So I tried to explain credit scores to my grandma last week and it went off the rails

I was visiting her in Tampa and she asked why I was checking my credit report. I said something about how a 750 score is pretty good, and she got this serious look and asked if that was out of 1000. I mean, I had to explain the whole 300-850 scale and she just kept nodding like she got it, but then she asked if she could pay someone to 'fix' her score like she fixes her dentures. Has anyone else had a family member just completely misunderstand how credit works?

4 comments

4 Comments

emery2902mo ago

Tried to explain credit utilization to my dad once. He thought it meant you should use all your credit to show you're good at spending money. Had to break it to him that maxing out his cards every month was the exact opposite of what he should do. He still brings up his "perfect spending record" like it's a point of pride. The denture thing is amazing, that's a whole new level of thinking it's a physical object you can adjust.

phoenix_lewis1mo ago

Start by showing him a simple example on paper, like if he has a $1,000 limit and spends $300, that's 30% and looks good to the score. Pull up a free credit simulator online and let him see what happens to the number when you plug in different spending amounts. Maybe even set a low balance alert on his phone so he gets a ping when he's hitting that 30% mark. It helped my buddy's dad a ton once he could actually watch the score move up and down like a gauge.

aaron7402mo ago

My uncle did the same thing with his credit line for years. @emery290, did your dad ever get his score to improve after he stopped maxing out the cards? It took my uncle almost two years to fix his credit because he was so sure he was helping it. That denture idea is wild, it really shows how people picture this stuff in their heads.

jordancarr2mo ago

Read an article once about how older folks often see credit as a physical thing they can fix, like @emery290's dad with his "perfect spending record". It makes sense if you grew up dealing with cash and actual ledgers, not these invisible numbers. The denture comparison just proves how hard it is to explain a system you can't touch.