topic Re: Im in a bit of a crunch... in Credit Cards

Im in a bit of a crunch...

Anonymous — Sun, 25 Oct 2015 14:26:45 GMT

First off, I just want to say my fico has the worst login procedure of all time! (8th account here)

So my situation is getting a little bad...I am about to finish my graduate degree but fafsa has stopped with the gov loans due to academic reasons? (but I can still graduate?) So this semester I had to pick up the tab for my classes (3.5k) on my credit card. Next semester is my last and I need to do that same.

Now, I bought a house along with some credit cards earlier this year so my inquiries have kind of piled up. I can make a monthly for the 3.5k to pay it off in the 15 month I on my newly given CC but I cannot make the next 3.5k for next semester.

So what are my options now? Get a new credit card with hopefully another 15month 0% or get a personal loan?

Re: Im in a bit of a crunch...

lhcole77 — Sun, 25 Oct 2015 14:40:12 GMT

Some will argue that it's not a good idea to put tuition on credit cards. Others who argue it's a better idea to take out a loan. I would suggest that you should do whichever works better for your financial situation. If you are able to carry a balance at 0% for X amount of months but pay it off in a reasonable time, then it seems that would be the better way to go.

Just keep in mind that the more you put on credit cards the higher your utilization will be.

What is your current profile like?

Re: Im in a bit of a crunch...

Anonymous — Sun, 25 Oct 2015 14:42:15 GMT

@Anonymous wrote:
First off, I just want to say my fico has the worst login procedure of all time! (8th account here)

So my situation is getting a little bad...I am about to finish my graduate degree but fafsa has stopped with the gov loans due to academic reasons? (but I can still graduate?) So this semester I had to pick up the tab for my classes (3.5k) on my credit card. Next semester is my last and I need to do that same.

Now, I bought a house along with some credit cards earlier this year so my inquiries have kind of piled up. I can make a monthly for the 3.5k to pay it off in the 15 month I on my newly given CC but I cannot make the next 3.5k for next semester.

So what are my options now? Get a new credit card with hopefully another 15month 0% or get a personal loan?

Ouch. That's rough. To pay off 3.5k in 15 months would be 233 a month. Can you squeeze out any more than that per month to save ahead for next semester? Or pay off this semester early so that you can finance next semester on the same 0% promo? I'm grasping at straws here. If I was that close to my graduate degree, I would be begging, borrowing, or whatever to get it done (and for the record, I absolutely hate being in debt, but I think this is THAT important). I wish I had better advice to give. I hope someone here will have better answers than I. Good luck to you, Captain!

Re: Im in a bit of a crunch...

Anonymous — Sun, 25 Oct 2015 15:23:03 GMT

Because you already have a house, and assuming your not looking to move or refinance in the coming year or two, I would go with whatever the cheapest possible option is. Most likely, it will be a CC with an interest free promo.

Re: Im in a bit of a crunch...

notpaul — Sun, 25 Oct 2015 15:46:47 GMT

Personally I'd take a year off, study a lot and work on some research projects, and reenter the program when I felt more prepared for success. There are a lot of personal reasons people need time away from school, there shouldn't be any shame with it. If its for academic reasons, especially if its a graduate program, you could be digging yourself into a bigger hole as you may not be able to graduate. They often require a B+ average, with no course lower than a B-, which is higher than the fafsa loan requirement.

Re: Im in a bit of a crunch...

Anonymous — Sun, 25 Oct 2015 15:55:28 GMT

Ya I hear you guys...will see next Janurary if I can secure an even higher 0% time limit for the second semester. About delaying it...that not gonna happen, Ive been at it for 3.5 years now. So no personal loans worth that low amount?

Edit: my profile is 2% utilization, 7 cards, 750s mostly except for experian, opened 3 cards this years hence why im weary of opening again.

Re: Im in a bit of a crunch...

NRB525 — Sun, 25 Oct 2015 16:13:26 GMT

@Anonymous wrote:
Ya I hear you guys...will see next Janurary if I can secure an even higher 0% time limit for the second semester. About delaying it...that not gonna happen, Ive been at it for 3.5 years now. So no personal loans worth that low amount?

Edit: my profile is 2% utilization, 7 cards, 750s mostly except for experian, opened 3 cards this years hence why im weary of opening again.

Please list out the cards you already have, including which bank they are with and the current credit line.

Re: Im in a bit of a crunch...

Anonymous — Sun, 25 Oct 2015 17:05:04 GMT

You got me there....uhh... Discover IT (5k) Amazon (2.5k) Citi platinum (5k) BOA cash rewards (5k), Chase freedom (9.1k), TD cash rewards (4k), captial 1 venture (10k), Barclay (7.5k), I guess thats 8. But only BOA and Citi have the 0% balance transfer offers and capital 1 has the debt on it for 15 months

Re: Im in a bit of a crunch...

Anonymous — Sun, 25 Oct 2015 18:20:56 GMT

Have you made an attempt at the financial aid office to deal with this? Squeaky wheel gets the oil. You are almost ready to graduate? I wouldnt take a year off over 3 grand. Go to the financial aid office and speak with them as they may be able to make a payment plan with you, usually in 4 or 5 payments. You still should be able to get more unsubsidized loans though, if not, then just get a private loan if your cc util is high. I would NOT be charging tuition even if its at 0 percent. Too risky. Needs to be separate. Unless you know for a fact you are getting a job with specific income. Just my 2 cents.

Sounds like your GPA may have dropped. You gotta buddy up with the teachers and do all the b$*% work you can for extra credit. Its how life goes.

I would be filling out a boilerplate essay for some scholarships. They start at $20 and go up to the thousands. You would be shocked at the amount of free money out there. But it gets tough. Believe me, I was living a time where ramen noodles were a luxury!

How hard of a time will you have getting a job post grad? 3500 a semester sounds reasonable to me but living expenses are not cheap.

This is worthy of gofundme if it comes to it. WIth your credit you shouldnt have a problem getting this covered privately, but the interest may cost ya.

Re: Im in a bit of a crunch...

Pway — Sun, 25 Oct 2015 18:20:36 GMT

I understand where you are coming from with tuition to a certain point. I refuse to put my tuition on my credit cards, I will save up the money to attend school again. This is a big no in my book, I will take out loans all day but credit cards is not wise when it comes to tuition. I am out of school right now because I have ran out of federal aid and loans will not cover the whole tuition balance, so I will return to school one day.

Re: Im in a bit of a crunch...

notpaul — Sun, 25 Oct 2015 20:08:09 GMT

My point about taking time off isn't really about the money. It sounds like this is a bigger issue. Federal aid usually requires a C average to maintain it. A lot of graduate schools won't even award a degree to someone with a graduate GPA below a B-. Even undergraduate schools often require a C average to award a degree. Have you discussed this with your advisors? I would be sure I consulted with them, the financial aid office, and the registrar. Or else you make complete all the course requirements and paid all your fees only to find that you do not qualify for a degree due to unsatisfactory academic progress.

Re: Im in a bit of a crunch...

NRB525 — Sun, 25 Oct 2015 22:49:53 GMT

@Anonymous wrote:
You got me there....uhh... Discover IT (5k) Amazon (2.5k) Citi platinum (5k) BOA cash rewards (5k), Chase freedom (9.1k), TD cash rewards (4k), captial 1 venture (10k), Barclay (7.5k), I guess thats 8. But only BOA and Citi have the 0% balance transfer offers and capital 1 has the debt on it for 15 months

That's fine. Consider charging the tuition on the Freedom card, then doing a BT over to either the BofA or the Citi card. You will pay a BT Fee of 3% or 4%, but then the funds are in a 0% APR mode. I am getting BofA offers now that run out to May 2017 with 0% for a 4% fee. Tough to beat that, and it's a known source of low cost funds. Either of the Citi or BofA card can handle the $3k in tuition (you should pay a bit of it, and this reduces the BT fee).

You can even call Discover to see if they have a "reduced APR" for you. I called them in late September looking to get my permanent APR reduced by another 1%-2% in an ongoing effort to reduce that, and they countered with 12-months at 0% Purchase APR. Ok, sign me up, combined with a 0% BT offer, not bad. But you often have to call Discover to raise these offers up.

Re: Im in a bit of a crunch...

tntexans72 — Sun, 25 Oct 2015 23:10:30 GMT

The house you just bought can help out with tuition. Maybe rent a room out to someone you know at school etc...explore all options and choose the best direct course. Good luck.

Re: Im in a bit of a crunch...

Anonymous — Sun, 25 Oct 2015 23:46:21 GMT

I second the idea of talking to the school directly. My university offered a payment plan. It wasn't a loan (no hit on your credit) and they didn't charge any interest. You had to pay it back by the end of the semester - they wanted 1/3rd up front, 1/3rd by mid-marks, and 1/3rd at the end of the semester.

Re: Im in a bit of a crunch...

Anonymous — Mon, 26 Oct 2015 02:11:23 GMT

Wow thanks for the support! A little bit more about my academic history seems people want to know...my undergrad was fully paid for (scholarship) most of my grad degree I paid for with...you guessed it..credit cards! My gpa is actually very close to 3.0 and with the current grades (B+ and A) I should be back in the black before graduating. I have only put 9,000 of it to student loans (I despise sallie mae making money off me). Ive been doing it so with the 0% 12 month intro offers I get which has been working great for the most part. Job is decent but obviously with a house...expenses get a little crazy so I cant have this extra debt right now.

I will speak with the school (who coincidentally would pay for the PhD but not MS earlier) about my situation. But I dont think another 3.5k would hurt my util too much?

Re: Im in a bit of a crunch...

icyhot — Mon, 26 Oct 2015 03:02:28 GMT

I know people who would kill for $9,000 in student loan debt, myself included. You already have a house, I say knock out next semester with a private loan, and take out enough to pay off the CC that you put the tuition on. Yes you'll pay a tad more in interest, but $16,000 in installment debt beats $7000 in revolving debt any day IMO

Re: Im in a bit of a crunch...

NRB525 — Mon, 26 Oct 2015 03:56:02 GMT

@Anonymous wrote:
.
I dont think another 3.5k would hurt my util too much?

No, it would not. The thing about moving it to an existing card is, they already have some history of your payment performance. The $3.5k will be a sizeable lump on one of the cards, it will probably bring your score down some, but your main objective with this transaction is not FICO score, it's getting that tuition paid and then paying the bill with low interest. The FICO score will recover. You already are in your house, so there's obviously no mortgage app on the horizon. You have adequate other credit for PIF daily spend, so there's no need to apply for any other credit, thus no CCC is going to be looking at your credit report anyway.

Re: Im in a bit of a crunch...

Anonymous — Mon, 26 Oct 2015 11:17:59 GMT

I like the idea of taking on a roommate. The rent doesn't have to be that high to cover your tuition, and it only has to be for the one year. However, if you like the roommate, they can subsidize your mortgage for years.

Re: Im in a bit of a crunch...

Anonymous — Mon, 26 Oct 2015 11:24:14 GMT

Best of luck to you.

Re: Im in a bit of a crunch...

Anonymous — Mon, 26 Oct 2015 15:19:07 GMT

Im already 50% on my mortgage, rented the basement. As you all can tell, I am good with money management, its just this caught me off guard.

Thanks for the help peeps, I will choose my option wisely.