I was worried I didn't have enough lines of credit (read: no credit cards!), so I just opened one (a new credit card through my existing bank) and saw, due to the hard inquiry, my score take a real hit (~90 points). A month in my score has climbed back up by 14 points, but it was certainly jarring to see it drop so dramatically. My hope is, in six months, I take two steps (130 points) forward to sufficiently offset this one step back.
Regardless, thanks for the read. Always good to feel a little more in control of my score, and to be reminded that these things take time, and that patience, as it always is, is a virtue.
