Some people take an all-or-nothing approach, vowing to cut up their credit cards, cancel them and swear off credit forever. Cutting them up is fine if you don’t trust yourself not to blow through your line of credit, but don’t cancel a bunch of cards in a fit of self-imposed reform. This will make your utilization ratio shoot up, and your score will suffer. As long as you’re not paying annual fees, keep your cards open and use them occasionally (for a purchase you were going to make anyway) so they don’t get closed by the issuer. The exception to this rule is people who struggle to get a handle on their spending habits. “If more plastic equals more temptation, close accounts,” says the Gail Cunningham, spokeswoman at the National Foundation for Credit Counseling. “You may take a temporary hit,” she acknowledges, but that impact is less than a truckload of debt.