@tim2 wrote:I will be getting a $12k (net) bonus next week. I am trying to figure out how to spend it to get the best bang for my buck. I have two things I am trying to achieve and I don't think I can achieve both so I'm torn. One - I would like to reduce my monthly minimum payments. Two - I would like to get below my credit limits on a couple of my cards. Here is where I stand right now on things with a balance.
- Line of credit - Balance $10,134 - Limit $10,000 - Min monthly at this balance is $260
- Credit card 1 - Balance $8,910 - Limit $9,000 - Min monthly at this balance is $90 (zero interest at this time)
- Credit card 2 - Balance $6,123 - Limit $6,000 - Min monthly at this balance is $200
- Credit card 3 - Balance $5,554 - Limit $5,500 - Min monthly at this balance is $90
- Personal loan - Balance $11,700 - Standard payment $270
My credit scores now are EX: 702; TU: 677; EQ: 676
I would like to get the personal loan balance down to something reasonable - something that I can pay off rather quickly. The rest my concern is just that they are maxed out. When I ran my credit reports today everything was good except for balance to limit ratio.
Any thoughts on the best way to split this bonus?
Are you being penalized for being over the limit.. I would get that under immediately. With the remainder, start paying your highest interest rate card first as much as you can, unless your 0% interest card is "deferred financing" that must be paid in full by a certain date or the interest is realized. If that is the case, then pay that off asap.
You have a very significant amount of CC debt at nearly $20k, along with a maxed out credit line and a large personal loan. After using this bonus money in full to pay something down, you need to look at your overall finances and find ways to cut your expenses to get these things paid down. The credit scores you listed are likely FAKOS (as no one has the option to purchase their EX FICO), and I can almost guarentee your true FICOs aren't that high. With nearly 100% utilization, and being over the limit on your cards, your scores are tanked and you won't be able to get any more financing if you need it. The good news... credit reports don't have any memory of your past balances (for scoring purposes), so once the debt is paid down, your scores will shoot right back up. Try to get things under control though, because they aren't currently.
Starting Score: 627 EQ, 621 TU - 11/15/08
