CREDIT STRENGTH SERIES

Nearly 90% of Americans say schools never taught them about credit—but your credit score directly impacts your housing, the car you drive, and even your job opportunities. Knowing how to build and manage credit isn’t just helpful—it’s essential.

As a coach, I’ve spent an absurd amount of time talking about non-lifting topics during long, grueling training sessions. While athletes trained, those long hours created space for conversations about all kinds of things—including credit.

Decades ago, I started to notice something: most young athletes—and a surprising number of adults—didn’t have a solid understanding of how credit works. They’d never been taught what it is, how it affects them, or how to build it. I quickly realized I wasn’t just coaching lifts—I had to coach life too.

So I started explaining the inner workings of credit, step by step. Because building credit takes time—and the sooner you start, the better off you’ll be.

My Story

When I was young, no one explained anything to me about credit.

I loved working on old cars but only had a few tools. To fix most things, I’d borrow from my neighbor—if he was around. My friend Paul, who used to come over and help, eventually got tired of always borrowing and not having the right tools when we needed them. He said he wanted a set of his own. I was slowly building my set, one tool at a time, as my desire (mostly budget) allowed—but tools were expensive. Then one day, Paul showed up with a beautiful new Craftsman set from Sears.

When I asked how he got them, he pulled out his brand-new Sears credit card. “They gave me a $300 limit,” he said. “I just bought the tools and now I make monthly payments.”

I was in shock. And excited—we got so much done that day.

Still pumped, the next day I rode my bike to Sears to apply.
I got denied. Why? How did Paul do it?

When I told a few people about Paul and his new Sears card, they all gave me the same advice: “Oh, Sears is a hard card to get. You should start with May Company first.”
“But I don’t want to buy clothes,” I replied. “They don’t sell tools.”
“Doesn’t matter,” they said. “Just get one, make a few payments, and then try Sears again.”

I thought it sucked, but I followed their advice.
The next week, I applied for May Company—a supposedly easy one to get.
Denied—again.

A few months later, I was having Thanksgiving dinner at my uncle’s house and told him the story. He looked at me and asked,
“Do you understand how the credit game is played?”
Game? “Nope.”
He walked over to his bookcase, pulled out a copy of The Art of War by Sun Tzu, and handed it to me.
“To succeed in anything, you must know your enemy,” he said.
Huh? What is he talking about?
“Get the book. Read it. Then figure out how you can learn the credit game.”

I got the book but didn’t get very far—it didn’t grab me at the time. (Years later, I read it cover to cover, and it was eye-opening. Highly recommend it.) Instead, I started digging into everything I could find about credit.

That journey led me into a career I never expected. I became an F&I (Finance & Insurance) Manager, then Finance Director, at a prestigious, high-volume car dealership, and later went on to own and operate my own mortgage brokerage, with two offices and dozens of loan officers working for me.

My fascination with credit scoring—and how to leverage it—has been one of the most valuable things I’ve ever learned.

Understanding Credit – What is it?

When people talk about credit, they’re usually talking about a credit score. And really, a credit score is just a risk score. The higher it is, the safer you look to loan money to. It’s a trust meter—simple as that.

The standard used across America is the FICO score—short for Fair Isaac Corporation. It was developed back in the 1950s by an engineer and a mathematician who wanted to help banks figure out who was likely to pay them back. And it’s been quietly shaping lives ever since.

There are a few other scoring models out there (VantageScore, etc), but FICO’s the king. Period.

Bottom line: a high FICO score makes life easier—and cheaper—in more ways than you think.

The 3 Amigos: Equifax, Experian and TransUnion

What Exactly Is a Credit Bureau?

In simple terms, a credit bureau is a data company that tracks your financial behavior. They collect info from banks, credit card companies, lenders, and even landlords or utility companies.

But it doesn’t stop there.
They also pull public records—mainly financial ones. Stuff like lawsuits, wage garnishments, or even evictions can show up on your credit report.

Then, they compile that info into your credit file, which is used to calculate your credit score.

But here’s the kicker—credit bureaus aren’t government agencies. They’re private companies that profit from selling your credit data to lenders. That’s why accuracy and awareness matter.

The good news is, they can’t just do whatever they want. Credit bureaus are legally bound to follow strict consumer protection laws. (We’ll dig into that later.)

Each bureau operates independently. That means something might show up on your Experian report but be completely missing from TransUnion or Equifax.

In a weightlifting competition, three white lights on your lift mean you nailed it. Same with credit—when all three bureaus show a great score, you’re solid. Banks, landlords, even employers will see you as a good bet.

Why Are There Three Credit Bureaus?

Simple reason: the “3 Amigos” weren’t always national. They started out with regional strongholds and later expanded:

• Equifax – Founded in 1899 in Atlanta, GA, it’s the oldest of the three. It was originally called the Retail Credit Company and created detailed consumer profiles long before the digital age.
• Experian – Its roots go back to the 1960s, with ties to TRW, a credit reporting agency based in California. It’s now headquartered in Ireland, with U.S. operations in Costa Mesa, CA.
• TransUnion – Started in 1968 in Chicago, originally as part of the Union Tank Car Company. It grew quickly through acquisitions of smaller credit bureaus around the country.

Each built networks in different parts of the U.S., and for decades, local banks or lenders would only report to their local bureau. That’s part of why even today, your credit report can look different depending on which bureau you’re checking.

Occasionally, when I’d pull someone’s credit, they’d show up as a “ghost”—industry slang for someone with no credit history at all. Zero score, no record, nothing. But then I’d check a different bureau, and they’d turn out to be a “brick”—someone with solid, well-established credit.

How does that happen? Usually, it’s because they’ve been using local banks or small lenders that only report to one bureau. And here’s the part most people don’t know: lenders have to pay to report, and many only report to a single bureau to cut costs. So depending on which bureau is pulled, your credit can look invisible—or rock solid.

How Credit Scores Work (and Why They Vary)

Your credit score is built from six key factors:

1. Payment History – A record of on-time or missed payments across all accounts.
2. Credit Utilization – The percentage of your available credit you’re currently using.
3. Length of Credit History – How long you’ve had credit, and how many accounts have been open over time. Both age and depth matter.
4. Types of Credit – The variety of credit you’ve used, such as credit cards, auto loans, or student loans.
5. New Credit/Inquiries – Recent applications for new credit and the number of “hard” inquiries on your report. (We’ll break down the difference between hard and soft pulls later.)
6. Derogatory Marks & Public Records – Negative items like late payments, collections, charge-offs, bankruptcies, and money-related court records.

After all this data is added to your credit file, it’s run through a scoring model (a mathematical algorithm) to generate your credit score.

There’s More Than One FICO Model

FICO is the industry standard algorithm for calculating credit risk—but there’s more than one model. It’s an entire family of models, and which one gets used depends on who’s pulling your credit and for what purpose.

Here are the most common FICO models:

• FICO 8 – The most widely used version for everyday credit decisions. If you check your score online, it’s probably this one.
• FICO 9 – A newer model that’s more forgiving of medical debt and paid collections. Still gaining traction and not widely adopted by major lenders.
• FICO 10 & 10T – The latest versions. These use trended data, which means they look at your behavior over time—not just a snapshot.
• Industry-Specific Scores – Specialized versions of FICO are used for certain lending types. For example:
• FICO Auto Score 8 for car loans
• FICO Bankcard Score 8/9 for credit card approvals
  These models weigh certain factors (like past auto or card payment behavior) more heavily depending on the loan type.

Why the Numbers Don’t Always Match (and Why It Matters)

Each of the three credit bureaus—Equifax, Experian, and TransUnion—can use different versions of the FICO model. That’s why you might have the same info reported across all three, but still end up with three different scores. Some scoring models weigh certain factors—like inquiries, utilization, or recent activity—more heavily than others, which shifts the final number.

So if you check your score online and it looks solid, but a company pulls something lower (or even higher), it doesn’t necessarily mean anything’s wrong—it just means they used a different playbook.

Credit isn’t just a financial concept—it’s a life skill.
And yet, most people never learn the basics until they’ve already made costly mistakes.

This series is here to change that.

You now know what credit is, how it’s tracked —and why learning it early matters.

Next in the Credit Strength Series:

In the next article, Why Good Credit is a Competitive Advantage, we’ll show you how credit plays out in real life—from housing to insurance to career moves—and why having good credit isn’t just helpful…
It’s a competitive advantage.

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