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Can I avoid debt even if I have multiple credit cards?

Submitted by Terry on Mon, 05/09/2016 - 06:59
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Till date, I have been able to manage my 5 credit cards. But, off late, I am facing problem to remember the due dates and have made payments on some in the last day. I have read in the internet that credit cards is one of the major reasons to fall into debt problems. I wonder, will cancelling 1-2 of my credit cards help? Will it have any effect on my credit score?


First check your credit score and then check your credit balance.
If you carried a balance on any of the cards it might affect your debt-to-available-credit ratio but if you keep a zero balance it will not be an issue. If you use too many cards you may have a notation on your report under " factors that reduced your score"

If you have multiple credit cards there may be problems like remembering due dates or spending too much or if your cards are unused there may be more danger of misuse. You can easily avoid all these hassles. If you don't want the cards, go ahead and close some of them.

Avoid closing older accounts because of the potential effect on your credit score. If you close one account, you can compensate for the loss of the available credit by requesting a higher limit on one of your other cards. In this way you will end up with the same ratio of debt to available credit with fewer cards. Also if you have too many cards closing one or two won't make much difference.


If you don't plan to apply for a loan or other credit in the near future, a small difference in your score won't matter and if your credit is very good, closing one or two account won't determine whether you qualify for a loan. If your credit is not too good and if you plan to refinance your house soon then you might want to put off closing accounts.
Remember even if you close an account that has a history of on-time payments, your good history will still be on your report and to gain long term financial benefits you may have to deal with few points temporarily lost since a strong financial positions will help your credit score in the long run.




















Submitted by davensmith8 on Mon, 05/09/2016 - 22:27

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Ok, I am going to answer you one by one..

The first problem is you're facing problem in remembering the due dates of your credit card bills.

In this regard, I will suggest, you should install a bill payment reminder app on your smartphone. The bill tracker lite is one of the most useful apps for people who forget about their bill payment dates. The app helps to list your bills, due dates, the amount owed and other useful data. So, use your smartphone to fight against your forgetfulness.


Now the second question is about canceling credit cards that you hardly use and its effect on your credit score.

Well, first of all, you should know that credit card is not free money. You're actually buying a thing that you have to pay within a stipulated time. Just applying for a credit card to get attractive features is a blunder. Credit card companies are trying to sell their product featuring those attractive deals. But, that doesn't mean you have to grab all the credit cards. You should check your financial capability before opting for a credit card. Similarly, you should be careful while closing your credit cards. Just throwing away old cards doesn't make sense. You have to follow some rules.


  • Try to not close the oldest account on your credit reports. It actually makes your credit history shorter and affect negatively on the score.

  • You should request your credit card provider to lower the interest rates on the card that you hardly use. Remember, there is no guarantee that your issuer will grant your request.

  • You must send a certified letter to the customer service department of the creditor to close an account.

  • Try not to close the several accounts all at once. Your creditor suspects you.

  • Try to keep your credit card balances under 30 percent of the available limits.



Submitted by Sanders Patricia on Tue, 05/31/2016 - 05:36

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Hi Terry,

I think 5 credit cards are not too much. As per the "Experian", 46% of the U.S. population has 2 or more credit cards. So, don't worry about that.

If you just plan your spending and categorize them for each card, it'll be easier to keep an eye on multiple due dates by just setting up automated payment reminders, just as sanderspatricia29 mentioned in her comment above.

Practically, having multiple cards can be very useful. If one of your credit card gets lost or stolen, it helps to have a back up available if it takes more than couple of days to get the replacement card. Multiple credit cards practically won’t harm your credit score. Actually, it would rather be beneficial having old credit cards. But you need to use them actively at least every few months. Make sure you’re paying before due date, avoid using more than 50% of your available credit (as per bankofamerica.com), and don't just make the minimum payment of the credit card bill any month, pay more.

Still, if you are having issues with your credit card payments, try to save the interest by transferring high APR credit card balances to the card with a lower APR or promotional rate.


Submitted by tiarajoseph11 on Tue, 05/31/2016 - 07:17

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I truly agree with what davensmith8, sanderspatricia29, and tiarajoseph11 have mentioned in their respective posts. Having multiple credit cards have nothing to do with avoiding debt. It won’t let you fall in debt nor it’ll harm your credit score unless you have huge outstanding balances on them.

Credit cards can help you build credit if you use them properly. Whatever you’ve read on the Internet is also true - credit cards will drag you down in debt if you’re delinquent on your payments. Hence, it’s a major reason why people fall into debt. If you can manage multiple credit cards well, it can actually boost your credit score. Besides, using multiple credit cards have several benefits like - financial safety, multiple rewards, payment flexibility, and so on.


Submitted by Phil Bradford on Thu, 06/02/2016 - 19:39

Phil Bradford

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