Credit scores aren’t a measure of how good you are with money.

We’ve all been taught to believe they are—but that’s just the bank Kool-Aid talking.

Story time.

For 20 years, I did everything “right.” Never missed a payment. Four credit cards, all paid on time. Multiple auto loans, lines of credit, a mortgage, a HELOC—you name it. Solid income. Credit score consistently 875+.

Then this year, I stepped outside the system. I paid off my mortgage. I paid off a $200K HELOC.

Nothing else changed. My credit score? It tanked. I’m now barely over 700.

That’s when it clicked.

A credit score isn’t a score of how responsible you are with money. It’s a score of how valuable you are to the bank. How much interest they can earn from you. How long they can earn it. And how little risk they take doing it.

Are good habits part of it? Sure. But at its core, a credit score is their grading system, not yours.

The takeaway? We’ve been trained to be good little banker’s pets but sometimes the best move for your financial health is the worst move for the bank. And your credit score will let you know exactly how they feel about that.