secret formulas, or financial wizardry. It was about boring consistency, clear roles, and my wife and I managing money like teammates instead of assuming things would “just work.”

That is the lesson most married couples miss.

What a Credit Score Really Measures

A credit score is not a measure of income, intelligence, or morality. It is a prediction tool. Lenders use it to estimate how likely you are to pay a loan back on time based on past behavior.

When you are married, this matters more than people realize. You do not share one combined credit score. Each spouse has their own. Even if you file taxes jointly and share bank accounts, your credit histories remain separate unless you apply for credit together.

And when you apply for a mortgage jointly, lenders typically use the lower of the two applicants' middle credit scores from each borrower, which means that both your credit scores are important. 

The good news is that credit scores are remarkably predictable. Roughly 90 percent of your score is driven by just two things: whether you pay on time and how much of your available credit you use.

Everything else is secondary.

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The Five Rules That Actually Matter

After years of teaching personal finance and applying the lessons to our own lives, I can boil earning excellent — and even perfect — credit down to five rules.

1. Pay every bill on time, no exceptions.

Payment history is the single most important factor in your credit score. One missed payment can undo years of progress. Most late payments do not happen because couples lack money. They happen because responsibility is unclear. One person assumes the other is handling it. Auto-pay fails during a bank switch. Emails look like spam and get ignored.

Late payments are rarely about math. They are about communication.

2. Use credit, but barely.

Credit utilization simply means how much of your available credit you are using. Lower is always better. You may hear advice to keep utilization under 30 percent. That is like saying you will be healthy if you only eat two donuts instead of five.

If you want elite credit, aim for single digits or lower. Paying balances down frequently, not just once a month, keeps utilization low and scores high.

3. Keep old accounts open.

Length of credit history matters. Closing an old credit card can lower your score by shortening your average account age and increasing utilization. Even cards you no longer “need” serve a purpose.

A simple fix is to put a small recurring charge on older cards and pay it off automatically. That keeps the account active without changing spending habits.

4. Be intentional about opening new accounts.

New credit temporarily lowers your score. Hard inquiries and new accounts signal risk to lenders, even when you manage credit well. For couples, this creates an opportunity.

When possible, alternate whose name new accounts are opened under. That allows one partner’s credit to rest while the other absorbs the short-term dip.

5. Let time do the heavy lifting.

There is no shortcut to a perfect score. Credit rewards patience. Years of on-time payments and low balances compound quietly. Obsessing over every point matters far less than building systems that work during busy seasons of life.

How Couples Accidentally Sabotage Great Credit

The biggest threat to strong credit is not ignorance. It is transition.

Job changes. Moves. New kids. Switching banks. Refinancing loans. These moments break routines. That is exactly how I once lost a perfect score. An auto-payment failed during a bank change, and both my wife and I assumed it had been handled.

It had not.

Credit damage often happens not because couples are irresponsible, but because they are overwhelmed.

Communication and Credit Scores

Consider two communication approaches with one simple goal: clarity. The first is to establish a short weekly check-in. Fifteen minutes. No spreadsheets. No lectures.

Review upcoming payments, scan balances, and flag any changes to accounts. That habit has done more to protect our credit than any trick I ever taught in a classroom.

The second is to ensure that one of you owns all of the personal finance responsibilities, including credit management. Either way, regular money dates are vital. 

One Clever Hack to Obtain a Perfect Credit Score

Pay your credit card balances in full. Each day. Doing so ensures that your credit utilization rate remains near 0%. 

Professional Support

I am an Accredited Financial Counselor® who works with individuals and couples who want to strengthen their financial systems, including building and protecting excellent credit.

If you want help creating clear roles, routines, and guardrails that work in real life, you can contact me to set up a free 15-minute exploratory call.