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DO NOT get rid of all your credit cards—you may need one later for a rental car, an airplane ticket, or an emergency where you don't have the immediate funds to cover a cost.
You can also talk to your CC companies and see if they will offer you an incentive rate for being a customer, whether it's lower interest for a while, or something similar. Call and throw some (fictional) weight around and ask to speak to the customer retention department. Or do a couple of balance transfers—those typically have great rates for a while, and you can put some of your card on several cards and pay them off with a divide-and-conquer strategy.
I did actually call the CC companies first but all they would offer is a lower rate for 6 to 7 months. So ridiculous. Oh well! I've got it worked out. Thank you for the advice!!
OP, I was in a similar situation many years ago, but was finally able to get out of it, and for years now I have paid off all credit cards IN FULL every single month. Yes, every.single.month. I HATE paying credit card interest!
What really helped me was making a detailed budget AND especially putting credit card interest as a separate line item. When I saw that some months I was paying literally a few hundred dollars in interest on my credit cards, that finally knocked some sense into me. I mean, seriously, who wants to pay hundreds of dollars for basically NOTHING?!!
These days I use one credit card for basically everything (since I get cash back), but as soon as I charge something on it, I add it to my checking account notes in my word-processing program and enter a payment of that amount. (EG for Capital One I might have "Hannaford $98, Target $31," etc. -- as soon as I charge, I put money aside to pay for that item and reduce my "available balance" accordingly.) This means I am basically never buying things I will have to pay off "over time," and most importantly, it means that when it's time to pay Capital One (or whatever), the money is there, put aside for that purpose.
It takes a lot of discipline at first, but I've been doing it for so long now that it's pretty much second nature. Oh, I DID take out a loan to pay for a new car back in 2009, but it was a 5-year loan that I paid off in about 2 years 9 months (and the interest rate was really low -- like 2% IIRC). My credit score is now in the 800s. You CAN do it.
Good luck!
Wow Karen!! That is awesome!! I am going to do the same.....I know I can do it!!! Thank you SO MUCH for the positive advice!! Very nice of you to help me
If you want your score to go up, just cut the cards up, so you could have one replaced if you simply had to and enjoy the credit boost if you don't. Unless this is a matter of necessity due to lack of discipline.
What the other poster said is also part of the reason. They don't know yet what you are going to do with that new credit. They are seeing you temporarily as a higher risk until proven otherwise.
I had to tell my mortgage lender WHY I asked for credit line increases. My answer was to improve my score. And I went on to explain yes I know that sounds backwards right before applying with y'all, but I didn't think I'd be doing this now!
Anyway, getting new credit does temp lower your score until some time goes by and it's not used or used very responsibly.
I hear you Jencam and I will take that to heart.
Thank you very much.
I know about the lender but also it does affect your score too. Or perhaps I'm thinking of the inquiry. I guess so because if cc issuers give us more credit I don't think our scores go down.
Or one of mine is giving me a whole new card. Taking me from a store card to a mastercard.
Getting a credit line increase on an existing card can only help your credit score unless the lender required a hard pull (resulting in an inquiry) on your credit report to give it to you. Even then, if you carry or allow any balance to report, the credit limit increase will help your score. Period.
Never request a credit limit increase that requires a hard pull and you will be golden.
Remember this only applies to limit increases on EXISTING cards. Adding new accounts will definitely lower your score as they affect your average of accounts. Don't apply for anything that will become a new account or result in an inquiry when preparing for a mortgage or car loan.
Along those lines, a lender switching you from a store card to a Mastercard results in a closed store card account and a new Mastercard account on your credit report. Thus a new account and a lower average age of account. Thus lower score.
Last edited by clutchcargo777; 04-18-2017 at 06:50 AM..
What the other poster said is also part of the reason. They don't know yet what you are going to do with that new credit. They are seeing you temporarily as a higher risk until proven otherwise.
I had to tell my mortgage lender WHY I asked for credit line increases. My answer was to improve my score. And I went on to explain yes I know that sounds backwards right before applying with y'all, but I didn't think I'd be doing this now!
Anyway, getting new credit does temp lower your score until some time goes by and it's not used or used very responsibly.
I hear you Jencam and I will take that to heart.
Thank you very much.
Now you are moving the goalposts. Getting NEW credit accounts definitely has a negative effect on your scores. The "time going by" you refer to is the average age of accounts increasing.
Getting an increase on an EXISTING card account (as long as it doesn't require an inquiry) does not affect average age as there is no new account dragging that down.
I refuse to pay interest in credit card debt. I weekly get offers for no interest for so many months. I balance transfer my debt and when that offer runs out transfer it to another card. I have been able to pay down my debt and still afford to live month to month.
From discover card website my credit score is your FICO® Credit Score is 833
It does get dinged slightly opening a new card but goes back up. My score is good enough that the slight ding isn't a big deal.
Quote:
Originally Posted by jayguy01
Severe credit card debt is keeping a balance over $0. I do like that you can laugh your incompetence away.
I have a balance on my discover card that is running a special of zero percent interest for 18 months that hasn't hurt my score at all and I just pay the minimum payment a month. So this isn't true and this post is unkind
I refuse to pay interest in credit card debt. I weekly get offers for no interest for so many months. I balance transfer my debt and when that offer runs out transfer it to another card. I have been able to pay down my debt and still afford to live month to month.
From discover card website my credit score is your FICO® Credit Score is 833
It does get dinged slightly opening a new card but goes back up. My score is good enough that the slight ding isn't a big deal.
I have a balance on my discover card that is running a special of zero percent interest for 18 months that hasn't hurt my score at all and I just pay the minimum payment a month. So this isn't true and this post is unkind
Thank you Anitak1982
I agree with everything you said!
and the "unkind" poster does not surprise me.
Have a great Day!
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