Paying off all Credit Card debit..?

[Blake4051]

I am 19 years old, and I have quite a few credit cards. A total in 8 at the moment. I've stopped app'ing for them, and started to pay all of them down. Currently I owe $2500. Not much, but I do work full time and even then, it's hard to remember when I am supposed to pay them.

I have the money to pay all in full today. I was considering doing that, but I also don't know of I should close some, sock drawer some, or still use some. I want to buy a car, but I know my report has large amount of inquiries and 8 revolving accounts.

My total credit amount it $4600, here are my cards:
1FBUSA - $650 credit limit
Capital One - $300
Barclaycard Rewards - $500
Amazon Store - $1200
Walmart store - $800
American Eagle store- $600
Kohl's charge - $300
Speedway - $250

I just don't know if I should pay all in full, and close a few? My credit karma score says 605, but it used to be upper 650s. I have no lates or anything negative except excessive inquires. Probably 25+ but my last inquiry was probably November 2013.

[indiolatino61]

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@Blake4051 wrote:
I am 19 years old, and I have quite a few credit cards. A total in 8 at the moment. I've stopped app'ing for them, and started to pay all of them down. Currently I owe $2500. Not much, but I do work full time and even then, it's hard to remember when I am supposed to pay them.

I have the money to pay all in full today. I was considering doing that, but I also don't know of I should close some, sock drawer some, or still use some. I want to buy a car, but I know my report has large amount of inquiries and 8 revolving accounts.

My total credit amount it $4600, here are my cards:
1FBUSA - $650 credit limit
Capital One - $300
Barclaycard Rewards - $500
Amazon Store - $1200
Walmart store - $800
American Eagle store- $600
Kohl's charge - $300
Speedway - $250

I just don't know if I should pay all in full, and close a few? My credit karma score says 605, but it used to be upper 650s. I have no lates or anything negative except excessive inquires. Probably 25+ but my last inquiry was probably November 2013.

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Welcome to myFICO. In general, for maximum FICO scoring, pay all your cards to a zero balance, but let only one report a balance of 1-9%. The effect of this varies depending on your CR profile, so you will have to experiment with the percentage that will yield the highest FICO score. SP CLI's would be your next step, since your CL's are a bit on the low side. Don't pay too much attention to scores from sites like Karma or Sesame...they are not actual FICO scores and are just for reference. We call those "FAKOS" here (fake FICOS). Finally, let your accounts and inquiries age. That's my best advice...others will add to this. The best of luck to you.

[PlasticOrPlastic]

I'd say your situation isn't to bad, $2500 is manageable.  Personally if you have the cash to pay them off I would do so, then just use one with decent rewards or low APR for purchases and keep it under 9% util.  I just paid off about $4000 dollars worth of credit card debt and the best part is not remembering to send everybody something each month.  The above strategy should also help with your scores, however don't worry about the Credit Karma scores, I'd suggest investing in your FICO scores from this website to know where you stand for that auto loan. 

[longtimelurker]

Unless you have an opportunity to earn more than the cc interest rate (unlikely in this environment) it always makes sense to pay off credit card if you can (while also retaining a reserve of cash for emergencies).

At this stage, I would go against my usual advice and suggest that you keep all the cards (without AFs), as each is a somewhat significant portion of your credit limit.   As time goes on and you get better cards, then you can close them.  SD is fine any time!  

The exception is if one or more of these cards is particularly tempting, causing you to over spend and get back into cc debt.   If that is the case, close those cards.

[Blake4051]

Thanks for the welcome guys! I am planning on letting everything age, and to try not to use my credit as much. I'm going to invest in my credit reports, and see when my inquiries will fall off.

I think I am going to hold off on an auto loan until my accounts report as PIF. maybe I can get a better offer on a  loan. Also, my first Credit Card, 1FBUSA has an interest rate of 29.9% and $29 annual fee... So I was thinking about closing it. all my others have somewhat high interest but no AF.

[efranklin23]

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@Blake4051 wrote:
I am 19 years old, and I have quite a few credit cards. A total in 8 at the moment. I've stopped app'ing for them, and started to pay all of them down. Currently I owe $2500. Not much, but I do work full time and even then, it's hard to remember when I am supposed to pay them.

I have the money to pay all in full today. I was considering doing that, but I also don't know of I should close some, sock drawer some, or still use some. I want to buy a car, but I know my report has large amount of inquiries and 8 revolving accounts.

My total credit amount it $4600, here are my cards:
1FBUSA - $650 credit limit
Capital One - $300
Barclaycard Rewards - $500
Amazon Store - $1200
Walmart store - $800
American Eagle store- $600
Kohl's charge - $300
Speedway - $250

I just don't know if I should pay all in full, and close a few? My credit karma score says 605, but it used to be upper 650s. I have no lates or anything negative except excessive inquires. Probably 25+ but my last inquiry was probably November 2013.

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To get started, what is the UTil for each card? and do you have any late payments on your credit in the past year? We need more info to help.

[RockySC]

Mind my asking how you got that far behind at only 19 years old? Not bashing you, just sincerely curious since you've only been able to legally have credit cards for one year. Did you just go insane as soon as you turned 18 grabbing as many as you can to buy stuff you wanted?

Oh, and if you have the money to pay them all off I'd do it ASAP and almost start fresh from this point on and never do whatever it is that got you here in the first place again. If you have the money, do it now.

[randeman]

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@Blake4051 wrote:
 Not much, but I do work full time and even then, it's hard to remember when I am supposed to pay them.

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Your statements show your due date.

I know you're talking about paying them off, but if you should choose to carry a balance and you're making payments against the balance and you're having trouble remembering when to send the payments, your bank should have a way for you to set up specific recurring payments on a specific date every month.  Even the smallest banks and credit unions offer this service, usually online.  Many of the major cards have ACH agreements that processes your payment and credits your account usually within a couple of days.  If your card doesn't have an ACH agreement, allow 7-10 days from the date the payment is sent

If I misunderstood what you meant, mea culpa.

[laz98]

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@Blake4051 wrote:

My first Credit Card, 1FBUSA has an interest rate of 29.9% and $29 annual fee... So I was thinking about closing it. all my others have somewhat high interest but no AF.

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I hear you on the 1FBUSA.  Ours has the same interest rate, which they refuse to lower, but ours has a $55 AF

We do keep it open though because it is one of our oldest cards & it has our highest credit limit.  1FBUSA is excellent about waiving the AF, so we just do that now.

Just a different perspective on your card    Good luck whatever you choose!

[Networth]

You already have been given great advice so I just wanted to chime in a say good for you at the age of 19 realizing you don't want to be in CC debt, and paying them off. Very mature decision for your age, you will be very happy your making the choices you are right now, later down the road when you have excellent credit and can get supurb rates on auto, mortage and private/start up loans. . Kudo's to you!