How to pay credit cards down the right way?

[Anonymous]

There are lots of good advice here.  I also would like to add that it also depends on your monthly financial situation.  If you're in no rush to app for anything, pay off some of the high APR first, of course, then try to pay off those that have due dates near each other.  My reasoning is that you should not be too concerned with fico scores right now.  You should try to look ahead towards months after this.  By paying off some cards that have due dates near each other, you get more breathing room in between payments.  For example, if a couple of cards that are due at the beginning of the month, paid off those so you would not be too stressed out about it along with other bills.  Yes credit is important, but as long as you're paying it off slowly and methodically, your scores will increase.  Do not stress yourself out too much because of it.  The important thing is to figure out why there are too many accounts with balances in the first place.  Then start from there.  Good luck!   

[Anonymous]

Thank you. My monthly payment is $350 on all of the cards - minimum payment.
I’m trying to get my credit score at a level that I can approved for a house and get a good rate. My fico8 now is ex- 662 eq-620 ts-647
I know when the pull your credit for a mortgage it’s different than fico8 by like 20 points- so I’m aiming for 660-670 for mortgage scores.
That’s they reason I asked how to raise my credit by paying off debt the quick way!

[Anonymous]

PM me for my spreadsheet which can help you figure out what to pay and how much. Works great for many.

Don't forget that interest posts at statement cut so if you pay to 28.9% but interest posts, you'll be over 29% and that's not where you want to be.

[thornback]

Solid advice from @RebuildisaPITA for paying down balances in the future. 

The immediate goal here though is to get you out of the red first by using that windfall of 5K to bring down the current balance on all cards.   Once you manage to pay everything down,  you'll be in a better position to develop a monthly payment method similar to what @RebuildisaPITA suggests. 

$350 per month on just minimum payments is a lot - but any extra money you may be able to scrape together needs to go towards paying more than the minimum for each card (even if it's just an extra $5-$10 to cover interest).  You may need to temporarily cut out or downgrade expenses that could be considered luxuries (like cable or buying lunch while at work - brown bag it instead). 

Once you get through this, do everything you can to avoid letting so many balances stack up. 

You're going to be so proud of yourself!! Hang in there... 

[thornback]

@ABCD2199 is right about the interest fees.  A few bucks above the actual percentage amount was added to each payment amount noted for Plan b -- but that may not fully cover the interest rate on each individual card.   You may want to do that math on that and adjust payments accordingly.   

If necessary,  instead of paying the below account in full, pay only half and use the rest to put towards the payments for each card so they fully cover interest. 

Syncb - 650 out of 800

Currently at 81.25% util.  

Pay in full $650

[Anonymous]

Thank y’all !!!

[Anonymous]

I just posted my own exp 

http://ficoforums.myfico.com/t5/General-Credit-Topics/How-To-Lower-CC-Utilization/m-p/5147499

But I would honestly tell you the best thing I did was to put the CC in a sock drawer. Then absolutely anything I could throw at them I did. I even got a crappy 2nd job to toss all that extra income at the cards. My wife even picked up a 2nd job to pay things off faster. So start by figuring out a plan that works for you then commit to it do not revert from it. Best of luck

KB

[Anonymous]

Thank you I checked it out.
I can’t have another job I work full time and have a baby. So I can’t work weekends.
The cards will definitely go in the socks drawer after I’m done paying them off. From now on only debit card. And maybe one card to carry balance. Thank you for sharing!

[SouthJamaica]

---

wrote:
I’m at 54% now. I get 5k back from IRS in few weeks. What’s the best way to pay my cards and which one I need to pay down first?
There’s a list
Discover - 2975 out of 3000
Amex - 1651 out of 1700
Wells Fargo - 1450 out of 1500
Syncb - 650 out of 800
Amex - 1486 out of 1700
Barc- 1131 out of 1550
Cap one - 3500 out of 4300
Cap one 792 out of 10k
Help!!!! Thank you

---

IMHO best thing is to pay smallest balances first, then on to next smallest, etc. This is called the snowball method.

In your case it would entail paying off Cap One, Barclays, Sync, and Wells Fargo, and then paying $977 towards the Amex account.

If you were just interested in your FICO scores, and not getting out of debt, then you should pay

-$426 to Synchrony

-$697 to Barclays

-$1175 to Amex

-$1030 to Wells Fargo

Thus taking those 4 to acceptable levels.

Then, split the rest between Cap One and Discover, to take those 2 down to better levels than where they are now.

[Anonymous]

Hey thank you for the input.

 whats the acceptable level ? under 30%?