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quick question....how recent is the discover loan?
for any actionable advice, it is better to give specifics: current balances, limits, percentages, length of terms, for all accounts.
loan# | apr | limit | balance | term |
1 | ||||
n |
card# | apr | limit | balance |
1 | |||
2 | |||
n |
9/2022 $30000 | 8/2020 $20000 | 12/2018 $30000 | 8/2016 $30000 | 3/2016 $21000 | 5/2014 $20000 | 10/2007 $8900 |
First question is, what APR is the Discover loan, and what is the term, how many months. That's two questions I guess.
If it is a 5 or 7 year term the payment may look low, but that results in the low principal payment early on. If you want to reduce the debt, you have to figure a way to pay more per month. 0% offers can help, but not if you only pay the minimum.
And generally, no, you don't want to do a spree in a 24 hour period for a bunch of cards.
@ntenseone wrote:
I know it is a short time frame, but the APR is 19.98% for either 72 or 84mo., I don't recall right now. The starting balance was 13,000...
There's your problem. That's a high rate for a loan especially 72-84 months. You'd be paying a fortune in interest.
You can do better, even if it's not 0%. See if you can get a lower rate loan if nothing else. If you have equity in your home or car you could refinance that into a lower rate loan. What are your existing cards and limits and do any of them have a 0% or low rate balance transfer option? You could move part or all of your high interest loan to those if you have them. Try a credit union, they usually have lower rates.
Maybe app for 1 card, or even 2, with 0% APR offers but I wouldn't do more, depending on your credit profile and what starting limits you'll get. You may tank your scores based on utilization for a while, but it's better than paying all that interest!
Maybe a family member will loan you the money interest free or at a lower rate...something else to consider.
Lastly, if you can tighten your budget and pay more on the loan, it will knock the principal down faster. Do this in combination with lowering your interest and you'll get it paid off a lot faster, and cheaper too.
did you really know what you signed up for?
apr | term | balance | pmt | cumipmt |
19.98 | 84 | 13000 | −289 | −11236 |
19.98 | 72 | 13000 | −311 | −9409 |
19.98 | 48 | 13000 | −395 | −5982 |
19.98 | 36 | 13000 | −483 | −4388 |
think about the cumulative interest with a 72/84 month loan. if you can budget 100-200 more a month you can pay it 2-3 years earlier and save almost half the interest. I know, easier said than done.
but versus what? 3-5 new cards with 2000-3000 limits, maxing them out, and beating up your score? only to have to do it all again in 12-15 months? you do not say your budget or income, but with your current assumed profile, limits, and without a high income what is the practicality of that scenario.
if you are insistant on a new card, I would look into a credit union which is known for large limits, like nfcu. imagine at three months if you were approved for the platinum with a 10000-15000 limit and 0% bt offer and single digit apr after 12 months.
you mention over 21 accounts. neither has a sufficient limit to transfer any of the 13000 over? I have a citi card and they are constantly throwing 0-1.99% bts at me (along with their single digit apr "flex loan"). I do not have amex, but I have read they allow up to $5000 transfers. Bofa, Chase, etc. I think that's why someone suggested listing your accounts, etc.
beat up your budget for 6-12 months and dump as much as you can into paying down this loan and if your score improves, shoot for a loan in with single digit apr. there have been many posts about Lightstream, credit unions, etc.
9/2022 $30000 | 8/2020 $20000 | 12/2018 $30000 | 8/2016 $30000 | 3/2016 $21000 | 5/2014 $20000 | 10/2007 $8900 |
@ntenseone wrote:
Without spending the time to share everything there is to know about each of my accounts let me first say that my most recent FICO info available to me is a 715(10/22/19), I'm at 100% payment, over 21 accounts, 0 DEROGs, AAoA 2.1yrs, 1-6HP depending on where I look, and 33% utilization.
Discover loan was opened in Feb 19. I know it is a short time frame, but the APR is 19.98% for either 72 or 84mo., I don't recall right now. The starting balance was 13,000, and I was able to combine 2 loans into one for the same payment as one of the loans previously, so it was helpful at the time, but to pay as much interest as I am is killing me considering I think there may be better options available to me.
I understand I'm looking to get out of this way early. I've had tons of other locked rate loans and I'm fully aware of how they work and what I signed up for, but there is no pre-payment penalty and I think I can do better, so I'm just examining my options.
I would never make just the minimum payments.
The point is to make as much progress as possible, not delay the inevitable.
I realize I may take a sizable hit in my score for a bit considering AAoA would drop, etc., but I'd be willing to do that if it was worth the (literal) payoff.
After the 0% ends, I'd be looking for another personal loan, most likely, just at a more competitive rate.
The money management isn't what I'm worried about, it's more about how my score will perform after the fact.
I guess the biggest thing I'm trying to figure out is if this looks like more of a calculated risk, or certain disaster.
It's all a guesstimate without providing the full information of balances/limits/etc.
However, if I were to guess, your profile is borderline with the lackluster terms of your Discover loan. I definitely wouldn't go on a CC app spree and risk AA.
The information of your accounts/limits/balances is imperative, and the difference between anyone here seeing options for you or not.