This, in turn, has forced more people to rely heavily on their credit cards to make ends meet, leading to a spike in consumer debt. Right now, for example, the average cardholder carries about $8,000 in credit card debt.

There's no specific event that happens if you keep a credit card open for over a decade. However, keeping credit cards open for more than 10 years can significantly boost your credit score. The "length of credit history" category of your FICO® Score specifically includes the ages of your revolving credit accounts, among other factors.

Being late on your credit card payments can have a negative impact on your finances. Not only will missing your credit card payments cause serious credit score damage, but making