# šŸ’° Money Monday: Letā€™s Talk Credit Scores **URL:** \ **Category:** Money Matters\ **Tags:** tips-and-tricks, open-discussion\ **Created:** [January 26, 2026, 4:00pm UTC](https://neofinancial.discourse.group/t/money-monday-let-s-talk-credit-scores/3988 "2026-01-26T16:00:00Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 16\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![TiffD\_Neo](https://sea2.discourse-cdn.com/flex002/user_avatar/neofinancial.discourse.group/tiffd_neo/32/1313_2.png) [@TiffD\_Neo](https://neofinancial.discourse.group/u/TiffD_Neo)\ **Post date:** [January 26, 2026, 4:00pm UTC](https://neofinancial.discourse.group/t/money-monday-let-s-talk-credit-scores/3988/1 "2026-01-26T16:00:00Z")
Happy Monday everyone šŸ‘‹, Letā€™s talk credit scores šŸ«£; It feels like this mysterious number that controls way too much of our lives, right? Hereā€™s the thing - your score is made up of 5 factors, but the two that matter MOST are: > āˆ™ Paying on time (35% of your score) > āˆ™ How much credit youā€™re using (30% of your score) Everything else? It matters, but not nearly as much. Whatā€™s the biggest challenge you face when it comes to managing your credit? And if youā€™ve figured out a strategy that works for you - share it! Maybe you set up autopay? Use calendar reminders? Have a system for tracking your spending? Drop your challenges AND your strategies below šŸ‘‡ ---
**Author:** ![Sterls-zee1](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/90ced4/32.png) [@Sterls-zee1](https://neofinancial.discourse.group/u/Sterls-zee1)\ **Post date:** [January 26, 2026, 4:13pm UTC](https://neofinancial.discourse.group/t/money-monday-let-s-talk-credit-scores/3988/2 "2026-01-26T16:13:54Z")
For me, the hardest part has been how much credit Iā€™m using. I didnā€™t realize how big of an impact it had until it had already affected my score šŸ˜… Now Iā€™m more intentional about keeping my balance below 30%, but Iā€™m curious now. how long does it usually take before your score starts improving once you do that? ---
**Author:** ![Matcha12](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/c37758/32.png) [@Matcha12](https://neofinancial.discourse.group/u/Matcha12)\ **Post date:** [January 26, 2026, 4:33pm UTC](https://neofinancial.discourse.group/t/money-monday-let-s-talk-credit-scores/3988/3 "2026-01-26T16:33:00Z")
Setting up direct payments for most of my bills has been a game changer and a huge stress reliever. I only use my credit card, I donā€™t even know where my physical debit card is lol. I set a weekly spending amount for myself and then make one big credit card payment at the end of each month. ---
**Author:** ![Odayakan](https://sea2.discourse-cdn.com/flex002/user_avatar/neofinancial.discourse.group/odayakan/32/1620_2.png) [@Odayakan](https://neofinancial.discourse.group/u/Odayakan)\ **Post date:** [January 26, 2026, 6:07pm UTC](https://neofinancial.discourse.group/t/money-monday-let-s-talk-credit-scores/3988/4 "2026-01-26T18:07:12Z")
Credit utilization was the hardest concept for me to grasp. Once I focused on when balances are reported and not just paying in full - things finally clicked ---
**Author:** ![tristianomalley1](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/e19adc/32.png) [@tristianomalley1](https://neofinancial.discourse.group/u/tristianomalley1)\ **Post date:** [January 26, 2026, 8:42pm UTC](https://neofinancial.discourse.group/t/money-monday-let-s-talk-credit-scores/3988/5 "2026-01-26T20:42:19Z")
The hardest part is having debt in a bunch of different places, and never knowing where anything is at. Would be nice to be able to have all my debt in one place! ---
**Author:** ![PhilJ1](https://sea2.discourse-cdn.com/flex002/user_avatar/neofinancial.discourse.group/philj1/32/1495_2.png) [@PhilJ1](https://neofinancial.discourse.group/u/PhilJ1)\ **Post date:** [January 27, 2026, 12:48am UTC](https://neofinancial.discourse.group/t/money-monday-let-s-talk-credit-scores/3988/6 "2026-01-27T00:48:52Z")
If you made payments that reduced one of your account balances and your overall credit utilization, that should reflect on your credit score the next time that credit provider reports to the credit bureaus. Some creditors do it at the start of end of each month and others do it when issuing the monthly statements. So depending on when you make your payment, you should see the updated balance in your credit reports which would then reflect in your scores within 5 weeks or less. ---
**Author:** ![jla739](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/e9c0ed/32.png) [@jla739](https://neofinancial.discourse.group/u/jla739)\ **Post date:** [January 27, 2026, 3:20am UTC](https://neofinancial.discourse.group/t/money-monday-let-s-talk-credit-scores/3988/7 "2026-01-27T03:20:17Z")
I had no idea that how much credit you use affects your score! I generally use auto payments for most things to be sure to pay on time. Thatā€™s been huge in building credit for me. ---
**Author:** ![TiffD\_Neo](https://sea2.discourse-cdn.com/flex002/user_avatar/neofinancial.discourse.group/tiffd_neo/32/1313_2.png) [@TiffD\_Neo](https://neofinancial.discourse.group/u/TiffD_Neo)\ **Post date:** [January 27, 2026, 4:39pm UTC](https://neofinancial.discourse.group/t/money-monday-let-s-talk-credit-scores/3988/8 "2026-01-27T16:39:34Z")
@jla739 Welcome to the Neo community. Glad to have you here šŸ˜„ Happy to hear you learned something valuable. We have more content coming on understanding credit, and we hope youā€™ll find it insightful. ---
**Author:** ![Mannymayor](https://sea2.discourse-cdn.com/flex002/user_avatar/neofinancial.discourse.group/mannymayor/32/1745_2.png) [@Mannymayor](https://neofinancial.discourse.group/u/Mannymayor)\ **Post date:** [February 5, 2026, 3:56am UTC](https://neofinancial.discourse.group/t/money-monday-let-s-talk-credit-scores/3988/9 "2026-02-05T03:56:30Z")
What WASNā€™T working: Thoughtless spending. Those coffees you could make at home, but donā€™t. The lunches or snacks you grab on a work break that you donā€™t really need, but get anyway causeā€¦itā€™s 2pmā€¦you deserve a little boost. All of that adds up. And before you know it, youā€™ve spent $$ but with nothing to show for it. Whatā€™s WORKED for me: 1ļøāƒ£ Monthly check-in with our budget (be honest, or it doesnā€™t work) 2ļøāƒ£ Modify your spendingā€”you can still have that 2pm treat or coffee outsideā€¦but if itā€™s daily, make it a goal of only 2 times a week? Then adjust as needed. 3ļøāƒ£ 24hr rule: Give it 24hrs on purchases that arenā€™t budgeted. If youā€™re not thinking about it after 24hrs, you prob didnā€™t really need it. 4ļøāƒ£ Use cashā€”it makes you feel the spending differently. 5ļøāƒ£ Rinse + Repeat ---
**Author:** ![Yeni-Neo](https://sea2.discourse-cdn.com/flex002/user_avatar/neofinancial.discourse.group/yeni-neo/32/2246_2.png) [@Yeni-Neo](https://neofinancial.discourse.group/u/Yeni-Neo)\ **Post date:** [February 5, 2026, 10:59pm UTC](https://neofinancial.discourse.group/t/money-monday-let-s-talk-credit-scores/3988/10 "2026-02-05T22:59:52Z")
![a man in a suit and tie is giving a thank you sign .](https://us1.discourse-cdn.com/flex002/uploads/neofinancial/original/2X/d/d30c088112385cff170a5fb7195db9c5988dfae9.gif) ---
**Author:** ![martin.ck.canada](https://sea2.discourse-cdn.com/flex002/user_avatar/neofinancial.discourse.group/martin.ck.canada/32/2277_2.png) [@martin.ck.canada](https://neofinancial.discourse.group/u/martin.ck.canada)\ **Post date:** [June 23, 2026, 4:06pm UTC](https://neofinancial.discourse.group/t/money-monday-let-s-talk-credit-scores/3988/11 "2026-06-23T16:06:44Z")
Can Neo consider Credit score from other countries? As a new comer, my credit score really so low and only get limited credit limit around CAD10k. And my home country TU-Hong Kong gives me high score and banks there still offering new credit facilities at 2%p.a. Is it possible for Neo to consider my TU-Canada report and TU-Hong Kong as well? ---
**Author:** ![PhilJ1](https://sea2.discourse-cdn.com/flex002/user_avatar/neofinancial.discourse.group/philj1/32/1495_2.png) [@PhilJ1](https://neofinancial.discourse.group/u/PhilJ1)\ **Post date:** [June 24, 2026, 2:02am UTC](https://neofinancial.discourse.group/t/money-monday-let-s-talk-credit-scores/3988/12 "2026-06-24T02:02:17Z")
> [@martin.ck.canada](#): > > only get limited credit limit around CAD10k I think thatā€™s the highest limit Neo offers on **new** accounts even for those with a long history of great credit. ---
**Author:** ![matthewwang](https://sea2.discourse-cdn.com/flex002/user_avatar/neofinancial.discourse.group/matthewwang/32/796_2.png) [@matthewwang](https://neofinancial.discourse.group/u/matthewwang)\ **Post date:** [June 25, 2026, 2:49am UTC](https://neofinancial.discourse.group/t/money-monday-let-s-talk-credit-scores/3988/13 "2026-06-25T02:49:22Z")
I often over-utilize my credit cards so I try to bring the balance down before the statement closes by paying off a portion mid-statement so it reports healthy utilization to the credit bureaus. ---
**Author:** ![Mattbrennan](https://sea2.discourse-cdn.com/flex002/user_avatar/neofinancial.discourse.group/mattbrennan/32/1825_2.png) [@Mattbrennan](https://neofinancial.discourse.group/u/Mattbrennan)\ **Post date:** [June 26, 2026, 8:54pm UTC](https://neofinancial.discourse.group/t/money-monday-let-s-talk-credit-scores/3988/14 "2026-06-26T20:54:20Z")
I do have a second credit no fee card with quite a large limit - from my understanding credit utilization goes across all credit types. Since I dont actively use this card it gives me a large, total limit while allowing me freedom to maximize my NEO card without worrying about my credit utilization. ---
**Author:** ![Mattbrennan](https://sea2.discourse-cdn.com/flex002/user_avatar/neofinancial.discourse.group/mattbrennan/32/1825_2.png) [@Mattbrennan](https://neofinancial.discourse.group/u/Mattbrennan)\ **Post date:** [June 26, 2026, 8:56pm UTC](https://neofinancial.discourse.group/t/money-monday-let-s-talk-credit-scores/3988/15 "2026-06-26T20:56:21Z")
What does it take to get a larger credit limit on my NEO World Elite? I have submitted for it multiple times and got denied. I have a great credit score. ---
**Author:** ![matthewwang](https://sea2.discourse-cdn.com/flex002/user_avatar/neofinancial.discourse.group/matthewwang/32/796_2.png) [@matthewwang](https://neofinancial.discourse.group/u/matthewwang)\ **Post date:** [June 28, 2026, 6:45pm UTC](https://neofinancial.discourse.group/t/money-monday-let-s-talk-credit-scores/3988/16 "2026-06-28T18:45:29Z")
Neo also evaluates your chequing accountā€™s cash flow patterns such as deposits and withdrawals so maybe that could be why. Or you might not have sufficient income coming in. There are a multitude of reasons why you could be declined for a credit limit increase despite having an excellent credit score.