Where o' where do I start?

[Anonymous]

Hello Everyone, I've been reading the boards for a while now and I find myself some what addicted. Anyhow, I figured I would see if you all could give me some advice on paying me and my husbands credit card debt down. I have no idea where to start!

Here's the info:

Me: BofA Visa: CL $3500 B $3499 18.99%
Best Buy Store Card: CL $2000 B $600 0%
Delta Sky AMEX: CL $5200 B $0
Sam's Club: CL $600 B $0
CitiBank Platinum MC: CL $3000 B $0
FICO Scores: TU 654 EQ 655 EX 669

Husband:
BofA Visa: CL $6800 B $6690 18.99%
Best Buy Store: CL $3500 B $2772 24%
CU Visa: CL $7000 B $6900 10%
FICO Scores: TU 677 EQ 692 EX 723

I know, util is WAY too high. Right now I am paying $500 every two weeks to DH Best Buy since it has the highest APR. I pay $100 over the minimum for the rest. Are there any ideas of something else I should be doing? Thanks so much for your help!!!

Message Edited by kaeina on 12-12-2007 10:45 AM

[iDShaDoW]

You're pretty much on the ball. Highest interest accounts first and then work your way down. Get rid of that Best Buy balance first then start on the BofA cards.

[haulingthescoreup]

I understand about the higher APR, but that card is now an eensie bit under 80%. The two of you have 3 maxed out cards, which is killing your scores:

Me:
BofA Visa: CL $3500 B $3499 18.99% ---> 99.97% util
Best Buy Store Card: CL $2000 B $600 0% ---> 30% util
Delta Sky AMEX: CL $5200 B $0
Sam's Club: CL $600 B $0
CitiBank Platinum MC: CL $3000 B $0
FICO Scores: TU 654 EQ 655 EX 669

Husband:
BofA Visa: CL $6800 B $6690 18.99% ---> 98.38% util
Best Buy Store: CL $3500 B $2772 24% ---> 79.2% util
CU Visa: CL $7000 B $6900 10% ---> 98.57%
FICO Scores: TU 677 EQ 692 EX 723

You are in danger of being rate-jacked, having CL's reduced, and everything else under the sun. BofA is probably the scariest, so I would shift my attention to those two. You could technically BT some of your own BofA debt to your AmEx and MC, but that's just shoving stuff around.

But you might want to go to your CU (where you have the Visa) and talk to them about getting a loan to pay your cards down or off. The interest rate should be lower than on the CC's. Don't know if they would approve $20,000, but that's what you owe on your cards.

I hope that both of you have already taken all the cards out of your wallets and hidden them from yourselves. Don't close them, but don't use them. When they are finally paid down, you should each allow only one card to have a balance at any given time, and that balance should be under 10% of the CL on that card.

[Anonymous]

Thank you so much hauling! Yes, the cards are actually in our safe deposit box at the CU in SC and we are in VA soooo, that should keep us from using them. (the cards that are maxed out that is) I am going to take your advice and pay to the BofA first. Since I have 0% for 12 months on the citi I am going to transfer $3000 of my BofA to it and pay it off ASAP. That will leave $400+ on that card to be paid with the interest.

So do you think that $1000 (each) a month to DH BofA and CU Visa is a good amount? I don't know how much more we can come up with. The only reason is because we have two kids in daycare which is killing us! We pay $1376 a month for that! In my opinion it's a rip off. Anyway, thanks for all of the great advice!

[Anonymous]

MAN HTSU! I was just in the middle of typing that and proofreading when I saw your post plus I'm having interent probs. I guess the early bird get's the worm though. Although I didn't consider taking a loan out for those cards. I'm on a very need to have basis with loans. If I can afford to go without them, I don't take them out. If you guys can pay these down even if it takes some years, I wouldn't take out a loan. But if the interest is killing you and making that not possible, you may need a loan. Take care of those ultra high utils.

>> What I had originally typed:

I agree with iDShaDoW but one thing I would advise is to hit hard on those ultrahigh Utils first. For example, lets use your BofA 3499/3500 @ 18.99%. Thats a monthly rate of about 1.583%. If you were to bring your balance down to 3450 and somehow get in a rut and not be able to make the "100 over the minimum approach" then when your interest charge comes through (if you have no grace period which should be the case with that high of a balance and no PIF) you will get charged $54.61 in interest. Bringing your balance to $3504.61 and technically over your limit.

I have a Crapital One account and they gave me a $750 limit. I used to always push it up to $740 and some change until one day I let it go to $743. Well next thing you know my statement comes and my balance is $782. They charged me a $30 over limit fee and were talking about taking Adverse Action and all this other craziness. I fought them telling them it was their fault I went over limit because although the interest pushed me over my limit, I'm not the one that added the interest. I wined and complained enough to take the fee off and it showed the high balance on my report for that one month but there is no negative reporting due to it but I know it could have gotten real ugly. I never go over $700 on that card.

So as far as your long term payback is concerned, I think you have a fine strategy but in the meantime I would tackle the ultra high utils aggresively while you still have the other accounts at 0% util and even the one at 79% Util (his BB). So I would pay minimums on everything and take all the money I would have paid extra (those 100 overs and 500 overs) and divy them up over your BofA, his BofA, and his CU visa. Once these are down to 79% then I would include his BB into theis group. 

[Anonymous]

I would not transfer $3000 to the Citi with a $3000 CL. Transfer $1500 or $2000 tops. You don't want to go from a maxed account to another maxed account regardless of interst. The interest on the BofA if you trans $1500 would be on $1999 which is just $31 a month at first. Its worth it to not have your max on one card or the other.

BTW is the Citi 0% on BT, it might have 0% for purchases but a higher % for BT

Message Edited by berraco58 on 12-12-2007 09:01 AM

[haulingthescoreup]

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@Anonymous wrote:
Thank you so much hauling! Yes, the cards are actually in our safe deposit box at the CU in SC and we are in VA soooo, that should keep us from using them. (the cards that are maxed out that is) I am going to take your advice and pay to the BofA first. Since I have 0% for 12 months on the citi I am going to transfer $3000 of my BofA to it and pay it off ASAP. That will leave $400+ on that card to be paid with the interest.

So do you think that $1000 (each) a month to DH BofA and CU Visa is a good amount? I don't know how much more we can come up with. The only reason is because we have two kids in daycare which is killing us! We pay $1376 a month for that! In my opinion it's a rip off. Anyway, thanks for all of the great advice!

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Wow, that daycare is brutal! And I think having the cards two states away is bound to help.

If you can do $1000/ month on each card, I'd like to think that will be OK. (I was thinking that you only had a total of $500 biweekly available.) It's just that I've read so many posts about people paying well over the minimum on a regular basis, and the CCC still takes AA (adverse action.) I wouldn't max out your Citi though --maybe move just $2000 - $2400, and pay a bit less on it and more on the BofA. And as you pay down the Citi, you could shift some more over if needed, depending on how bad the BT fee is.

$2000/ month would get you a lot farther on a loan, with the lower interest, but it's all about how it works from your end. Got my fingers crossed for you!

[haulingthescoreup]

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@Anonymous wrote:

MAN HTSU! I was just in the middle of typing that and proofreading when I saw your post plus I'm having interent probs. I guess the early bird get's the worm though. Although I didn't consider taking a loan out for those cards. I'm on a very need to have basis with loans. If I can afford to go without them, I don't take them out. If you guys can pay these down even if it takes some years, I wouldn't take out a loan. But if the interest is killing you and making that not possible, you may need a loan. Take care of those ultra high utils.

---

I'm not a huge loan fan either, but that looked pretty scary to have that many maxed out cards.

My computer was just crawling for a day and a half, and then yesterday the boards went down twice that I know of for maintenance, and now it's flying. I was afraid that my poor little Toshiba was just overwhelmed with credit posts!

[Anonymous]

Thanks guys!! I'll keep you all posted. Thanks for catching the citi transfer. That's why I posted here. I need as many eyes as possible! The 0% is on balance transfers so I'll transer $1500 like you all suggested. Again, thank you so much!