Missed payments and maxed out cards are all signs of being irresponsible with how you use credit. These scenarios make credit card payoff much harder. How would you go about dealing with it? Would you work towards debt relief? Or would you consider canceling credit cards? Learn more about canceling credit cards and dealing with debt.
Canceling Credit Cards – Good or Bad?
There are some things to consider before canceling credit cards. No matter which option you choose, it’s important that you take a few different financial factors into consideration:
Our credit counseling advice is to reconsider canceling credit cards.
Where does your credit score stand?
Before you cancel one of your cards, it is important to know where you stand in terms of your credit score. If you have a strong score, cancelling might be a good place to start. However, if you are working towards rebuilding your credit, then closing your cards is not your best bet.
What are your credit limits?
The length of your credit history is also crucial to consider. If you are just beginning to build your history, our credit counseling advice is to not go about canceling credit cards just yet. The length of your history is also a factor for how much credit limit you have.
How do you utilize your credit?
One major factor considered in credit scores is your credit utilization ratio. This is how much credit you use over your total available credit. If you have a high utilization ratio, then you have some work to do in controlling your consumer debt. If you do go ahead with canceling one of your cards, your utilization ratio will go up further damaging your score. However, if you cannot stop using the card, consider closing it. Your score should climb back up as you rebuild your credit.
If you’re struggling to pay off debt, ACCC can help. Schedule a free credit counseling session with us today.
