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THE ADULTFILES
Tool 05 · From FILE 005
What’s a file?
Every topic is a file: one real problem, checked against the sources, with the fix and a free tool.

Credit score simulator

What moves your score, and for how long. US + Canada. No sign-up.

CASE FILE · YOUR CREDIT

Where are you starting?

Pick a card to open your file →

You’ll see what moves your score, how long it lasts, and your next step.

What’s in the number

FICO’s five ingredients09
  • Payment history 35%
  • Amounts owed 30%
  • Length of credit history 15%
  • New credit 10%
  • Credit mix 10%

65% of the whole thing is two habits: pay on time, don’t use too much of your limit.

How long things last

ItemUSCanada
Late payment7 years (most negative information)18up to 6 years19
Hard inquirystays up to 2 years; FICO counts it for 1 year303 years Equifax / 6 years TransUnion19
High balanceuntil the next report29until the next report29
Paid collectiondisregarded by FICO Score 9 when paid in full32
Medical collections under $500removed from US credit reports33n/a
Credit freezedoesn’t affect your score at all31
Scam check: is that “credit repair” offer real?Three signs from the video
  1. 1. They want payment first. In the US it’s illegal for credit repair companies to charge you before they help you.26
  2. 2. They promise a score. Nobody can quickly and easily fix your credit score. Improving it takes time.27
  3. 3. They say “don’t contact the bureaus.” That’s a scammer’s line: you can always go to the credit bureaus yourself, for free.26

A stranger in your messages offering a “new credit identity”? A promise to create a new credit identity or hide your bad credit history is a scam.26

Sources (37)Every number in this tool, linked to where it comes from
  1. 01 CFPB: credit report vs credit score: Two different things; scores are calculated from your report
  2. 02 myFICO: building credit history: A FICO score needs an account open 6+ months, reporting for the last 6 months
  3. 03 Experian: your first credit score: A VantageScore can often show up within a month
  4. 04 Equifax Canada: unscoreable: Scoreable after about 3 months of credit reported to Equifax
  5. 05 Ontario Human Rights Commission: tenants: A lack of rental or credit history should not count against you
  6. 06 FTC: free credit reports: Free weekly reports from all three bureaus at AnnualCreditReport.com
  7. 07 FCAC: getting your credit report: Free online from Equifax and TransUnion
  8. 08 CFPB: checking your own credit: Checking your own credit doesn’t affect your scores
  9. 09 myFICO: what’s in your score: Payment history 35%, amounts owed 30%, length 15%, new credit 10%, mix 10%
  10. 10 Equifax Canada: how scores are calculated: Many scoring models; payment history ~35%, used vs available credit ~30%
  11. 11 FCAC: improving your credit score: Payment history is the most important part
  12. 12 Experian: 6 ways to establish credit: Authorized users, secured cards, credit-builder loans that report
  13. 13 Experian: being an authorized user may not be enough: An authorized user’s own payments don’t show up on their report
  14. 14 CFPB: ways to start or rebuild credit: Secured card ($500 example) and credit-builder loans
  15. 15 Experian: does renting build credit?: Fewer than 5% of tenants’ rent payments are reported
  16. 16 Equifax Canada: how to build credit: Rent reporting services; newcomer cards; a $300 secured card example
  17. 17 Experian: a one-day late payment: Under 30 days late isn’t reported to the bureaus
  18. 18 CFPB: removing accurate negative information: Most negative information stays 7 years; accurate info generally can’t be removed
  19. 19 FCAC: how long information stays: Late payments up to 6 years; inquiries 3 years Equifax / 6 years TransUnion
  20. 20 myFICO: how credit actions impact FICO Scores: Sophia and Maria: a simulated FICO Score 9 example
  21. 21 CFPB: how to rebuild your credit: Recent negative information counts more than older
  22. 22 FTC: disputing errors on your credit reports: Dispute with each bureau; 30 days to investigate
  23. 23 CFPB: how to dispute an error: Furnishers generally respond within 30 days; complain to the CFPB
  24. 24 Equifax Canada: dispute your report: Free online or by mail; about 15–20 days online
  25. 25 Experian: what is a goodwill letter?: A favor, not a right: creditors don’t have to agree
  26. 26 FTC: fixing your credit FAQs: Credit repair scams: paying first, “don’t contact the bureaus”, a new credit identity
  27. 27 FCAC: debt and credit repair alert: No one can quickly and easily fix your score
  28. 28 Ontario: credit reports: Credit repairers can’t charge until your credit improves; 10 days to cancel; the Registrar
  29. 29 Experian: credit utilization rate: Most scores only use the latest reported numbers
  30. 30 myFICO: do inquiries lower your score?: Hard inquiries stay up to 2 years, count for 1
  31. 31 CFPB: credit freeze: A freeze doesn’t affect your scores; it’s free
  32. 32 FICO: FICO Score 9 (Mar 8, 2016): Paid-in-full collections are disregarded
  33. 33 Equifax, Experian and TransUnion (Apr 11, 2023): Medical collections under $500 removed from US reports
  34. 34 TransUnion Canada: credit report disputes: Dispute online or by mail
  35. 35 Equifax (US): file a dispute: Online dispute page
  36. 36 Experian: dispute credit report information: Online dispute page
  37. 37 TransUnion (US): credit disputes: Online dispute page
How it works

The formula, in the open

Nobody outside FICO and VantageScore knows the exact formula, and we don’t pretend to. So the simulator never says “your score will be 712”. It shows direction (a stamp), relative weight (FICO’s published five ingredients) and time (how long each thing lasts in the US and Canada), plus FICO’s own published example.

The only real math is utilization. Your choices go in the link; nothing you type does. Letters are filled in on your device and never saved; they only leave it if you email one to yourself.

Direction
= a stamp: ↑ can rise fast · ↗ builds slowly · ↓ hurts, then fades · ✓ can be removed. Never a predicted score
Utilization
= statement balances ÷ credit limits (up to 3 cards)
Pay before the statement closes
= balance − 30% (or 10%) of the limit, rounded up to the dollar
First FICO score (US)
= the month your first account opened + 6 months (myFICO)
What’s in the number
= payment history 35% · amounts owed 30% · length 15% · new credit 10% · mix 10% (myFICO)
Letters
= plain templates filled in with your words, on your device
The file behind the toolFILE 005 · How do you build credit from zero?No score isn’t a bad score. It’s a blank one. Here’s how the number works, why you have more than one, what a good score is in the US and Canada, what one late payment costs, and how to build credit from nothing, the honest way. 27 min.Open the file
Sources for the math