Thanks for the comment, but I'm not quite sure why you think I'm in trouble? My credit scores are over 700 and are greatly influenced by DTI. Score simulator calculated that after the payoffs I'm planning tomorrow, my score woud be in the 770-780 range. Additonally, I just got approved for a mortgage on a new house and mortgage with exactly 1 day in underwriting and 3.125% 0 pts. And that approval was not counting on my current home to be paid off, either, and I already have it rented for after when I move to the new house at an amount that makes my mortgage payment every month. Doesn't actually sound too bad to me...am I missing something?
What I'm looking for are more concrete ideas about how high of available credit is a good place to be, or if it's purely a utilization percentage that matters. Does sitting at 9% of a $1K total limit count the same as sitting at 9% of a $25K total limit? That's helping me to decide which cards to close. I currently work full time and will be going to grad school also full time starting in January, and am looking to simplify life as much as possible before then.
Other than aging accounts (and none of the ones I'm thinking of closing are older) is there any negative impact to closing cards? I've tried to be careful to make sure what's left is at least one revolving account, at least one installment loan, 1 mortgage (2 for a while but not likely more than a few months). I'm also trying to make sure what cards I do decide to carry are a good mix of credit and charge accounts, and maximize my cash back & travel rewards.
Thanks again for insights. It's an exciting place to be, and one I have worked VERY hard to reach. 
@Katobie129 wrote:Hello to all.
I'm in the superb position of being able to pay off a whole bunch of stuff in the next 48 hours. (I own a rental house outright, it is sold to a cash buyer and closing tomorrow.)
I have the ability to pay off 90% of what I owe except my mortgage. In my opinion, right now I have WAY too many credit cards.....7 or 8 store cards, Amex, Discover, and 5 different M/C or VISA's: Sears M/C, Best Buy M/C, etc. I am considering closing most of the store cards (which are not my oldest cards) and at least 3 of the M/C's (also not my oldest cards).
What would be left as currently open debts on my credit report:
Mortgage on current house until it's sold
Mortgage on new house
Discover card $15K limit approx $3K balance after payment tomorrow
Care Credit $3.5K limit, $875 bal after tomorrow
Chase Freedom Rewards M/C $800 bal after tomorrow (unsure of limit, think it's a bit low at $3.5K?)
Amex 0 balance
Lowes Card $6100 limit $1.2K balance after tomorrow
Paypal $3500 limit 0 balance
Credit Union LOC $2500 limit $450 bal after tomorrow
What I'm wondering is whether or not I'm shooting myself in the foot by closing 13 accounts. 4 are installment loans, 1 line of credit, 8 credit cards. None of these are my oldest accounts. I'm just trying to simplify my finances. Current credit scores are in the 700-725 range, heavily weighted by high DTI.
Thoughts?
Thank you!!
I find it hard to understand what the question is.
You mention 4 installment loans, which are treated totally differently than revolving credit.
Please give us a clear picture of what you will have left after the payoffs.
1. As to 4 installment loans, on each what was original loan amount, what is balance left, and when was loan taken out?
2. As to 9 revolving accounts, on each what is credit limit, what is balance, and what is age of account?
Then we can give you our 2 cents on what to keep and what to close.
Sillykitty1, I just wanted to take a moment to thank you for your post....you gave me some good points to think about. After reading your post, I sat down with all of the accounts and looked at account ages, and credit limits, etc. What I actually ended up doing was to paying off almost everything but closing no accounts at all. I don't see a good reason to limit available credit, as long as I'm not using it. Between the houses, work, upcoming surgery and moving, I had kind of gotten tunnel vision about simplifying things, but in reality, that would have lost points, as you pointed out. I left one installment loan: a student loan that is in deferment until December, and a small balance on 2 CC's. I paid off 2 vehicles, a tractor, a bunch of credit cards, one student loan and 3 lines of credit, but left the credit/charge cards all open. Current DTI is sitting at 5.5%. Most of these don't actually report until the end of September, but if the score simulator is right, I should be sitting at 780-ish in the first few days of October after the updates. After the house closes, I will have one installment loan opening for a home renovation, but overall, I'm pretty happy with how the numbers look.
Thank you again......you made me stop and REALLY think about what I was doing!!!
@Katobie129 wrote:Sillykitty1, I just wanted to take a moment to thank you for your post....you gave me some good points to think about. After reading your post, I sat down with all of the accounts and looked at account ages, and credit limits, etc. What I actually ended up doing was to paying off almost everything but closing no accounts at all. I don't see a good reason to limit available credit, as long as I'm not using it. Between the houses, work, upcoming surgery and moving, I had kind of gotten tunnel vision about simplifying things, but in reality, that would have lost points, as you pointed out. I left one installment loan: a student loan that is in deferment until December, and a small balance on 2 CC's. I paid off 2 vehicles, a tractor, a bunch of credit cards, one student loan and 3 lines of credit, but left the credit/charge cards all open. Current DTI is sitting at 5.5%. Most of these don't actually report until the end of September, but if the score simulator is right, I should be sitting at 780-ish in the first few days of October after the updates.
Thank you again......you made me stop and REALLY think about what I was doing!!!
I think it was wise to payoff the store cards, and not close them....if you do not have an annual fee on a card, it is usually best to keep it open. I would usually advise not opening store cards except to rebuild, but closing them is usually a bad idea, the credit lines on them will tend to lower your overall utilization.
@Katobie129 wrote:Sillykitty1, I just wanted to take a moment to thank you for your post....you gave me some good points to think about. After reading your post, I sat down with all of the accounts and looked at account ages, and credit limits, etc. What I actually ended up doing was to paying off almost everything but closing no accounts at all. I don't see a good reason to limit available credit, as long as I'm not using it. Between the houses, work, upcoming surgery and moving, I had kind of gotten tunnel vision about simplifying things, but in reality, that would have lost points, as you pointed out. I left one installment loan: a student loan that is in deferment until December, and a small balance on 2 CC's. I paid off 2 vehicles, a tractor, a bunch of credit cards, one student loan and 3 lines of credit, but left the credit/charge cards all open. Current DTI is sitting at 5.5%. Most of these don't actually report until the end of September, but if the score simulator is right, I should be sitting at 780-ish in the first few days of October after the updates.
Thank you again......you made me stop and REALLY think about what I was doing!!!
Ahhh .... nice to know something I wrote helped!
I totally get the wanting to simplify. When I first got into credit I was determined to maximize every reward. Now that life has seemed to get busier, I'm not as motivated and prefer having fewer accounts w balances to pay every month. But I have kept all my account open, because the utilization cushion is important to me.
Good luck w the house reno!