Can you really get credit for paying your utility and phone bills on?
If you maintain a line of credit with the utility, then yes it may be monitored on your report and your score. But for most people, that is not typically how utilities are paid. That said, they still matter. Your FICO score isnt the only thing that gets examined if you are applying to borrow money. The process of investigating if your finances are in shape and you are a safe applicant to apply to is called underwriting. It looks at a lot of things including your FICO score, your credit report, your bank balances, and spending patterns. The bigger the amount of money (like say a mortgage) the deeper underwriting goes into your finances. Spending patterns is where most utility payments fall. Do you pay your bills on time and in full? Or are you late or behind with payments to your utility providers? If you arent keeping up with your utilities, that means you likely have problems having enough money for the month. Even if your FICO score is great, something like that can signal that you are not a safe applicant. I hope that helps clear up the roll that paying utilities and such actually plays in borrowing money!