We currently rent and we cant save because all the money is going towards the CC bills.
2007-12-27 08:38:49 · 6 answers · asked by Victoria Z 1 in Business & Finance ➔ Personal Finance
Stop using and pay off the credit cards. First thing you need to set up a strict budget. Eliminate all the extras -- cell phone, eating out, new clothes, premium cable and internet. Take every penny you can squeeze out of that budget and put it on the highest interest rate credit card, while making minimum payments on the rest. When the highest interest rate card is paid off, move to the next one till they are all paid in full.
You should also look for other ways to bring in cash -- have a garage sale, collect alum cans, get a second job. Throw all that at the credit card debt.
If you put some effort into it, you can pay those credit cards off in 2 or 3 years. Then start putting aside a set amount every payday for that downpayment for the house.
2007-12-27 09:02:35 · answer #1 · answered by bdancer222 7 · 0⤊ 0⤋
Pay off the debt. It will improve your FICO score which will in turn improve the interest rate you'd get on a mortgage loan, possibly saving you thousands in the long run. If your funds are tight now due to the CC bills they'll be even tighter if you have a mortgage on top of it. Beside, you'll definitely want to have some savings once you're in a house for repairs and other incidentals. Otherwise you'll be swimming in CC debt again.
Good luck!
2007-12-27 16:52:20 · answer #2 · answered by lilmissqtpye 2 · 1⤊ 0⤋
Pay off debt, before you even think about adding more..
No matter how much your rent is, a house will cost a LOT more.
So you need to pay off as much as possible, or you will be deeper in the hole.Plus now you run the risk of defaulting on your mortgage, and having bad credit will only increase your cost of lending.
One last thought, while you dont state where you are looking to buy, many, many areas are in a real estate downtrend. I would wait another 6-12 months before buying until the inventory situation improves, and you'll be able to buy more house at a cheaper price.
Good luck
ED
2007-12-27 16:45:32 · answer #3 · answered by edco 5 · 0⤊ 0⤋
With the new rules for mortgages, odds are you will not even qualify for a mortgage if you have a lot of credit card debt and no down payment. The days of bad credit and zero down are long gone.
Do whatever you need to do to get the credit cards paid off, then worry about buying a home.
Odds are house values are not going to go up for a long time.
2007-12-27 16:51:57 · answer #4 · answered by Gem 7 · 1⤊ 0⤋
Pay off the credit cards. If they are high double digit interest rates, you cannot earn an equivalent return in the market (usually and over time), so you are better off getting those cleared up and then saving.
2007-12-27 16:44:07 · answer #5 · answered by ajherden 3 · 1⤊ 1⤋
pay off debt, you want to live in a house and starting debt free
is the best
2007-12-27 16:58:42 · answer #6 · answered by Anonymous · 2⤊ 0⤋