Best way to reduce my CC Debt?

[Kadarin]

How the hell do you people rack up this much debt?

Shit happens. People get laid off, sudden medical expenses occur, mission critical things need to be fixed or replaced...

That said, find ways to maximize income and minimize expenses. Then look at what extra you can pay over the minimum toward the cards, AND DO SO. If you simply can't afford to pay more than the minimum no matter what you do, then congratulations, you're fucked.

 

[pcgeek11]

How the hell do you people rack up this much debt? Granted I have a lot of debt too, but it's all school loans @ ~2.5% and car loan @ 0%.

My thoughts also.
$17,000 in CC debt is tarded.
But as you are already there:

1. Stop using CC.
2. Xfer all the high cards debt to the lower Int rate.
3. Pay as much as you can afford untill all debts = 0.
4. Continue with step 1...

 

[sandorski]

Use Cash.

 

[JEDI]

1) stop spending money on useless crap
2) don't pay. this is the American thing to do

this
obamas going to bail u out

 

[JEDI]

There are all sorts of bodily fluids that you can donate on a weekly basis for extra cash...

or bodily fluids he can intake to get a little extra cash

1. Default
2. Wait 90 days
3. Settle debt for less than full.
4. ...
5. Profit!

this!!
but dont do it yourself.
go thru a reputable debt reduction company.
yes, debt REDUCTION, not a CCC

 

[fleabag]

Best way to lose weight:
Eat less and move around

Best way to reduce credit card debt:
Stop spending and pay it off.

 

[guyver01]

Best way to lose weight:
Eat less and move around

Best way to reduce credit card debt:
Stop spending and pay it off.

Best way to increase the longevity of your tires:
Ignore anything i say.

fixed it again for ya.

 

[fleabag]

fixed it again for ya.

The best way to increase the longevity of your tires is to either inflate them to sidewall or inflate them high enough before they start to wear down the center significantly.. After inflating the tires of my truck to sidewall, I've gained not only better wearing (even, opposed to down the sides) but I've also improved my mileage by 3mpg! So no, you're wrong and I'm right. There are limited circumstances where inflating to sidewall isn't a good idea - for safety reasons.

 

[JMapleton]

More more, spend less.

Get a second job, eat cheaply.

 

[RaistlinZ]

If you have morals, then get a 2nd job and plow that money into the CC's - and stop using them.

If you don't have morals, then just default on both cards and force the CC companies to negotiate a lower balance, lower interest rate, or both.

Moving funds around is a fools errand and is not getting to the root of the problem. STOP USING CC's! Don't use either card 1, 2, or 3 ever again. Use cash or debit card only for all purchases starting today.

 

[mvbighead]

That's also a good point. Interest is a percentage of the whole, if you don't keep its balance down even the cheaper card will run away from you.
I mean if you have two $1000 cards, one at 10 and one at 20% you'll want to pay off the 20% first. But if you owe 10% on 1000 and 20% on 250 which would you focus on? The first is costing you 100 per period while the second is costing you 50. Granted the second will compound more quickly and you'd need to do some nasty math that I have no idea how to do in order to figure out what it would really cost to pay off one versus the other over the long term... I think that's really the bottom line here, go find yourself an accountant if you really want to know specifics.

Ehhh, what? Are you suggesting that if you have 250 at 20%, and 1000 at 10%, you should pay off the 1000 first because it is costing you more per period? You're missing something. You pay off the 250, and... guess what... it's GONE. If you put that same 250 at the 1000, you still have 750 at 10%, meaning 75 per period PLUS 50 on the other card, equaling 125. What you proposed is costing you 25 more per month.

ALWAYS pay the most towards the higher interest rate card first, regardless of balance, and make minimums on everything else. Don't widdle both at the same time, as seeing the progress on the one card will be a motivating factor and it least set your mind at ease some about your debt, as you continue to pay it off.

OP, you're on the right track. As others have stated, if you have that much debt as a single individual, you'd serve yourself best by getting a second job while you are avoiding having fun (IE spending money) so you can get to debt free in a quicker time frame. Minimize expenses, if you have a really nice car that you can't really afford, sell it and buy something economical, and not brand spankin new. Best of luck.

EDIT: In addition, the rates you suggested (and I followed your example) are not exactly APRs. If they were, the interested rate would be extremely high. You aren't charged 10 or 20 percent per pay period. It all depends upon how often interest in compounded. In any case, you still pay off the higher interest rate card first, as it is generating more expense per dollar (read percent) than anything else you are paying off.

 

[Elbryn]

it may not be all that worth balance transferring to the 11% card. most balance transfer requests have a 2-3% fee tied to them with a max cap. Doing that means you pay the 2-3% fee upfront in full rather than compounded throughout a year.
if you're credit score is good and you are dead serious about reducing the totals, your better bet is to get an additional credit card that will give you a promo 0% interest rate on balance transfers (ideally) or other lower rate. transfer debt to that card, do not use it but pay down from there.

if you cant handle the temptation of additional credit, cut them all up, stick to a debit card and pay off as much as possible on the highest rate card, min on the rest until you clear the first. then move onto the next one.

dont cancel the cards, just cut them up so you cant use them. canceling them will reduce your credit score. if they are decent cards, you may eventually want to use them again.

 

[BTA]

Quit buying shit.

 

[onza]

I think you need to upgrade your pc.

 

[nonlnear]

Best way to lose weight:
Eat less and move around

Best way to reduce credit card debt:
Stop spending and pay it off.

Too...

difficult...

to...

comprehend!

 

[RaistlinZ]

Quit buying shit.

This made me LOL.

 

[whattaguy]

Minimum payment on "2".
Aggressively pay off "1".
Once "1" is paid off, take the amount you used to pay that off plus the minimum payment and pay off "2".
Don't even think about using "3".

 

[Juddog]

I declared jihad on my credit card debt and picked up a weekend job. The pay isn't that great but all of the money I make from it goes towards paying off my card. I don't have as much debt as the OP but the policies from Chase et all have been making me angry lately so I figured screw them.

 

[ViviTheMage]

plan out a budget, pay it off asap.

as others have said .. side job would help.

 

[BoomerD]

1. Stop using said credit cards.

2. Cut said credit cards into tiny pieces.

3. Pay as much as you possibly can on each. (more on card with higher interest rate)

4. Profit. (or at least stop cash drain)

 

[tk149]

Use only #3. Pay it off every month so no interest accrues.
Don't use #1 or #2 at all.
Pay minimum on #2. Pay off #1 first.

Look for a zero interest balance transfer credit card.

 

[Via]

Yes, I've made foolish mistakes in the past, but #1 was maxed out as of the beginning of the year. Bringing it down almost 40% in 5 months is nice, and my spending is going way down. I'm not anticipating increasing the overall debt at all.

You've paid off 40% in five months.

You seem to be doing fine. Why change anything?

The only thing I would do is transfer the entire balance of one of the two cards to the 0% interest one, or apply for a zero interest balance transfer.

But under no circumstances increase the number of payments you make a month. If you're used to paying two, keep it at two. Going to three or more payments a month is asking for trouble.

edit - I see now that card #3 has $0 balance, not 0% interest. But still see if card #3 will give you a 0% interest balance transfer

 

[Miramonti]

What credit card offers 11.9% interest rate?

 

[nick1985]

Stop buying stupid shit

 

[yh125d]

damn, I feel bad and irresponsible when I let even a few hundred sit on my CC for more than a couple months :S