Credit Advice

If you have 2 or 3 credit cards your good.  Keep balances below 30% of the limits at all times.  Do not apply for credit more than 2 or 3 times a year and do not close any credit card accounts.  Good Luck.

Let the cards you have age.  Depending on the cards you have, you can ask for credit limit increases after a good year or so of usage. It is also best to keep your utilization below 9% .  30%, honestly, is just too high.  For optimal FICO scores, here is what you want to try to do.  Don't be afraid to use your cards, BUT...take a look at your statements.  Look closely for the statement "closing" date (not to be confused with due date).  Make sure to pay off 2 of the 3 cards befor the closing date & pay the 3rd card down to under 9% before closing date.  After the 3rd statement closes, then pay that 3rd card off.  You can also accomplish this by using only one card per month, pay it to nearly nothing by closing, then pay in full after statement cuts. As far as closing cards, I wouldn't do that any time soon, but as your FICO** scores increase, take stock of what you have & if you have cards that are charging you a yearly fee, get rid of them.  Once your FICO scores hit the 700 mark, you can get better credit & can dump the starter cards.  **the scores here are not FICO's and are normally never used by lenders...just an informative FYI.  You can get your TU & EQ FICO's at myFICO,com  Experian does not sell us consumers our FICO's anywhere.