So I made the mistake of opening many lines of credit while in my 20s. For years I struggled to pay off the debt... buying things I didn't need, being stupid with purchases and using credit cards for, basically, a payday loan. I have spent an unfathomable amount of money on paying minimums. It's not the first time I've had problems with credit cards, but I NEED it to be the last time.
Right now I'm in a good situation. I make very good money (not "fuck you money") but enough that I was able to pay off my cards and pocket a bit into savings. I keep my minimum monthly expenses low by cutting out the unnecessary expenses. I eat out once a week, bring lunches to work, cut out the cable bill and unnecessary subscriptions. I have a $217 car note and a manageable $1200 mortgage, both current, so I don't plan on any major purchases in the near future. I have student loans that are manageable but have a long way to go before they are paid off. They've been open and currenr for 10 years.
My question for you all is: can I close these credit card accounts? Should I keep one open just to show i have the credit available? I know its going to lower my available credit and length of account history, but is it worth the hit?
I'm waiting for one more month of statements so I can make sure I do not have any residual interest coming and can assure I have a $0 balance for at least 2 months of statements before I close anything. I know FICO looks at utilization rate... how can I keep that from being 0%? I obviously do not have the discipline to just put one or two things on a credit card. Is autopaying an electric bill and autopaying the card every month a good option here? Also, I don't want to have to keep such a fine eye on all these lines of credit with the experian hack. Will future lenders look at me as disciplined enough to close these accounts or will they see it as a liability?
Hoping for a little guidance here. Thanks everybody!
Submitted September 12, 2017 at 04:17PM by Skiptastical http://ift.tt/2wZ4w9H
