topic Re: Pay down... Help! in Credit Cards

Pay down... Help!

devineer1 — Mon, 15 Feb 2016 16:06:18 GMT

Morning all,

I will be getting my taxes back here soon and want to pay down both my major and store cards. The thing is I only have so much to work with and need to know how much to pay to whom. i kind of know who is more important, I think the how much is where I am getting hung up. I had myself on the Snowball plan, so I need incorporate how to make this all work in my favor. My store cards are not as important, I figure I will pay those down over time but will include them im the list so you can see my headache. (IO', sure its just me need to have my hand held) I was laid off about a month ago which caused a lot of usage.. explanation of balances!

Card Credit Line APR Balance

Cap One Sec $500 23.15% $445.84

Cap One QS1 $500 25.15% $467.14

Cap One Plat $600 0.00% $467.74 *checked 2 statements

Discover Sec $1000 23.24% $1016.34

First Savings $350 29.90% $313.40

The above are the ones I feel are super important and would love to get those paid down or off... the next group are cards that are under consideration to pay off and close when covienant

First Premier $300 36.0% $285.89

Wells Fargo Sec $500 19.24% $651.09

Store Cards

Ann Taylor $250 $76.67

Buckle $250 $250

Express $250 $215.96

Finger Hut $1600 $935.50

Justice $250 $201.88

Kohls (AU) $700 $622.05

NY&C $300 $153.16

Target (AU) $1300 $1194.85

Victoria Secrets $250 $233.19

I want to eventually get all these paid down but the top ones are more important!

Re: Pay down... Help!

Anonymous — Mon, 15 Feb 2016 15:21:49 GMT

Good on you for tagging your refund for this. What is your main goal in paying them down?

-Save the most amount of money? (need to know APR's on cards)

-Maximize your credit score? (I'm guessing this isn't the main concern, but gotta ask)

-Appease your lenders that you value most (as a primary goal, probably other goals closely behind)

-Lower monthly outlay (you don't mention minimum payments so I'm again guessing this isn't your primary concern, but gotta ask)

No matter your priority, we'd need to know how much you're getting back to take a stab at any advice.

Also, are they all current?

Re: Pay down... Help!

barbaralee — Mon, 15 Feb 2016 15:29:03 GMT

It would be a good idea to include the interest rates, to better advise. I know you said that you are doing the snowball method, but the avalanche method will save you the most money in the long term. I bet those store cards interest rates will make your eyes bulge. I know the Target should be at least 24%.

Re: Pay down... Help!

MyLoFICO — Mon, 15 Feb 2016 15:29:39 GMT

Payoff and close Fingerhut and First premier. You should file **bleep** charges against both companies too. Then payoff the low balance ones. That should free up enough "minimum payments" which you should apply to the other cards. I just did what you are doing but my taxes covered all of mine. It is a very nice feeling. It might also help to let us know how much capital you intend on putting towards these balances.

Re: Pay down... Help!

devineer1 — Mon, 15 Feb 2016 15:50:35 GMT

@Anonymous wrote:
Good on you for tagging your refund for this. What is your main goal in paying them down?
-Save the most amount of money? (need to know APR's on cards)
-Maximize your credit score? (I'm guessing this isn't the main concern, but gotta ask)
-Appease your lenders that you value most (as a primary goal, probably other goals closely behind)
-Lower monthly outlay (you don't mention minimum payments so I'm again guessing this isn't your primary concern, but gotta ask)

No matter your priority, we'd need to know how much you're getting back to take a stab at any advice.
Also, are they all current?

My ultimate goal is all of the above mentioned. I wil go back an edit adding the APR's. I am allocating about $2K-3K to cards as I have other obligations.

Re: Pay down... Help!

Dalmus — Mon, 15 Feb 2016 16:11:05 GMT

It looks like you have a couple of cards balances that are higher than your credit line... The Wells Fargo Secured is signficantly over. Are you late on that one? How late? Credit score is probably not your priority, but it makes sense to at least protect the score you currently have rather than let it get trashed trashed.

I would Pay down the Discover and Wells Cards and get them under control. If the Well's card is one you don't care about, pay it off, close it, get your deposit back, and put it towards a card you DO care about.

Let us know how much of a refund you're expecting and what the APRs are. That will affect what a lot of people tell you to do.

I'm making an assumption, but I would think saving money is your priority?

Re: Pay down... Help!

devineer1 — Mon, 15 Feb 2016 16:19:50 GMT

@Dalmus wrote:
It looks like you have a couple of cards balances that are higher than your credit line... The Wells Fargo Secured is signficantly over. Are you late on that one? How late? Credit score is probably not your priority, but it makes sense to at least protect the score you currently have rather than let it get trashed trashed.

I would Pay down the Discover and Wells Cards and get them under control. If the Well's card is one you don't care about, pay it off, close it, get your deposit back, and put it towards a card you DO care about.

Let us know how much of a refund you're expecting and what the APRs are. That will affect what a lot of people tell you to do.

I'm making an assumption, but I would think saving money is your priority?

Yes Wells and Discover are over limit but current.. all cards are paid and current just have high balances! Closing the Wells... well thinking about it, bank practices have burned me and affected my history with them based on the way they choose to process transactions, it is my oldest card so far which is my down side.

Re: Pay down... Help!

barbaralee — Mon, 15 Feb 2016 16:28:19 GMT

Holy hell, that First Premier is at 36%!!

What are the APRs on the store cards?

Also, that Cap1 is at 0%, that should be a low priority.

Re: Pay down... Help!

Dalmus — Mon, 15 Feb 2016 16:38:02 GMT

@barbaralee wrote:
Holy hell, that First Premier is at 36%!!

What are the APRs on the store cards?

Also, that Cap1 is at 0%, that should be a low priority.

Actually, depending on the refund he gets... Maybe paying that Cap1 to 0 may be a good idea. He could than balance transfer and close First Premier for sure. Same with Ann Taylor. If he can also pay offf NY&C, Buckle and Justice, that's 5 cards he can take that minimum $25-$35 payment for ($125 minimum extra per month) and start snowballing the other cards.

Re: Pay down... Help!

devineer1 — Mon, 15 Feb 2016 16:38:26 GMT

@barbaralee wrote:
Holy hell, that First Premier is at 36%!!

What are the APRs on the store cards?

Also, that Cap1 is at 0%, that should be a low priority.

I know right!!!! The store cards are not that big of a deal... or I am not making a big fuss about them, 3 daughters and the use on those are pretty regular... so I pay them down and use them as I need to.. My main focus is on the Majors.. lol

Re: Pay down... Help!

Dalmus — Mon, 15 Feb 2016 16:50:34 GMT

@devineer1 wrote:
Yes Wells and Discover are over limit but current.. all cards are paid and current just have high balances! Closing the Wells... well thinking about it, bank practices have burned me and affected my history with them based on the way they choose to process transactions, it is my oldest card so far which is my down side.

Closing it wouldn't affect your credit history, as it would stay reporting positive (assuming you pay it below the limit before a statement posts) for many years whether open or closed.

Since the store cards aren't a priority, I would get those over-the-limit cards paid down, and then work on First Premier and First Savings. Given your priorities, I would close First Premier before I close Wells. At least Wells might grow with you later. First Premier will always be a vampire on your finances.

Re: Pay down... Help!

tcbofade — Mon, 15 Feb 2016 16:55:31 GMT

@devineer1 wrote:
Morning all,

I will be getting my taxes back here soon and want to pay down both my major and store cards. The thing is I only have so much to work with and need to know how much to pay to whom. i kind of know who is more important, I think the how much is where I am getting hung up. I had myself on the Snowball plan, so I need incorporate how to make this all work in my favor. My store cards are not as important, I figure I will pay those down over time but will include them im the list so you can see my headache. (IO', sure its just me need to have my hand held) I was laid off about a month ago which caused a lot of usage.. explanation of balances!

Card Credit Line APR Balance
Cap One Sec $500 23.15% $445.84
Cap One QS1 $500 25.15% $467.14
Cap One Plat $600 0.00% $467.74 *checked 2 statements
Discover Sec $1000 23.24% $1016.34
First Savings $350 29.90% $313.40

The above are the ones I feel are super important and would love to get those paid down or off... the next group are cards that are under consideration to pay off and close when covienant

First Premier $300 36.0% $285.89
Wells Fargo Sec $500 19.24% $651.09

Store Cards
Ann Taylor $250 $76.67
Buckle $250 $250
Express $250 $215.96
Finger Hut $1600 $935.50
Justice $250 $201.88
Kohls (AU) $700 $622.05
NY&C $300 $153.16
Target (AU) $1300 $1194.85
Victoria Secrets $250 $233.19

I want to eventually get all these paid down but the top ones are more important!

If the top five are the most important to you, and you wish to spend $2k - $3k, I don't see any confusion. You can pay all five of them off for $2700, or just pay off the four that are actually charging you interest for $2200.

As others have mentioned, you might want to consider getting First Premier higher on your priority list. They have their place and serve their purpose, but they are also an expensive card to keep if you don't need to.

Good luck!

Re: Pay down... Help!

Chris679 — Mon, 15 Feb 2016 19:40:14 GMT

Leave Cap One at 0%, pay down everything that's over the limit, pay the highest apr off the rest of them. Stop using all of these cards and pay cash until you pif for two months. You have no grace period so using them is just digging a deeper hole for yourself.