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A scroll through this Reddit page sparked by our Beyond Your Credit Score infographic shows the colorful rainbow of responses people have to the idea of perfect credit, or that magical 800+ score range.

Some are incensed about the credit industry, like Jawajoey: “That’s so messed up that they used having a credit card as some kind of measure of trustworthiness.”

Others bite back to the numerous postings of people’s high credit score success stories, like Mushpuppy: “I’ve seen more people here claiming to have 800+ than probably actually live in my town… If it’s true, swell. If it’s not, it’s no skin off my nose, right?”

Altogether, there’s a veil of mystery (and a fair bit of controversy) over the idea of perfect credit. Achieving an 850 credit score is a kind of unicorn in the financial world—something everyone talks about but no one has seen. Let’s break down a few myths to shed light on the perfect credit puzzle.

1. Myth: An 850 is the ultimate goal for your finances. Actually, shooting for an 850 credit score is more about your vanity than your finances. Getting an 850, the highest FICO score you can achieve, isn’t really necessary. Anything around the 800 range is good enough to snag you optimum financing options and the lowest interest rates. Such a small percentage of Americans achieve an 800+ credit score that lenders will likely offer you the same deals as they would an 850 scorer. So the obsession over achieving 850 likely won’t even save you more money if you already have excellent credit, but it’s cool for bragging rights.
2. Myth: You need lots of debt to get an 850. Nope. Debt to credit score factors are correlative, not causal. People who can handle lots of debt and have a high credit score doesn’t mean their debt contributed to their score; it may be that their high score gave them more access to borrow money. Really, there is no perfect mix to whip up excellent credit. The infographic of different credit score ranges shows an average of financial attributes for each range, but it’s not a definitive formula to achieve that score. There are over 200+ attributes that go into a credit score, so the recipe for an 850 is a rare and unique combination of your particular attributes. If you glance through the Reddit forum, you’ll find success stories from the 800+ club who recommend a wide range of tips: get a mortgage/don’t get a mortgage, stash your credit cards/use your credit cards, etc. What’s the lesson here? Different things work for different people, but generally speaking, having excellent credit depends on consistent good credit habits over a number of years.
3. Myth: “There is only one way to have perfect credit. Have so much money that you don’t need credit”- Reddit user. Wrong. The only way to build credit is to use credit. Paying cash for everything or never taking out a loan or using a credit card doesn’t build perfect credit– it builds no credit history whatsoever. A big truth of credit scores is that you need good credit to get more credit, which means if you ever plan to take out an auto loan, apply for credit cards, or own a home in your lifetime, it’s in your best interest to start polishing up your credit score now to open these financial doors in the future.

Bottomline: Shoot for the moon so you land in the stars. Perfect credit is not about getting an 850, but getting close as you can to 800 to open the best financial doors.