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It is commendable that you've been able to reduce your balances already. To speed pay-off can you:
Where did you find this graph? Or did you create it? This is impressive and I need one.
bravo for not missing any payments and staying on top of all that. i'd reiterate debt snowball and second job. Also depending on the APR reduction they'd be willing to do, it may be worth it to consider closing one, any, or all. if your transunion is 699 that is a decent score that will only go up as your utilization decreases, so once you are caught up and debt free i can't imagine you not being able to apply for and get whatever you want. once again great job keeping everything current.
@maiden_girl wrote:It's been some time since I've posted in this forum. I have gone through significant life and financial changes. When I first came to this forum in 2011, I was so excited to start my credit journey, obtain new credit, and get credit limit increases. It was exciting and awesome....back then. Now that I am older and wiser and understand the consequences of credit a hell of a lot more, I am working to make better decisions. I came to this forum with zero debt. After job loss, cut backs, extended unemployment (this also includes making dumb decisions), I return with over 30k in debt. How did I let this happen? How did I get to this point?
I am currently working to get out of this mess I have made for myself. I am simply tired of not having money for simple things like groceries, gas for my car, or money for rent. It's like as soon as I pay someone, the balance goes right back up with crazy interest and a payment is due again. I have called several times every other month to have my APR reduced across the board. So far, only Discover reduced my APR from 19% to 16.49%. Most of the other companies raised my APR, lowered my CL, and INCREASED my minimum payments due *coughs* CitiBank *coughs*. I am living paycheck to paycheck at this point with a majority of my income going toward bills. I have cut all credit card usage completely and only use cash. I try to pay more than the minimum payment and currently working to pay off Chase Freedom by the end of the year because the interest is drowning me. I made about 29k last year but I expect to earn more this year as I just received a promotion at work. I used to look at people's debt situations and say MAN, that would never be me! I would NEVER let THAT happen. Well....I did...and here I am. Any advice would be greatly appreicated as to how to lower interest without closing accounts because my credit score would completely tank. Cap1 and Chase Freedom are my oldest accounts. Right now, Transunion FICO 8 is in the mid 699 and I think that's pushing it. UPDATE: no baddies, no lates, or collections. Accounts currently in good standing and payments on time.
Credit Cards Balances Credit Limits Payments APR Capital One $ 4,722.23 $ 5,000.00 $135.00 21.40% CitiBank $ 5,861.43 $ 6,930.00 $157.66 18.49% Chase Slate $ 5,127.23 $ 5,300.00 $111.00 13.49% Chase Freedom $ 4,565.16 $ 5,000.00 $142.00 23.49% Discover IT $ 5,771.28 $ 6,000.00 $119.00 16.49% Lending Club (loan) $ 5,519.66 $ 10,000.00 $341.73 13.99% Total $ 31,566.99 $ 38,230.00 $1,006.39
My suggestion would be to pay minimum + $ 5 monthly on each credit card account other than Chase Freedom, and whatever else you have towards
the Chase Freedom. When you get the Freedom paid down to zero, then start in on the next highest interest rate account.
I'm probably going to get grief for this, but I'm going to offer something that may sound weird. I wouldn't cut out all CC usage entirely. Instead, I would utilize my rewards as much as possible, and pay off any charges that same day when I get home.
For example, right now your Discover IT card offers 5% back on gas. Sure you may pay 4 cents per gallon more for using credit, but you are getting back 5 cents on the dollar in rewards. Depending where you live, that's 10-15 cents on the gallon. That could be an extra $25 every few months to pay on your card.
In april, your chase freedom will be offering 5% on groceries. If you spend just $167 a month on groceries, at the end of the quarter, there's another $25 to pay on the card. If you're like me, it would be $25 a month.
As long as you are using money that was going out anyway (e.g. groceries and gas), and paying it off right away, the interest paid on the charges is just pennies. You just have to keep on top of it, and be sure to not use that as an excuse for buying things.
If OP can keep to Brad's idea and stay on top of it, using rewards to pay the balance is not a bad idea. But if one could do so, they wouldn't be in credit card debt in the first place. So I'd be very careful playing this strategy.