Hey there - messed up my credit again.

[Koof]

Hey there. So earlier this year I was on track with trying to rebuild my credit - my score was the highest I'd ever seen it (somewhere in the upper 600's which is still pretty pathetic). I opened up a couple of cards to help with that, but ended up maxing them out. I don't know why I have such a serious issue controlling myself. I know I only have myself to blame for this, but my question is - can you help me figure out which ones I should pay off first or focus on first? I'm going to be having a baby soon and won't be able to finish paying them off by the time I do, so my husband will unfortunately be taking over until I go back to work (and I'm not sure when that will be). I'm trying to figure out what would be the best plan. My credit cards are:

VS - $816 balance, 24.99% interest // $1,900 CL

Amazon - $590 balance, 25.99% interest // $800 CL

Barclay - $850 balance, 0% interest until May of 2016, then it'll be 19.74% // $900 CL

CapOne - $1950 balance, 0% interest until Feb 2016, then it'll be 22.99% // $2,000 CL (should be automatically increasing in Dec. to $2,500 with credit steps program)

Paypal credit balance of $300 (which I plan on paying off by next month).

I'll only be bringing in approx. $2000 with my job before the baby is born in Jan., I do have some other bills that have to be paid monthly as well - I'm wondering what any leftover income I have should be put toward first? I''m clueless when it comes to these things. Thanks for your help.

[Anonymous]

I'd do Amazon, VS, Cap One, Barclays. I'm assuming here that you'd be able to payoff the Cap One and Barclays before the 0% offers end.

With the Amazon and VS being so close in interest rates I don't think it matters, I'd just get the smallest one of the two paid off first. The Barclays has the longest 0% offer so tackle it last.

[Anonymous]

I would say pay the high interest stuff first - the send as much as you can to the rest.

[Anonymous]

Whatever you do don't stop paying. Always pay at least the minimum. Don't allow it to spiral out of control. You can still come back. Once you get them half way start asking for CLI to help reduce your utilization. Best Wishes!

[Anonymous]

I also echo the others, pay at least the minimum on everything, and if possible, add five bucks to each.

I would also add - are any of the CCs close to max CL?

If any of them are close to max, after paying the minimum + 5 on all the accounts, I would try to get them back under 80% of the max.

Sometimes, creditors look at other accounts and might consider decreasing your CL because it appears you are at risk and they want to protect their position.  It would be better to avoid appearing that way with maxed out accounts.  Sometimes, a creditor might consider balance chasing you downward, meaning they lower your CL as you pay it down.

Congrats and GL on the new baby too!

[Koof]

Hi there, thank you all for your responses. I forgot to add what the credit limits were, so I updated my OP to reflect that (also, my VS card balance was a little less than what I thought it was).

I don't think I'll be able to pay the Barclay and CapOne before the 0% interest period ends - at least not CapOne. Barclays, possibly, with tax refund since that will come before May. I *think* I may be able to pay off the VS and Amazon, or at least come very close before I stop working - do you think that would be better, to focus on those (which also have the highest rate), or should I focus on paying min. on all cards and whatever extra I can on the cards that are nearly maxed? Almost all of my cards (except VS) have a $25 min. payment every month, I *usually* pay at least $50, but with Amazon and VS it seems to get me almost nowhere. I feel like it's not going down at all.

One thing I have been doing to try to boost my credit a little is requesting increases with VS. I request an increase just about every month, and every month, it gets approved, usually by $200 more. Only one time it didn't, and that was because I accidentally hit the love button too soon. Is this a good idea to continue increasing it as much as I can in order to lower my total utilization?

[Anonymous]

Yes, its good to ask for CLIs, unless it says a HP, then think it over before submitting.

Increasing the CLI does help with UTI calculation.

I think the UTI goes something like all CCs under 50% gets a couple points, then 40 and 30 and so on, with under 10 being the big prize

I thought I was doing fine but I had a 250 secured card that I made a purchase on and then got a sale item without changing the payment method, so it blew up when the CC reported.  My overall UTI was still good, but that card was about 70%.  After I paid it down to under 30%, I got some points restored and I just did a PIF so it should be good again.

HTH