Current Events > Any tips on tackling 9,000 worth of C.C debt?

(+) Yeah! (+)

We've always been responsible with money and to this day we have never missed a payment on anything. Last year we just had a few unplanned back to back expenses and we put some of it on the CC. Weve been paying slightly above the minimum so it has barely budged. We CAN pay more, but have gotten a bit lazy about it since we dont see the other person taking big dents at it.

Came to a deal with my wife that we should each pay at least 300 each monthly, though between trips and more trips (all my wives doing cause she wants to see her family) we havent really stuck to it. So after our kids back to school we plan to actually start getting serious about it. Any good tips some of you might have? Any experience with credit transfers? Loans?

A loan might be a good solution if you can find a place that has a lower interest rate then your CC company currently has going for you. Ditto opening a new credit card if you can find one that offers you a nice long (year or more) 0% balance transfer card.
Also, just plain try and talk to your cc company. A lot of places have hardship programs, so if those unplanned expenses were medical related you might qualify for a better rate or possibly some interest forgiveness. Hell, the economy has been crap, inflation has outstripped pay by a big margin, so even if that debt wasn't medical related you still might be able to swing s desl.

You could get a low/no interest for X months card, but you gotta make sure you get one without balance transfer fees.

Whatever extra you do put towards it though, make sure you're not putting yourself into a position where what you paid, you might find yourself having to charge.

I was on a bad cycle of paying X so I'd have X to spend for a while and it ain't no way to live

JuanCarlos1 posted...

We've always been responsible with money and to this day we have never missed a payment on anything. Last year we just had a few unplanned back to back expenses and we put some of it on the CC. Weve been paying slightly above the minimum so it has barely budged. We CAN pay more, but have gotten a bit lazy about it since we dont see the other person taking big dents at it.

Are you saying you and your wife both don't see each other taking big dents at it so both of you end up being lazy about it? Or, are you Venom, and referring to a different person in that last bolded part? (I'm hoping the latter tbh)

AlCalavicci posted...

Are you saying you and your wife both don't see each other taking big dents at it so both of you end up being lazy about it? Or, are you Venom, and referring to a different person in that last bolded part? (I'm hoping the latter tbh)

Lol I hope not. I don't understand people who are married with houses and kids etc who just wing it with finances.

Directly deposit into a shared account proportional to your incomes. Any shared expenses get put on a shared card that gets auto paid for out of that account.

AlCalavicci posted...

Are you saying you and your wife both don't see each other taking big dents at it so both of you end up being lazy about it? Or, are you Venom, and referring to a different person in that last bolded part? (I'm hoping the latter tbh)

this also confused me

Make more money?

JuanCarlos1 posted...

We CAN pay more

Pay off as much you can and skip things you can do without until it's paid off.

Are you asking for tips besides dont spend a bunch of money on trips and more trips because thats the single biggest tip

No worries. Eventually you'll be dead and your accrued debt won't matter.

I would suggest setting up an automatic payment each week so that the money gets transferred before you can use it for something else. You don't have to wait until the end of the bill cycle to pay, so pay a dedicated amount toward it each week, then pay even more (as much as you can) near the due date as your monthly payment.

Say what you want about him but Dave Ramsey is on point with his snowball method

What that means is that you should tackle the smallest debt first and pay a lot toward it and pay small payments on the other ones. Once one card is done, tackle the next smallest one and continue from there until all the cards are paid off.

Feel free to call it this a stupid question because if you have the option you likely would have done it already, but do you have retirement savings or something you can pull from? The penalties for early withdrawal will probably be less than the CC interest payments in the long run.

JuanCarlos1 posted...

but have gotten a bit lazy about it since we dont see the other person taking big dents at it.

This exposes a weakness in your overall approach to relationship finances IMO. Neither of you are seeing this as a shared priority goal.

skullmagic2 posted...

Feel free to call it this a stupid question because if you have the option you likely would have done it already, but do you have retirement savings or something you can pull from? The penalties for early withdrawal will probably be less than the CC interest payments in the long run.

Dont do this!