How should I pay off my debt, here are my bills. PLEASE ASSIST!?

Question

I get paid bi weekly, each check consists of 822.63.

This is how each check is broken down:

1st. 822.63-Cell phone (90.00)-Insurance (154.00) Gas (80.00)

2nd. 822.63-Rent (100.00)-Car payment (350.00)-Gas (80.00)

These are my two credit cards and corresponding APR rates

Capital One - $782.19 0%APR until May 2008, 8.9% after that

Credit Union - $3490.69 16.9% APR

Now I ONLY have this amount of pay until March 24,2008. At that time I will not be working Full time any longer. So I have my next check that I will get on the 31 of December, and then only Until March 24,2008. My holiday shopping is already done!

PLEASE ASSIST with the most productive way to pay off my debt. I need to pay off as much as I can until March 24 2008. If anyone can assist with there opinions, that would be most helpful. Thank you!

Answer 1

Slap all you can towards that high 16.9 percent credit union CC and see since it is a credit union if they would be willing to work with you on a better rate.

All your fixed costs are just that, pretty much fixed so that leaves credit card costs that you need to work on. You may be able to downgrade a Cell plan to save a little more each month if you can. $90.00 seems a bit high.

You didn't say how much that 3490 is a month but let's assume it's 300 and that leaves you with roughly 400-500 month after payments. If this is accurate then put 350/month towards the 3650 which will knock it down to around 2200.

Do your tax returns real early and hope you get money back. If you do, the sooner you get it back the better and you can put it all towards the 2200. Do you have any savings? You dont want to tap savings dry but if you can manage, try a second job. The sooner you knock this out the better.

You mentioned nothing about food expenses, entertainment , clothing, as you may need to cut back on some of these things.

If you have any stuff around you don't mind getting rid of, try selling some on Ebay, it's a good place to get extra cash for things.

Answer 2

You have $791.26 left over each month after you pay your fixed expenses. Do you want any of that for extra expenses (eating out, new clothes, etc.) or are you willing to put it all toward your debt? Let's say you're willing to put $700 toward your debt each month. You should pay the minimum on the 0% card because even when the rate increases, it will still be less than the credit union card.

I don't know what the minimum is on the 0% card, but let's say it's $30. That leaves $670 to put toward the credit union card. If you do that in January, February and March, that balance will drop to about $1,600, which is quite an improvement over where you are now.

Obviously, don't charge anything else until your debt is paid off. Also, my answer assumes you'll be making enough when you're no longer working full time to cover your fixed expenses.

Good luck and congratulations for wanting to get a handle on your debt.

Answer 3

You need some walking around money, let's say $90/month.
Assuming your credit is good:
1. Call and get a better rate from the credit union. They should be able to come in between 8 and 10%.
2. With your 12/31 check you will have $250, send $225 to the credit union and $25 to Capital One.
3. With your 1/15 check send $400 to the credit union
4. With your 1/30 follow step 2
5. With your 2/15 follow step 3
6. With your 3/1 follow step 2
7. With your 3/15 follow step 3
7 With your last check will not be a full check if you only work to the 24th so you'll have to wing it.

You will have reduced Capital One to 702.19 and reduced the credit union to about 1675.00.

Hope this helps.

Answer 4

First, you need to either get a better % on the credit union card. That is killing you and will take you forever to pay off. Don't pay the minimums on the cards, always pay more. Try to transfer your balance to the Capital One card, because of the lower APR.

Second, switch cell phone plans and get something cheaper. $100 a month is way too much and you need to live within your means.

Furthermore, by living in your means, you probably should reconsider buying a cheaper car or downgrading the one you have. If you are paying $350 a month for your car that is way too high, not to mention 160 in gas!

Best way to get out of debt, LIVE WITHIN YOUR MEANS!!

Also, don't go to companies that will help you with your debt, that will only screw up your credit score even more.

Answer 5

Hi There,
You get $1,645.26 per month.
You ust pay the followng:
1.Rent $100 per month
2. gas $160 per month
3. Insurance $154.00 per month
4. Car;$350.00 monthly
Total=$764.00
$1,645.26 - $764.00 =$881 left over after bills paid.
Your card bills are $4,272.00. With the Capital 1 gone you have just the credit Union account to pay and you wont do that in two months will you ? can you get the payments reduced and find a part time job ? or find a business opportunity that will bring in some fast income allowing you to work from home maybe. Selling Jewellery or something like that ? Just a thought! ALSO can you get a prepaid( pay as you go) cellphone and not a post pay account ?

Can you cope for a month and clear that Capital 1 card from the left over $881 or split it two ways over two months( Jan Feb) paying 2x $391.00 USD ?

Answer 6

After seeing your list of debts and interest rates, etc, my serious perception is that you'd be wasting your time right now coming up with a temporary fix. You need to find a class - there are many out there - to learn the techniques of personal finance management. That's not intended to be insulting, but unless you increase your skill level on this subject, other efforts will fail simply because you don't have a plan, don't know how to maintain a plan, and probably don't realize you need to give up some financial pleasures in order to save yourself. Dump the credit cards as a starter.

Answer 7

I don't think I'd give my credit information to a "private" lender. I see scam written all over that.

Answer 8

You could always find away to earn an extra income.

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