Paying off Debt

[Anonymous]

I have 3 maxed out credit cards. One of the credit cards is 0% interest until this June. Additionally, I have a reserve line from US bank that is charging me $20 interest a month. Which one do I pay off first? or All of the equally. Im lost.

[bs6054]

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@Anonymous wrote:

I have 3 maxed out credit cards. One of the credit cards is 0% interest until this June. Additionally, I have a reserve line from US bank that is charging me $20 interest a month. Which one do I pay off first? or All of the equally. Im lost.

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Two common strategies:

1) Pay off first the account with the highest APR (so minimum on the 0% until the intro period ends).   This saves the money spent on interest.

2) Pay off the smallest account first.   This allows people to see the progress that they are making (four loans, then three etc), even though more will spent on interest.

[enharu]

Pay off highest APR first, then go to next, eventually go to the lowest APR card. Paying such exorbitant finance fees are just crazy and things get out of hand too fast for anyone to control.

If you can't pay it down fast and your cards are drowning you in fees, get a personal loan to pay off your cards. Much lower interest fees

[Anonymous]

I would devote all your attention to the high interest balances first and then tackle the 0% promo cards.

What are the balances and how much money do you have to devote to paying all of these off?

[Funk-O-Meter]

If your credit is in otherwise good shape you could try for a card with a balance transfer feature like I just did. Chase Slate has 15 months@ 0 APR on balance transfers and no transfer fee. If your credit is hurting and your maxed you should go for a personal loan and avoid the snowballing interest fees. Even a new card with 0% on balance transfers but with a 3% transfer fee can save you a chuck and give you another year to pay down.

[HiLine]

Here's the simple rule about paying CC debt:

1. Pay all the minima first

2. If there's money left over from step 1, pay the balance with the highest interest rate

3. If there's money left over from step 2, pay the balance with the next highest interest rate

4. If there's money left over from step 3, pay the balance with the next highest interest rate

5. If there's money left over from step 4, etc.

[SnackTrader]

Good luck - I agree with all above.

Most importantly, make a budget and stick to it. You are in debt, so try to live less luxuriously than you would otherwise.