I panicked when I got letter in the mail from Chase yesterday saying that they are closing one of my credit card accounts. The reasons stated were:

• Bankcard balance grew too fast compared to credit limit and time on file
• Too few accounts with time on file greater than 36 months
• The number of bankcards opened has grown too fast

After a bit of research, I found that none of the reasons given were legitimate. The account closed was my oldest credit card account and has not had a balance for over two years. On top of that, I closed a half dozen credit card accounts about six months ago and have paid off two more since.

Basically, Chase gave me the boot because they weren’t making any money.

I actually took a slight satisfaction in paying off bills this week because I paid off a credit card and sent in the last payment for my wedding rings and new digital camera. I’ll be paying off one more credit card next week after some money transfers and then we are all ready for our NEW PRIUS which should be here in 2-3 weeks!

• $17 grocery
• $1142 rent
• $39 AT&T
• $366 Bill Me Later
• $42 pharmacy
• $77 NIPSCO
• $65 Sprint
• $791 Banana Republic
• $27 gas
• $279 collections (hubby – NOT ME!)

I got bitten by the shopping bug this morning, but it’s okay because I had a gift certificate to Target! I picked up some odds and ends, and two pairs of summer sandals…and now that I look at the website, there’s a ton more shoes that I want!

I love Target.

In paying down our debt, we’ve used balance transfer to our advantage, moving our outstanding balances from high interest credit cards to lower interest credit cards, taking advantage of 0% balance transfer offers and cash back in the process.

If you’re looking to get a handle on your credit, DealsForCreditCards.com is a great place to find information on the credit cards and rewards available. The site provides all the information you need to compare credit card offers and choose the one that’s right for you and your situation. You can even calculate your balance transfer savings, which makes it all worth wild!

The focus of our financial life right now is debt consolidation and how quickly we can consolidate and eliminate debt. To help, there’s debt counceling and management, either of which may cost a little money, but could benefit your credit score in the long run.

Our chosen method has been paying as much as we can every month, snowballing payments, and combining our balances onto as few credit cards as possible so we have as few payments as possible. It’s much easier to keep track of your debt when you have two credit cards compared to ten.

We’re now down to two credit cards, and in a few more payments, we’ll be down to one. By the end of the year, we’ll have no credit card debt.

We took a little Disney vacation, but we’re back and I’m canceling credit cards!

I just cancelled 5 credit cards within 30 minutes. No questions asked. All cards with medium spending limits that haven’t been used in quite some time, but accounts in good standing that the creditors had no desire to keep. I didn’t even get a 0% balance transfer offer.

I’ve read mix opinions on how closing accounts effect credit scores, but my take is that lowering my available cash to something more reasonable makes me more dependable and more likely to be able to cover all of my debts in the eyes of a potential lender.

We have a new car on order to be delivered this spring and want to be a house by 2010, canceling those rarely used credit cards now and dealing with the a potential credit score hit now will pay off in the long run, and I think we’ll actually improve our standing.

I almost placed an order with Land’s End this morning for a new bathing suit for vacation. Almost.

When I got to checkout, I realized that standard shipping is $18.95. Priority is $23.95. I had to adjust the lighting to make sure I was seeing correct! Plus, neither shipping method guarantees my swimsuit would arrive by vacation!

I was shocked. I closed my browser and decided that the bathing suit I have will have to due. That’s obscene. $18.95 to ship a few skimpy swimsuits that weight less than a pound.