Which credit to attack 1st?. I have a CC with $8300 bal @ 12.15 APR. I have a anothe CC with $2900 bal at?

Question

I have a CC with $8300 bal @ 12.15% APR. I have a another CC with $2900 bal at 0% APR till may then it will go to 14% and change. Then Finally I have a store credit card with $1000 at 13.24%. I have some other loans also but they are 8% or lower. l Which should I put all my disposible income toward 1st? on the cards? Should I consider transfering the big $8300 balance to get it paid down faster? Thanks

Answer 1

What would you transfer the $8300 to? It sounds like that's already your lowest APR.

The general rule of thumb is to pay down your highest-interest rate debt first, then your second-highest, and so on.

However, if you will be applying for a loan or credit soon, then get rid of one of your open accounts, like the $1000 one, first, then the $2900. Having several lines of credit, and loan balances, can adversely affect your creditworthiness.

So... if it was me, I'd get that $1000 first, hopefully before May, then get the $2900, close at least one of those as soon as it's paid off, then tackle the $8300.

You mention paying from "disposable income." I could make a case that paying down debt is going to have to hurt more than that, or else you'll end up a slave to debt for at least the next decade. That's no fun, because you all ways feel mastered by money, instead of mastering your money. I'm suggest you cut your living expenses, make a budget, eat out less, choose cheaper brands where possible, and generally economize--learn to live well, within your means--until all the debt is gone. You can do it!

Answer 2

attack the one that you can pay of first. You can obviously pay $1000 sooner than $8300. Take your lowest balance (regardless of % rate) and add extra payments to it on top of the regular payment. When paid off, take that amount & add to the next lowest card. And continue that until you are done.

ex.
$8300--$100/month
$2900--$50/month
$1000--$25/month

lets say you want to add $100 per month extra:
on the $1000 card you will now pay $125 instead of the $25, until its paid off. Once paid, put that $125 in ADDITION to the $50 payment so you will be paying $175. When paid off, add the $175 to the $100 for $275 payment for that bill until paid.

Good luck

Answer 3

There are two ways to look at it.

1. Having few open cards is better for your credit score. So in that sense you should pay off the lower one as soon as you can, then you will only have 1 open card.

2. Since you are not paying interest on the lower card , financially it will would be smarter to pay off the one where you are paying interest on.


So it really depends on how you want to view the situtation. Personall yI would pay the higher one down for a while until it gets alot lower, then pay the other one off....

Answer 4

Start paying on the CC you owe the least on and get it paid off then start paying on the next until you get them all paid off.