Whats the best way to pay off a credit card debt?
I have paid off my car lease and balloon payment of $11,000 with a credit card because it had a lower APR…now I regret doing it because my credit looks terrible bc I have such a high balance. I do not own a house and I applied for a few personal loans or used car loans to pay off the credit card but was turned down.
I feel like my payments are going no where with such a high balance (it is not up to $25,000)!!! Should I wait and keep paying towards it? Should I apply for all kinds of loans and debt relief management? Please help!
Thanks!
Well thanks for the help so far…but I dont use the card anymore, and I pay more than the min everymonth however, it isn’t much more since the payments come to about $490 a month before paying extra. If i were to pay the $490 plus the interest they hit me with each month (about $187) I would be broke-i have other bills and live alone. Im not so much worried about the payments or the fact that i have credit card debt, what worries me is simply my credit score. I had a rating of 745 before paying off my car with the CC and now its down to a 646! I want to bring that back up!
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Tags: Car Lease, Car Loans, Credit Card Debt
February 3rd, 2009 at 3:59 pm
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If you go to a debt relief agency, it will actually show up on your credit as Chapter 13, or bankruptcy. Just pay off as much as you can overtime….paying $25 towards the principle every month will pay off in a big way later on.
February 6th, 2009 at 12:48 am
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do not apply for any kind of loan of debt relief management….they will just kill you./
instead, cut on your expenses and try to pay as much as you can to reduce the balance; of course pay at least the minimum. it will take a while but your score will remain good.
February 8th, 2009 at 2:46 am
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The more you apply for credit, the lower your credit score will become, so stop applying for credit.
Search for a ‘debt calculator’ on the Internet. This should show you how long it will take and how much you will need to pay each month.
As you pay down your balance, your credit score will improve. But resist the urge to charge it back up again. Be Patient, obtaining a higher credit score will not be overnight, be prepared for months, possibly a year. Believe me, it is easier to pay it down and have a great payment record than filing for BK or credit counseling. These bad marks stay on your credit up to 10 years.
Good luck!
February 9th, 2009 at 1:03 pm
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Hm… not an easy question. In regards to first answer, Credit Counseling has nothing to do with bankruptcies. But it is right, using this agency will ruin your credit for a long time.
How to handle it? If you have just one card, you may notice that even when you pay a minimum in time, your balance becomes a little lower and financial charges a few $$ less. Add these $$ to your next payment. Add them plus new saved $$ to your second payment. Keep doing this and your balance will go down much faster.
If you have several cards with high balances, start making the same payments with one with the highest interest, while keeping minimum payments on others. The effect will be the same. Very soon you will see changes in your scoring too.
Good luck.
February 10th, 2009 at 2:57 am
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I say keep paying on it but ,My husband is an accountant and he said your best bet is the debt relief management . It frees up your payments more and puts you in a better position. I hope this helped. I personally been through a lot of financial heart ache my self. When I married my husband he helped me straighten up my finances.(working my way out of it slowly). Take care . Contact me if you have any more questions.
February 11th, 2009 at 3:35 am
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First off, ignore the guy soliciting Credit Solutions, going with them will destroy your credit score. As for Dave Ramsey, he is right on many things but forgets to mention important facts. Your score dropped because your credit utilization is too high. It’s hard to give specific advise, because I don’t know what else is reporting. For example, let’s say you got approved for another credit card with say a $10,000 credit limit, but you didn’t use it. Your credit utilization would be much lower as a percentage since you have so much more open to buy. If you have been applying for other credit cards and unsecured loans to move this debt to, and you’ve been getting turned down, stop applying, those inqueries will stay on there for 3 years. I would focus on getting this balance paid down, and if everything else on your bureaus is ok, your score should start rising again.
February 11th, 2009 at 10:48 pm
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You can also read this:. You can always handle debt by yourself