 TITLE: 5 Ways to Break Bad Credit Habits CONTENT: Avoid Closing Credit Card Accounts\n----------------------------------\nWhen you pay off a loan, your account is closed as soon as the lender processes the transaction. But with credit cards, you can choose to keep them open for as long as you want.\nClosing old credit cards might seem to make sense if you don't ever plan on using them again. But keeping an old account open will help lengthen your credit history, which is good for your credit. It also increases your total available credit, which helps your credit utilization (as long as you don't rack up balances on the card again).\nOf course, there are instances where it might still make sense to close the account. For example, if it's a secured credit card and the lender still has your security deposit, you may want to close the account to get that money back. Also, if the card has an annual fee and you don't plan on using the card again, the cost may outweigh the benefit.\nFinally, if you've had issues with overspending, keeping your card may cause you to fall back on old habits. In that case, you could cut up the card and leave the account open. But if even that's not enough to curb the temptation, closing the account might be the best decision.\nOne thing to keep in mind is that some credit card companies will close accounts if they've been left inactive for too long. So you may want to use the card every few months for a small purchase or set it up as the payment method on a recurring bill and use autopay to make sure you never forget to pay the balance in full. END