Pay down OR off

[candiigraham]

I have almost $6000 in CC debt the I break down below: I have $3500 tax return that I'm not sure if I should pay off the interest holding cards or pay down all cards to 30% usage?  I know now to not let my CC get past 30% of account limit. My score is 720 and I want to get it close to 800 to buy a foreclosure in the fall.

CC......Limit.......Balance.......APR

Amazon....800.....445......23.99

Discover....1300....1200.....0% til Sept 2015

US Bank.....1000.....945......21.99

Fifth3rd......2000......1900....0% til May 2016

Neighbors...25000.....1718......5% this is a Certificate of Deposit (so I borrowed against my own money)

Should I pay down to 30% of CC limit or pay off the 3 accounts that have APR attached to them?  Thanks

[Anonymous]

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@candiigraham wrote:

I have almost $6000 in CC debt the I break down below: I have $3500 tax return that I'm not sure if I should pay off the interest holding cards or pay down all cards to 30% usage?  I know now to not let my CC get past 30% of account limit. My score is 720 and I want to get it close to 800 to buy a foreclosure in the fall.

CC......Limit.......Balance.......APR

Amazon....800.....445......23.99

Discover....1300....1200.....0% til Sept 2015

US Bank.....1000.....945......21.99

Fifth3rd......2000......1900....0% til May 2016

Neighbors...25000.....1718......5% this is a Certificate of Deposit (so I borrowed against my own money)

Should I pay down to 30% of CC limit or pay off the 3 accounts that have APR attached to them?  Thanks

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I'd pay OFF my cards with interest, then whittle down the rest of the cards to ~30% by the fall when you're ready to purchase your home.

In your list, pay off Amazon and US Bank.  Pay down Discover and Fifth3rd, 810 to Discover would bring you to 30%, the remaining 1300 to Fifth3rd brings you to 30%.  Spend the rest of the year paying down your CD loan and paying off Discover before September.

[Anonymous]

+1 agree with HC

[chwebb1]

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@candiigraham wrote:

I have almost $6000 in CC debt the I break down below: I have $3500 tax return that I'm not sure if I should pay off the interest holding cards or pay down all cards to 30% usage?  I know now to not let my CC get past 30% of account limit. My score is 720 and I want to get it close to 800 to buy a foreclosure in the fall.

CC......Limit.......Balance.......APR

Amazon....800.....445......23.99

Discover....1300....1200.....0% til Sept 2015

US Bank.....1000.....945......21.99

Fifth3rd......2000......1900....0% til May 2016

Neighbors...25000.....1718......5% this is a Certificate of Deposit (so I borrowed against my own money)

Should I pay down to 30% of CC limit or pay off the 3 accounts that have APR attached to them?  Thanks

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Definitely pay off any cards that you're currently paying interest on, and then pay off based on when the 0% expires so you're not likely to have to pay interest on those, so pay Discover first (after paying off your other balances), and Fifth Third second.

[aav]

Personally, I would pay down the biggest debts first.. even though the others have interest, you will not likely have the opportunity to knock down the bigger balances again with a big payment. I would pay $1,000 to  each of the three highest balances and $500 to Amazon. It would be a huge relief to get those paid down then I could tackle the others and breathe a little more easily.

[candiigraham]

I'm going to do what HC said because that gives me more money each month.  AAV--  I will just have Fifth3rd and CD to worry about and I can pay that big balance off before the 0% ends next May.  I've already cut the cards up (NEVER CLOSE A LINE OF CREDIT), just so I don't use them.  Thanks everyone.  

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@aav wrote:

Personally, I would pay down the biggest debts first.. even though the others have interest, you will not likely have the opportunity to knock down the bigger balances again with a big payment. I would pay $1,000 to  each of the three highest balances and $500 to Amazon. It would be a huge relief to get those paid down then I could tackle the others and breathe a little more easily.

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[chalupaman]

I don't have much to add further but paying the highest interest cards should be your main priority. You can even look into transferring those balances somewhere and paying them down that way too if you can get a good BT card besides Discover.