Find the best financial services for you at: SMARTFINANCESOLUTIONS.NET - Pay off collections or let them fall off? - I have a few questions about credit reports and how to handle certain blemishes.

The first situation is that I have two collection accounts with a combined total of $602. One is from 07 and the other from 08. Should I go ahead and pay these off? Should I send a debt validation letter? Or should I just ignore them? My husband and I would like to purchase a home next summer and I want my credit score up as much as possible, but I have heard that paying off the debts can actually hurt your credit because the date reported date changes to a a current date. Is this true? -