Comments on: Single Step Personal Finance Challenge

By: Update on Posts | LivingAlmostLarge

Update on Posts | LivingAlmostLarge — Tue, 12 Aug 2008 19:29:43 +0000

[...] promised to give an update on a couple of posts. First the single step challenge here, I said I would cancel a credit card and I did. I called up a credit card on my credit report that [...]

By: Todd the Bod

Todd the Bod — Wed, 23 Jul 2008 14:38:31 +0000

I was unsure whether or not to cancel 3 old store cards I had (and hadn’t used in probably 10 years). Finally decided to do it. When I called all 3 had already been closed due to inactivity. So chances are they may already be closed but I say go for it. People say it may affect your credit score, which may or may not be true, but having cards out there you don’t keep track of isn’t really a good idea either.

By: Personal Finance Challenge Follow Up — Congrats Everyone!

Personal Finance Challenge Follow Up — Congrats Everyone! — Tue, 22 Jul 2008 17:15:45 +0000

[...] Almost Large will be closing old credit card accounts she doesn’t use any more. The key is to keep the oldest open, just in [...]

By: CB

CB — Tue, 22 Jul 2008 16:42:59 +0000

Careful! (To elaborate on what Mrs. Micah said..) That oldest one you got in college might be propping up your credit score. Credit scores favor credit that you’ve had the longest, as it establishes your credit history length. If your oldest card is 10 years old, and your second oldest is 5 years old, eliminating the oldest one will reduce your credit history length from 10 to 5 years, which will negatively impact your score. I don’t see any harm in keeping them open.. just be careful not to open up too many newer lines of credit. If your older cards don’t have perks and that’s why you prefer to open up new lines of credit, why don’t you make your “single step towards financial stability” be to call those CC companies and have them establish perks onto your older cards so that you’ll want to use them, rather than to cancel them.

By: Mrs. Micah

Mrs. Micah — Tue, 22 Jul 2008 16:29:26 +0000

Sounds like a great idea! Don’t forget to weigh which ones you should keep open to keep up the credit score. Generally the oldest is the best choice.