Should I lower my credit limits or will it hurt my credit score?

[Sonadora]

I currently have 4 lines of credit:A US Bank visa card with a limit of $2,500A Wells Fargo Credit Card with a limit of $2,000A reserve line (over draft protection for my checking account) w/ a limit of $3,000and I also have a card from HP that I used to buy my laptop with and it has a limit of $1,000I do not owe anything on any of my lines of credit and I have never made a late payment. Today is my last day of work because I am going to focus on school and I am wondering if I should lower my limits, I also have about $8,000 in student loans out in my name.Since I will not have a job will it be beneficial to lower my limits or will that hurt my credit score? I currently have a score of 740.I do not mean close them, I mean getting the limits lowered.

[Elayne]

You should ALWAYS leave the credit open! ! ! Closing it can hurt your rating. Leaving it open helps the rating because it shows you don't abuse it! Also the amount of time it has been open helps too. It is better to leave them open than it would be to close them and then open new ones when your back working!

[rxaler]

If you're not carrying a balance it doesn't really matter. Your credit utilization ratio won't change whether you have a $1000 limit or a $500 limit since it's a ratio and not an absolute dollar value.If you are carrying a balance or may have to do so at some point having a lower limit will lower the amount you can spend and still keep below the desirable 30% credit utilization ratio.I would leave it alone. It's not hurting you to have available, unused credit.