Well, if I use the website, it asks me to put in an amount. With my Bank of America card, I just asked, and it gave me a new limit. So I don't know what amount to ask for. Because wouldn't it be better to increase it to what I can now rather than bring it up in little installments? Because once you raise it, you can't raise it again for a set amount of time, right? I don't know how the game works. I'm not a big spender or anything; I just want the security of not worrying.

P-C 38% is a pretty decent debt to income ratio.

I'm so glad to hear that about your grandfather PC!

I have drugs! Something called Clarithromycin that I need to take 2 tablets for 14 days. There was a crap load of stuff it interacts with so I asked the pharmacist about my meds and she said the Seroquel might make it less effective, but to take it several hours before the Seroquel.

Now Mom's going to come get me and take me to dinner since I'm feel bad and not like cooking.

P-C 38% is a pretty decent debt to income ratio.

Thanks, DJ! I assume this means I have to include whatever limit is on the card I don't use, right? I feel like I should just cancel it, but I don't know what that does to my credit rating.

Usually they'll look at what the minimum payment is to calculate debt for any ratio.

I'm not sure I understand. Who's "they" in that statement? And the minimum payment being the one set by the credit card company for the month?

I don't think there is serious credit rating stygma against shutting down an account that you do not use. The credit limit on it might count against you in some circumstances, because potential lenders never know when someone's going to get wacky and max out all their other accounts. I suppose if you were regularly using it and then paying it off to actively build up good credit, shutting it down would cut you off from that boost to your score.

It doesn't make any sense, but it does hurt your credit rating to close an account.

The credit limit on it might count against you in some circumstances

Right, I've thought about that. I mean, I don't use it, and I don't really consider that I have it, but I do know it's there for, like, emergencies. It's really not a useful card at all since it doesn't give me anything back. If I want a "second" card, I want it to have cash back or rewards or some sort of benefit.

If I did shut it down, would it be better to do so before or after asking for a credit limit increase on the card I do use?

It doesn't make any sense, but it does hurt your credit rating to close an account.

I could ask for a credit limit decrease on my old card, right? Then it wouldn't look like this huge voluminous chasm of credit just sitting there, but I also wouldn't have to take the hit of cancelling it. Unless a credit limit decrease also gives me a hit.