Please register to participate in our discussions with 2 million other members - it's free and quick! Some forums can only be seen by registered members. After you create your account, you'll be able to customize options and access all our 15,000 new posts/day with fewer ads.
If you have the cash and after paying it off have available funds for emergencies like auto/house repairs or whatever, pay it off. If it's something you can pay down in a couple of months, $10k/mo or over 4 mos $5k/month to preserve available funds go that route. Unless cc's are interest free there is no benefit to paying extra $'s in interest that provide no benefit to you.
My husband and I have been completely debt free for more than 20 years. This includes our home mortgage which we paid off way back then. We never have credit card debt as we seldom use a card. If we need to use our Discover Card when we don't have cash on us, we pay off the entire balance when due. We have never made an interest payment. (We pay cash for our purchases and if we have to save up money for a big purchase like a car or whatever we take the time to do it.) No brag, just fact.
There is no better feeling (for us) than being debt free. We believe that if you owe money then someone has power over you. We will never go into debt again. The freedom from debt is intoxicating, OP, so pay off those cards!
its mostly true. not that many of us are earning a return on our money that is greater than the interest rate on our credit cards. so now you are battling the losses from that interest with greater income. for most people, that is a losing battle (and if you have that income you should probably be paying off the credit cards anyway).
Depends. The only times I've run a balance on credit cards in the seven or eight years has been on 0% cards. Often times I'll go out and get a 0% credit card when I'm planning on making a larger purchases. Combine 0% with a good reward card for the best results.
When I was out of work during the 2008-'9 crash, I ran up credit cards rather than liquidate stock. Cost some interest but not nearly the 60% returns I saw on my investments.
The 0%/reward card is easy enough to consistently do. The 60% returns not so much.
Depends. The only times I've run a balance on credit cards in the seven or eight years has been on 0% cards. Often times I'll go out and get a 0% credit card when I'm planning on making a larger purchases. Combine 0% with a good reward card for the best results.
When I was out of work during the 2008-'9 crash, I ran up credit cards rather than liquidate stock. Cost some interest but not nearly the 60% returns I saw on my investments.
The 0%/reward card is easy enough to consistently do. The 60% returns not so much.
i actually have about $31k on a 0% interest rate card. but people who do that usually wouldnt be asking if they should pay it off or not. im guessing the OP is paying interest and probably not earning any great returns.
Utilization % is meaningless when you have thousands of dollars in high interest bearing debt. Get rid of the debt first, then worry about utilization %. Your credit score will follow once you pay everything off.
Please register to post and access all features of our very popular forum. It is free and quick. Over $68,000 in prizes has already been given out to active posters on our forum. Additional giveaways are planned.
Detailed information about all U.S. cities, counties, and zip codes on our site: City-data.com.
Please register to participate in our discussions with 2 million other members - it's free and quick! Some forums can only be seen by registered members. After you create your account, you'll be able to customize options and access all our 15,000 new posts/day with fewer ads.
