800 club: Couples with perfect credit

Meet three couples who have nearly flawless FICO scores -- and learn which of their habits helped them get there.

1 of 3
BACKNEXT
Dick and Brenda Husemann
Dick and Brenda Husemann
Dick, 66, is a retired Air Force Officer; Brenda, 69, is a retired teacher. They live in Wilmington, N.C.
THEIR SCORE: 818

HOW THEIR QUEST BEGAN: Earlier this year, Dick signed up for a credit-monitoring service after the couple were victims of credit card fraud. "We knew our scores were high," he says. "But this helped us track them."

WHAT THEY'VE LEARNED: To never exceed 10% of their available credit and to zero out their card balances each month. "We pay things off religiously," says Brenda.

THE PAYOFF: A 4.75% rate on their home refi last year, plus bragging rights. "I may not be handsome or smart, but my credit score is higher than most of the population's!" says Dick.


NEXT: Leland Lim
Last updated August 26 2010: 9:54 AM ET
More Galleries
10 of the most luxurious airline amenity kits When it comes to in-flight pampering, the amenity kits offered by these 10 airlines are the ultimate in luxury More
7 startups that want to improve your mental health From a text therapy platform to apps that push you reminders to breathe, these self-care startups offer help on a daily basis or in times of need. More
5 radical technologies that will change how you get to work From Uber's flying cars to the Hyperloop, these are some of the neatest transportation concepts in the works today. More

Special Offer

Most stock quote data provided by BATS. Market indices are shown in real time, except for the DJIA, which is delayed by two minutes. All times are ET. Disclaimer. Morningstar: © 2018 Morningstar, Inc. All Rights Reserved. Factset: FactSet Research Systems Inc. 2018. All rights reserved. Chicago Mercantile Association: Certain market data is the property of Chicago Mercantile Exchange Inc. and its licensors. All rights reserved. Dow Jones: The Dow Jones branded indices are proprietary to and are calculated, distributed and marketed by DJI Opco, a subsidiary of S&P Dow Jones Indices LLC and have been licensed for use to S&P Opco, LLC and CNN. Standard & Poor's and S&P are registered trademarks of Standard & Poor's Financial Services LLC and Dow Jones is a registered trademark of Dow Jones Trademark Holdings LLC. All content of the Dow Jones branded indices © S&P Dow Jones Indices LLC 2018 and/or its affiliates.