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Mine was re-reported once I paid them an old balance as part of their OASIS program. I am still having a problem waiting for it to appear on EX but with the holidays and all I have not had the time or inclination to decide how I want to handle it.
honeybrook1 wrote:SmartCookie, how did you get your old AMEX account added back in? I had a closed, positive AMEX TL on my credit report from 1997 that TU deleted by accident. They will not put it back on, and I was nervous to call AMEX because I don't want them to just delete the account all together. I would also like them to report this on my EQ. Is there a # or an addy that you can share? I would appreciate greatly anything you can tell me. Thank you.
cheddar wrote:
It always costs you the least amount of money to pay down the highest rate first. This is not to say there isn't a psychological benefit from paying off smaller balances first. But from a purely financial standpoint, the rate is all that matters, not the size of the balance.Again, from a purely financial standpoint, the point is to determine which balance will save you the most per dollar paid. That will always be the balance with the highest APR.Yes, the interest will be higher in dollars on a $2100 balance @ 10.99% than it will be on a $250 balance @ 12%. But if you have $250 to pay, applying it to the 12% balance will always save you more money than applying it to the 10.99% balance.
Now I can agree to disagree on this one. But then I am not talking about managing minimum payments either. Ok the 2100 is costing you 19.23/mo. The 250 is costing you 2.50 in HARD money per month. If I had a lump sum (and it would need to be more than the 250.00) on the higher interest rates. I would definitely apply to the larger balance to brign the hard money going out the door in line. For me the bottom line is how much in X amount of dollars it is costing me, not how much the bank is making.I would agree with this if we were talkng about min payments. BUT, you are still talking about percentage per dollar. If you look at hard money going out on a monthly basis. It is sometimes more beneficial to pay a lump sum towards the highest balance even if it is the lower of the two interest rates... What that does is bring down the monthly interest amount on the larger balance. But again it all depends on your goals.Whatever you are payign in interest is EXTRA money. Would I rather pay an extra 19.50 a month or 2 bucks?
Brammy wrote:Whatever you are payign in interest is EXTRA money. Would I rather pay an extra 19.50 a month or 2 bucks?
Message Edited by Brammy on 01-02-2008 05:36 PM
Brammy, no disrespect intended here. I don't like to be so argumentative, but the math just doesn't add up. It's not really a matter of agreeing to disagree.
Brammy wrote:Whatever you are payign in interest is EXTRA money. Would I rather pay an extra 19.50 a month or 2 bucks?
There's a lot to be said for psychological motivation. We are, after all, human beings, who are emotion driven. Just like a Dr. will tell you whatever works to initially get you to quit smoking- if it is a "smaller" bad habit ( I can't put of any other way to put it) - if it gets you to quit smoking, they will tell you whatever works, and then deal w/ that habit next. I.E.- if chewing gum (bad habit if it is not sugar free) or eating a little more makes you gain 10 lbs, but overall you have quit smoking and not picked back up- they will turn their heads while you gain the extra 10 lbs and tell you to then concentrate on the ten lbs. after a good 3-6 mos of NOT smoking.
Noah_Bodie wrote:The simple reality is that if one is in debt to be paid off over a period of time then one is going to be paying minimums on at least some of the bills--otherwise you woulda PIF things as they rolled in.If you wanna add on a few bucks to every payment to ensure at least something gets paid down on the principle, well OK, if you want or need that psychological advantage.Even Dave Ramsey and his flock will admit, when pressed to the wall, that his belief system of necessary pain and suffering while here on Earth, and the paying off of smallest debts first, is simply psychological. A lot of people need that, but if you can analyze it objectively ya always pay higher interest debt first to get outta debt the fastest and for the least amount of money outta pocket in finance charges.