What's the best way to pay off close to $5K in credit-card debt?

Question

For a bit of background, I make $45K/year, I pay close to $1000/mo. in rent, $500/mo. in car expenses (counting fill-ups), $80/mo. for my mobile-phone service (I don't have a landline), and $100/mo. for cable/Internet service. I realize it's going to take me a LONG time to pay off this monkey-on-my-back credit-card debt, but if anyone has some helpful suggestions, I'd greatly appreciate it. Thanks!

Answer 1

A few suggestions.

1. Consider taking on a second job for a period of time. Something that produces extra income that is not already allocated in your budget. It can make a big difference if you earn an extra $1,000 over a few months.

2. Pay more than the minimum as that pays down the principal faster.

3. If you have good credit see if you can transfer the balance to a zero interest card with minimal fees. Then any payments made will be paying off principal. Read the fine print as new charges can be at a high rate.

4. Go to the Motley Fool website and check out the Dealing With Debt forum. It is more or less dedicated to how to pay off debt. Different strategies, how to budget, etc. The link to the main site is there. Then go to forums and look for the Dealing With Debt. Note that the MF has an annual charge.

Bottom line is you need to spend less than you make and if at all possible earn more for a period. Even a job working nights at a gas station or a weekend job for a few weeks can really start to snowball the pay down of the debt. You might call this a financial diet. Spend less and earn more (vs eat less and exercise more).

The hard part is the emotional side where the early stages feel like you are not making progress. That is why I am suggesting a second job. It will feel like you are doing something to quickly get things under control and the future payments will pay off more Principal if you stick to the present payment amount.

Good luck!

Answer 2

Well #1 pay off as much as you can as quickly as you can. If you are paying $1000 a month in rent, see if you can get a roommate to help you out with the rent. You can save $500 a month that way and be out of debt sooner. $5k is not that bad, but if you have say 18% interest, you are paying like $100 a month in interest for nothing at all. Actually, you can get them to share the cable bill etc as well.

Also, apply for another card with a low introductory offer, and transfer the balances. This will save you the $100 a month in interest for a while. Then with your $500 a month you are saving, you can pay it off in 10 months. You dont get paid that badly, and your expenses are not overbearing, but It does seem you are at your limits. Do not buy anything at all unneccesary because it only gets worse. You are probably making about $2300 after taxes a month so you do not have much more slack.

Answer 3

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First you have to stop using them. Without that step, no legal plan people post here will help you. If this will be a problem, take your card and put it in a bowl of water and put them in the freezer. This way, they are still there to thaw in an emergency, but are a frozen cardcicle and aren't readily available for spontaneous purchases.

Second, call the card company and ask for a lower interest rate. If you have been current on your payments, they should decrease the rate without any problem. This alone will save you a little money if you did nothing else.

Third, you have to pay more than minimum balance on your statements each month or you will get nowhere.

Fourth, find creative ways to pay more toward the balance as often as you can.

Some examples might be:

1) Start putting your change out of your pocket into a jar at night before bed. At the end of the month, deposit the change into your bank account and write a check for the amount you deposited.

2) Arrange for larger payments to be made automatically from your bank account. This can be done on-line or by calling them and setting them up.

3) Set up your bank accounts so that a certain amount gets pulled from your primary account and goes into a savings account. At a decided time, pay that amount to the credit card.

4) Have a garage sale and use the proceeds to go toward your card balance.

Time is your best ally in the battle of debt. But changing spending habits are a must to get ahead. Start using cash for purchases. Leave the cards at home. If you simply must have one with you, get a Visa check card through your bank. This takes money straight from your account. So when the money is gone, the charging stops. Talk with your bank to find out what options they have for monitoring your account.

Good Luck.

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Answer 4

Two things that seem obvious. Switch to a broadband phone service and drop the cell phone. You can get a plan that costs as little as $7.00 a month and 1 penny per minute.

Another thing you can cut down is the cable/internet service. While you need high speed internet for VOIP, you can probably save by going to a slower speed. Drop the cable tv altogether.

Doing this should free up at least $70 a month that you can use to pay down your debt.

Don't charge anymore and your debt is gone.

So many people don't realize that if they simply pay the minimum on their credit cards every month, it will take almost 20 years to get rid of the debt.

Answer 5

You're paying so much interest that it's definitely best to pay the whole thing off with the tax refund. Use the $100 a month you're currently paying on that card to do something fun.

Answer 6

Okay, this is what I did.

1. You always want to make sure you pay MORE than the minimum amount. If you only pay the minimum amount, it can take you over 8 years to pay it off. NOT GOOD!

2. Try to find a credit card that offers 0% interest for 'x' amount of months. There are a lot of companies that are offering 0% interest for 12 - 14 months on BALANCE TRANSFERS and new purchases (check your mailbox!). If you're accepted, transfer the WHOLE balance to the new credit card with 0% interest. By transfering the balance to the 0% credit card, you're saving yourself at least $25-$40/month that you can then use to help pay off the balance. Keep in mind, the companies are a little stringent about keeping payments on time. If you miss one payment (even if you're only a day late), they have every right to cancel the introductory offer and start charging a ridiculously high interest rate, etc... Keep a close eye on your payments and make sure you're on time, every time!!! If after the introductory period you still have a balance, look for another card that is offering the same thing and transfer anything you have left to the new card. I did this for 2 years and paid everything off...INTEREST FREE!

3. Pay your bill twice a month!! It messes up their daily balance calculations for interest. I can't really tell you how it works...I got the advice from a friend at work (this also helps you get into the habit of paying the bill and if you time it right to go along with the billing cycle, you shouldn't have to worry about missing any payments and risk losing your introductory rate). I tried it and saw that I was paying a few dollars less each month in interest. Every little bit helps, right??

4. Revisit your budget and squeeze out as much money as you can. I found out (by rebudgeting) that I was spending way too much money on phone services, insurance payments, credit card interest, etc... If you're paying high interest on credit cards (and you can't get a 0% interest card right away), call the credit card company to see what they can do to help you out...as far as lowering the interest rate. This works really well if you have good standing with the company and have been with them for over a year. Most of the time you can get them to drop the rate by 10 - 15%!!! I also called around to different car insurance companies to see who offered the best rates. I saved $20/month by switching to a different company. I also saved $25 by combining services like phone/cable/high-speed internet with one company instead of having 2 or 3 different companies for those services. Look for opportunities such as this with everything you have/do. All in all, when I did this I got nearly $90 a month back into my pockets that I then sent in to my credit card companies every month.

5. Once you pay everything off, cancel all of your credit cards except for one. Cut them up and throw them away. For the remaining credit card, call the company and have them lower your available credit to something a little more managable (I set mine for $3k). I then put the credit card away so that I wouldn't be tempted to use it every time I went shopping!!!

Good luck!!

Answer 7

Is your credit good enough to get a low-interest credit card ? Sometimes, they come with 6-months free of interests charge. It helps, since 6 months of fees may worth 500 $ (20% int. Credit Card) : http://index-go.com/credit-with-cards-low-interest.asp or http://index-go.com/credit-cards-with-good-rewards.asp

Even if you keep your actual card, you may take it as your main challenge in 2007. Considering your income and expenses, you should be able to pay back 350$/month, wich is good, since it pays back your debt in 17 months.

- Make a budget and follow it.

- As soon as you have an over at the end of a month, put some money in a savings account. Having some money on the side prevents you from borrowing money - and paying some fees.

- Target a long-term target.

Answer 8

There is a way to get out of credit card debt. I am deeply in credit card debt and have one of my cards slowly but surely getting paid off. Just make sure not to use them AT ALL, not even once in a while, that way you do not counteract all progress made towards paying it off. If you pay maybe 200-300 a month you should have it paid off in about 2- 2.5 years depending on your interest rate. Good luck!

Answer 9

Always pay more than the minimum payment. Transfer all your balances to one card and ALWAYS play with the credit card companies to get a better APR. (Tell this company is offering me this and that co. is offering that, they will compete for your business if you say you will leave for the better deal and transfer your balance). Be careful when you transfer balances with a special rate cause if you make a late payment you lose that promotional rate. That happened to me. But my credit is so good and American express kept sending me offers for balance transfers and I was lucky to get 2.9% for the life of the loan!

Answer 10

Use your tax refunds, that should help. Pay off one debt at a time. Cut back on things like eating out frequently and excessive entertainment expenses. Resist impulsive spending. Don't be a status chaser, liking buying a Hummer or 52" plasma T.V., things you buy just to show off to other people...