@annpalmer wrote:Any thoughts on using my HYS? As stated above, I like the peace of mind of having it, but I know mathematically it's better to apply it towards debt. I don't have a plan for what that would look like: use it all? pay $500? pay $2500? etc. I have $2000 in the (physical) bank... well, credit union but either way. I'm very secure in my full-time job (it's hairdressing that fluctuates) but not sure how much to keep.
$2500 is my goal for in the bank, as it will be approx. 1 month and I don't have many expenses I can use CCs for if I were to need to (e.g., rent, and current min payments I can't use cards for if I lose my job, but could use cards for internet/cell, gas, electric, and car insurance, along with gas and groceries).
the $6600 online HYS is my hoard lol
Well, if you feel you need to keep the savings for your peace of mind, then by all means keep it.
But I interpreted your initial question as basically how to get your scores in position for a mortgage.
The way to for you to get into position for a mortgage is to pay down your revolving debt.
But buying a house requires a down payment as well as getting a mortgage.
And please remember that the mere fact that you can get a mortgage doesn't mean you can afford the burden of home ownership, or even that you can afford the mortgage. Nowadays, with securitization of mortgages, lenders are often willing to give mortgages where they know the borrower has a high likelihood of defaulting down the road.
@ annpalmer
I can understand that you'd like to keep that 2500.00 in the bank for emergencies, thats fine, but you
may have no choice but to use your HYS to stop the bleeding.
Chase 17.24% $14,481.87/$15,500.00 93.43%
BofA 13.49% $9,861.99/$10,600.00 93.04% 0-2-2020
Cap1 17.15% $1,716.74/$2,500.00 68.67%
WF 26.74% $1,854.72/$3,000.00 61.82% (opened for BT)
The first two, Chase and BOA are concerning, they are maxed out and I am worried about
them decreasing your credit line. You would probably benefit if you used 4000.00 of the HYS and
put 1000.00 on each of these cards to start. Doing so would bring you to 87 utilization on the Chase and
84 percent utilization on the BofA. A little breathing room.
You would also bring down your utilization down on Cap 1 to 29 percent utilization by paying 1000.00
on that card and Wells Fargo to 29.00 utilization. While it would be ideal to bring that down to under 28.9,
to cross another utilization threshold, it's a lot better than it was.
Make the minimum payments on the other 3 cards and tackle the smallest balance, which would be your
Cap 1. Throw as much as you can on it, while keeping the minimums on the other cards till it's paid off.
Then apply the money you were paying on Cap 1 to your next smallest balance, Wells Fargo.
Wash, rinse, repeat until you finally finish paying them all off. It's going to take some time to
get there but this is a marathon, not a sprint. I'm sure someone else will chime in with even better advice
than I suggested.
I only say this because I was in the same place you find yourself in now. In September of 2017, I was
28000.00 in debt and I decided to take the bull by the horns and be done with it. I took a part time job, I
did a combination of balance transfers and a personal loan myself but you've already done a personal loan
with Lending Club so I would leave the balance transfers alone and just starting to pay this debt down.
it seems like it goes slow at first, but before you know it, you'll be rid of the smaller credit cards and working
on the higher ones. Then I would make a good budget, and start thinking about preparing for a mortgage.
I finally finished my marathon the end of last month, my monthly debt was 166.00, but it CAN be done.
You'll get a lot of great advice in these forums, so just learn from what they suggest to you. I am wishing
you the best of luck. 
