Hi MaggieBoo & welcome aboard! 
@Anonymous wrote:I'm totally new to this, I'm in my early 20's and trying to maintain good credit to purchase a house within the next 3 years. Currently I have about 22k in debt (car/student loans) but I have a 740 credit score. I was shocked to see 21 accounts listed after going through all of them there are 5 store cards I'm able to close with $0 balance, these cards havent been used in over a year... they all have balances to about $500 each but again are completely inactive. Should I close these accounts if they are not active? I'm only concerned if this will drop my overall score? Thanks for your time, its much appreciated!
It's awesome that you've recognized the need for good credit at an early age, and have made a concerted effort to maintain a good history. Have you had an opportunity to read Fused's Closing Credit Cards yet? It'll give you a ton a great information to consider in your decision of whether to close or not.
It sounds like a you have approx. $500 limits on these five cards, with zero balances. Do you have balances on other cards? One of the most important aspects of deciding whether or not to close cards is how it might impact your overall utilization in the short-term. Your utilization is calculated by dividing your total balances owed on your credit cards (or other revolving lines of credit) by your total (revolving) credit line. Here's an example:
Credit Card 1 | Credit Line = 1000 | Balance = 200 -- Utilization= 20%
Credit Card 2 | Credit Line = 5000 | Balance = 475 -- Utilization= 9.5%
Overal Utilization for both cards = 11.25%
Next to payment history, utilization (amounts owed) is the next biggest factor in your credit score, accounting for a whopping 30% of your score. Once the account are closed, with a zero balance, they will no longer be factored in your utilization. So, if you have balances on other cards, your utilization will increase. Ideally, you'd want your utilization to stay under 10%.
Then, there's the longer term consideration of whether or not there will be an appreciable impact to your "Length of Credit History" when the accounts drop off your reports. Closed accounts, in good standing, can remain on your credit reports for up to ten years from the date closed. But, when they're gone... they're gone.
Generally speaking, if the cards aren't costing you money (with annual fees, for example), it's okay to keep them "sock drawered"-- a term we use for "put away/currently not in use". They longer they stay open, the more long-term benefit you get out of them. And, you can keep an eye on them, by routinely checking that they've not been compromised. If you decide to keep them open, you may want to take them out and exercise them every now and again. It frequently happens that "dormant" cards get closed for lack of use, but it varies by lender, and by product. A small purchase, a couple of times per year, may be enough to extend the life of dormant store cards.
Good Luck!
Thank you, I've read both your response and the link that was given! Looks like they'll be staying in the drawer for the next 10 years.
