Debt..

[MisStarrlight]

Credit cards suck! I've got $7,500 in credit card debt (I couldn't work my last semester of school so everything got charged), and like $50,000 in student loans (before interest). I pay the monthly on my student loans & try to pay extra on each of my cards, but I end up only being able to pay the minimum on most of them & then about $50 extra on the one with the biggest balance.
I actually just opened a new card with a really low interest (4.9%)...it is going to suck up all my little store cards (Vicky's, Old Navy, etc) and leave me with that & the one with the biggest balance. So I'll have lower interest overall instead of paying $20 here & there, I will be able to concentrate my payments & hopefully get everything paid off in less that 2 years.
Once they're paid off, I'm putting the cards away for real emergencies....cause apparently opening & closing a lot of cards is another thing you want to be careful about...I guess it looks bad on your credit report.

 

[litlaur]

Quote:

Originally Posted by Kels823 I actually have Student Loan debt as well, about $4k... That is REALLY a sucky feeling, especially when you arent doing nething w/ your degree/certificate (at least Im not, Im in a totally different field).. *sigh*.. something has to give.. something HAS to change..

Hey, at least you're working so you can make some payments! You're doing something about it, rather than just letting it build up.

Don't get yourself so down. This is a stage a lot of people go through, and you've taken the first steps you need to get out of it.

 

[stacey]

Credit cards, a dirty habit.

If you want to build credit don't close your credit cards. Use them, like buy gas or something, and pay it off consistantly. Bureaus look for long standing credit cards. They also like to not see them more than 60% maxed out.

 

[melozburngr]

I feel your pain. I started off this year with $4500-5000 worth of Credit card debt. most of it, ok, ALL of it was for unnecessary stupid impulse purchases. There was my GAP Card, My Discover Card, My Capital One Card, and did I mention that I was three months behind on my student loan payments? Its very hard to fess up and say "hey-stupid, STOP SPENDING!" but I managed. I talked to my mom about it, and we agreed that she would transfer the balances to her low 3.9% interest card (mine was at 24.99% APR, which is rape, imo) and I would pay her as much as I possibly could afford (always MUCH over the minimum balance) every month. I worked it out where I signed my tax return over to her, my year-end bonus that remained from the december a few weeks before was signed over to her, and I pay her around $200 a month, which is a lot for my budget to stand. I got a second, part-time job (I work at the Body Shop) on weekends and some nights. I'm happy to say that after this year-end bonus, I will be just a few hundred dollars away from being out of credit card debt. Its hard, its been a pain, I've had to cut back (no more MAC

) I work what seems like constantly, I do freelance design on top of my two jobs, etc.. but the feeling at the end will be so totally worth it. I have one credit card still open, my cap one card. I don't carry it, use it, know the number, really don't even know where it is. (its somewhere in my apt) so after this cc debt, I know not to do it to myself ever again, I've kinda learned what I can and can't live with or without, and what I'm willing to work for. Next debt to tackle.... STUDENT LOANS... all $14,000 of them. yay for low low interest. (it's good debt, so I'm not as concerned with it)

 

[*Stargazer*]

Quote:

Originally Posted by stacey If you want to build credit don't close your credit cards. Use them, like buy gas or something, and pay it off consistantly. Bureaus look for long standing credit cards. They also like to not see them more than 60% maxed out.

GREAT advice to keep them open. Closing them is a horrible idea. You will maximize your FICO score by keeping the balances under 20 percent though.

I'm not sure if we are allowed to mention other websites here (please remove this if we can't), but a fantastic resource is creditboards.com.

 

[Kels823]

edited, nvmd