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financially wrecked - please advise my best moves

tag
SlideOrInsert
Regular Contributor

Re: financially wrecked - please advise my best moves

I probably would not take the 6.99% apr offer.

 

if you can pay off the $1871 in four weeks, I would just do that first because things are just more simple without blending interest rates. then transfer from nfcu $18335 (x 1.05fee = $19252balance). you save ~$185 a month in interest to start.

BEFOREapr %balmin $int $ /mo
penfed12.8017737673189
disco18.2518718328
nfcu10.2520535411175
TOTAL11.75401431167393

 

AFTER  apr %balmin $int $ /mo
penfed12.8017737673189
disco0.00192524330
nfcu10.2522005019
TOTAL6.37391891156208

 

some would say NO!!! because the discover will be maxed out.  my thought has always been finances > fico.  if you're going to do the balance transfer, might as well maximize the savings.

 

nfcu is your lowest interest rate. in a another scenario you could transfer the higher apr penfed loan to discover. the caveat would be your score would probably take a very unfriendly hit due to your revolving balances nearly doubling. the fico algorithm doesn't score loan balances the same way it does revolving balances.

AFTER   apr %balmin $int $ /mo
penfed0.00000
disco0.00186237450
nfcu10.2520535411175
TOTAL5.38391581156175

 

lastly... keep up the good work!

 

upgrade
9/2022
$30000
nfcu
8/2020
$20000
nfcu
12/2018
$30000
bofa
8/2016
$30000
citi
3/2016
$21000
discover
5/2014
$20000
chase
10/2007
$8900
Message 31 of 66
tcbofade
Super Contributor

Re: financially wrecked - please advise my best moves

First, you've done an awesome job and yay you!

 

If it were me, I would pay Discover off, wait for a zero statement to cut, then transfer roughly $9k of your NFCU balance to your Discover card with the zero percent deal.

 

Once new statements cut, you'll be under 48.9% utilization on both cards... you should see a nice Fico 8 score boost, and with no individual cards maxed out, more zero percent balance transfer options will be available.

 

Good luck!

02/01/24 Fico 8: EX 757, EQ 803, TU 783.
Fico 9: EX 760 12/16/23, EQ 790 02/04/24, TU No idea.

Zero percent financing is where the devil lives...
Message 32 of 66
iowe
Regular Contributor

Re: financially wrecked - please advise my best moves

Thanks for replying guys. I really appreciate you!  It's good to have this board to lean on for opinions on things like this.

 

I will pay off the Disco first.  Then make the 0% balance transfer. I'll probably mull over exactly how much to transfer over the next 6 weeks. I'm leaning toward the more the better, but I want to make sure that I can pay off all of the transfer, plus pay off anything left on the NFCU card before the Disco 0% balance transfer term ends. 

 

One more question. Say I were to transfer 9000, then pay that off on Discover while continuing the minimum payments on NFCU. After that Disco transfer balance is paid off, how likely is it that Disco extends another 0% balance transfer offer that I can use to transfer whatever is left from the NFCU card?  Do they only offer so many balance transfers per year or do those balance transfer offers keep coming from Discover? 

 

 









2024 Goal: To finally be debt free
Message 33 of 66
tcbofade
Super Contributor

Re: financially wrecked - please advise my best moves

Not psychic, but in my experience Discover will keep offering BTs.

 

There are others out there as well.  Wells Fargo, Bank of America, and Citi all have 18 month balance transfer offers on certain cards right now.

 

They could dry up tomorrow, but I don't expect them to.  I think that you'll be fine.

02/01/24 Fico 8: EX 757, EQ 803, TU 783.
Fico 9: EX 760 12/16/23, EQ 790 02/04/24, TU No idea.

Zero percent financing is where the devil lives...
Message 34 of 66
SlideOrInsert
Regular Contributor

Re: financially wrecked - please advise my best moves


@iowe wrote:

I'm leaning toward the more the better, but I want to make sure that I can pay off all of the transfer, plus pay off anything left on the NFCU card before the Disco 0% balance transfer term ends. 


according to your most recent numbers, your total min payments for three accounts are about $1167 /mo. the loan is fixed, so how much in total payment $ can you pay towards the revolving balances?

 

if you are trying to pay off both within 14 months:

14mo payoffapr %bal14mo min $14mo total int
disco0.0090006430
disco fee 450320
nfcu10.2510535802687
TOTAL 199851477687

 

in my experience, disco's balance transfer offers are perpetual.

 

upgrade
9/2022
$30000
nfcu
8/2020
$20000
nfcu
12/2018
$30000
bofa
8/2016
$30000
citi
3/2016
$21000
discover
5/2014
$20000
chase
10/2007
$8900
Message 35 of 66
iowe
Regular Contributor

Re: financially wrecked - please advise my best moves

I've been throwing between 1500-1600 per month at the revolvers.  ($1000-$1100 for Disco, and then the minimum payment at NFCU. I think one month was a little tight and I paid a couple of hundred less ($700) on the Disco, but otherwise the normal monthly target for me has been to throw 1k at it.) 

I plan to crunch a little more and move that monthly revolver payment up to 2k









2024 Goal: To finally be debt free
Message 36 of 66
iowe
Regular Contributor

Re: financially wrecked - please advise my best moves

Milestone reached; Discover card balance paid off today. Smiley Happy









2024 Goal: To finally be debt free
Message 37 of 66
SouthJamaica
Mega Contributor

Re: financially wrecked - please advise my best moves


@iowe wrote:

Milestone reached; Discover card balance paid off today. Smiley Happy


Awesome. Congratulations.

 

And wow, your scores have jumped 52 points since you began this program. Great job.


Total revolving limits 741200 (620700 reporting) FICO 8: EQ 701 TU 704 EX 685

Message 38 of 66
iowe
Regular Contributor

Re: financially wrecked - please advise my best moves

The debt and my scores are both moving in the right direction. Feels good to finish this phase and move on to next. Now I can use the Discover balance transfer to begin grinding down the next mountain. Mt NFCU Smiley Tongue 









2024 Goal: To finally be debt free
Message 39 of 66
805orbust
Valued Contributor

Re: financially wrecked - please advise my best moves

Yeah I like what you did here @iowe great job. You're literally almost done with the thing. Snowball these last 2 by deploying all available cash to the balances and you'll be done before you know it. Congratulations.  Very happy for you and your daughter  



Message 40 of 66
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