The Credit Score Paradox: Why Paying Off Debt Can Hurt Your Score
Paying off debt can sometimes cause a temporary drop in your credit score, despite seeming like a positive action. This can happen for several reasons: reducing your overall credit limit, lowering your average credit age, changing your credit mix (like eliminating installment loans), or other factors like late payments or increased balances on other accounts. While frustrating, these dips are usually short-term, typically recovering within a few months, and shouldn’t deter you from paying off debt. Lenders consider multiple factors, including your
