Cancel my credit.

**jr4089** · 10-14-2010, 10:32 PM

I am 21 years old and I am in debt of $11,000. I have very bad credit. My question is after i pay off all my debt how do I stop my credit? Do i call each card and cancel it?

**Contrary Housewife** · 10-14-2010, 11:03 PM

The recommended plan is to cut up the cards, and start using cash for everything. If you don't have the cash, you can't afford it. Pay off your card accounts. If you want to close the accounts at that point, then yes, you call them. They will try very hard to keep you, offering you all kinds of "deals" to keep you on the hook and in debt.

**jr4089** · 10-14-2010, 11:07 PM

but how would i go about buying a house in the future. wouldnt my credit score stay bad?

**Palooka** · 10-14-2010, 11:18 PM

Originally Posted by jr4089

I am 21 years old and I am in debt of $11,000. I have very bad credit. My question is after i pay off all my debt how do I stop my credit? Do i call each card and cancel it?

Your 21 years old and your profile says 40? Sweet.

**Judi Dial** · 10-14-2010, 11:20 PM

No. If you pay off your cc bills and don't keep running up more bills that have to be paid over time, your credit should be fine.

The place that makes up your credit score, FICO has a website that can help: myfico.com . Take a look and see what your current credit score is and there's information there on repairing your credit etc.

Keep us posted!

Judi

**jr4089** · 10-14-2010, 11:44 PM

i am 21 i just registered now and didnt change anything.

so your saying if i pay off all my credit cards and not use it for an example of 1 month i wont have bad or good credit?

**Libby** · 10-15-2010, 12:38 AM

Originally Posted by Palooka

Your 21 years old and your profile says 40? Sweet.

Glad I'm not the only one who noticed this.

You can cancel your credit card now and continue to pay off your debt til its gone. You can even work out a payment plan/schedule with them.

To buy a house - you could always save up and pay cash.

Who said you had to buy a house with credit? You don't have to buy anything with credit unless you want to.

**xtena** · 10-15-2010, 12:59 AM

You are posting in the Dave Ramsey forum. Have you read any of his books? If not, go the library and borrow them. Read them. Your questions will be answered!

**Palooka** · 10-15-2010, 01:08 AM

It just smells trollish to me...

**xtena** · 10-15-2010, 01:23 AM

Originally Posted by Palooka

It just smells trollish to me...

It sure does.

**Russ** · 10-15-2010, 06:58 AM

The 40 is forum generated when you sign up and enter your birthday. Some people will enter fake birthdays due to fear of the internet scammers. I believe the person is 21.

As for the CC issue... Cancel them and your credit score will actually go down a few points.
Pay them off and it will go up.
One thing for sure... NEVER be late with your payment.

**xtena** · 10-15-2010, 01:05 PM

Apologies to the OP for suspecting you for being a troll.

Your credit score will not improve overnight; if it is bad, it can take several years to recover.

My advice stands, read Dave Ramsey's books, or if you don't like him, try Mary Hunt; there are several other good authors out there was well.

As for canceling the cards, some companies will automatically cancel them if you don't use the card for a long period of time but in other cases yes, you need to call and cancel them.
As Russ points out, canceling them all now will result in a drop in your credit score. On the other hand, if it's that bad already, how much does another drop matter, especially if the end goal is to get out of debt and never get in debt again?