Essential Financial Literacy for Adults for 2026

Don't close old accounts, even ones you seldom use. For example, keep your very first credit card active by putting a little repeating charge on it, like a streaming membership, and pay it off monthly. Closing old accounts reduces your credit history and can increase your credit usage. Combined, this might lower your credit rating.

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Closing your earliest account decreases your average account age, increases credit usage and can decrease your rating when reported to the credit bureaus. It accounts for 10% of your FICO Score and is not factored into VantageScore at all.

Be wary of taking out brand-new credit just for the sake of enhancing your credit. Focus on naturally blending up your credit over time.

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The time it takes will depend upon the private aspects impacting it and the steps you take to alter them. A credit limit increase or becoming a licensed user can show outcomes within a billing cycle. Recovering from missed payments or collections can take months. Fortunately: unfavorable products fade in effect in time and fall off your report completely within seven to 10 years.