The Credit Guru Opinion Corner

I have a lot of credit cards with no balance, should I just cancel most of them so I'm not tempted to use them?

Actually, closing credit accounts, of any type, with no activity on them can hurt your credit score.

The parts of your credit report that detail "amounts owed" accounts for about 30% of your overall credit score. In credit card cases, this figure is represented by the amount owed in relationship to the total available credit – for all credit cards.

Keeping credit cards with zero balances open can improve your overall "credit utilization" and can help increase your credit score. (Learn More).

Can a good credit score help me get a job?

While a good credit score will not guarantee you a job or promotion, a bad credit score can actually hurt your chances. Today, about 35% of the companies currently use credit reports when making hiring, promotion, or firing decisions. It is though that the majority of credit histories are requested for new employees to verify past employment history, and are associated with positions that are finance oriented or involve the handling of cash.

More serious types of negative credit issues (like a bankruptcy or tax lien) can signal to a potential employer that the prospective employee is suffering severe financial difficulties that could lead to increased personal stress and poor job performance. (Learn More).

What's the difference in interest rates for people with bad credit and good credit?

No one can accurately predict exactly what interest rate one will pay for which credit score they have. Each lender follows a different format for calculating interest rates based on credit history. Each lender also has a different method for determining "bad credit" versus "good credit".

Click here to view an example of how interest rates can vary depending on different credit scores. (Learn More).