
everyone’s obsessed with their CIBIL score
750+ and you feel financially responsible
below 650 and you panic
but nobody explains how the thing actually works
and banks are very happy keeping it that way
your CIBIL score is calculated on 5 things
payment history: 35%
credit utilisation: 30%
length of credit history: 15%
credit mix: 10%
new credit enquiries: 10%
most people only know about payment history
and ignore the other 65%
credit utilisation is the one that silently kills scores
you have a credit card with ₹1L limit
you spend ₹60,000 on it this month
you pay it back in full on time
you think your score is fine
it’s not
using more than 30% of your limit
tanks your score even if you pay everything back
the length of credit history part is sneaky
that old credit card you never use
the one with zero balance
you’ve been meaning to close it
don’t
closing old credit accounts
shortens your credit history
and drops your score overnight
the enquiry trap
every time you apply for a loan or credit card
the bank pulls your CIBIL report
this is called a hard enquiry
one hard enquiry drops your score slightly
five hard enquiries in three months
tells every bank you’re desperately looking for credit
and they all quietly say no
the biggest lie about CIBIL
a good score doesn’t mean you get the loan
it means you’re eligible to apply
banks also look at
your income stability
existing EMI obligations
employer category
city of residence
a 780 score with a startup salary
can still get rejected over a 720 score with a government job
and nobody talks about credit report errors
CIBIL data comes from banks
banks make mistakes
closed loans showing as open
someone else’s default on your report
you are legally allowed one free CIBIL report per year
most Indians have never checked theirs
errors on your report are your problem to fix
not the bank’s
so what actually builds a great score
one credit card used below 30% of limit
paid in full every single month
never close your oldest card
never apply for multiple loans at once
check your report once a year for errors
that’s it
no hacks
no shortcuts
just boring consistency
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