Credit Report Forums Closed Indefinitely

I just realized that our forum was hacked a while ago and a bunch of junk threads were posted. I was getting so much dang spam in that forum and so little actual visitor participation, I figured it was for the best to just delete the forum and move on with life without it. I'm sure no one will miss it unless you were looking for viagra or breast enlargement or one of the other great products being advertised in our informational forums. The truth is, it took me a while to even realize that the forum was hacked because I quit monitoring the forums. So, I doubt anyone will really miss the old forum.

I still think it's a good idea to have a forum or similar venue to discuss credit-related issues, but maybe now's not the time and phpbb isn't the way to do it.

Closing Your Credit Card Account Can Hurt Your Credit Score

I was just reading about how Closing Your Credit Card Account Can Hurt Your Credit Score on the About.com credit blog. I've heard this before--that closing your accounts can negatively affect your credit score due to change in length of credit history and ratio of used to unused credit. But it can also be good for your credit score to cancel cards that you no longer use. So the idea is it could be good or it could be bad.

My opinion is that you shouldn't beat yourself up over this issue. If you need a good credit score because you're getting ready to buy a house and can't pay for it with cash (who can), it might be worth hanging onto the account (not using it, though) for a little while. But if you don't have any immediate need for credit, forget about it and just cancel the stupid thing. You'll be better off financially if you just pay off all your credit cards and start saving and investing your money anyway. If you've got money in the bank, who cares what your credit score is? You don't need credit to buy stuff with cash. Our economy works largely on the whole credit scoring system, but in a lot of ways we're just playing along with a stupid game. If you've got no debt and money in the bank, you can get a loan for a home, and get a good interest rate. You might have to do it the "old fashioned" way--working with an actual human being, but you can get a loan. Plus, you'll sleep a lot easier at night not having to worry so much about your credit score. Just save your money and live your life.