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Statistically speaking, it doesn't matter how much money a person has if s/he is unable to manage a budget. Manging money is imperative to not being trapped into these ridiculous credit card scams and infomercial guys making a gazillion dollars off of telling people what everyone learned in 3rd math. Don't spend more than you bring in. It's not an impossible concept.
That might be true, or it might not. I don't know. But Dave would not have become a multi millionaire selling a program that didn't work.
20yrsinBranson
He has become a multi millionaire because he is an exceptional motivational speaker. He could sell ice to Eskimos but it does not necessarily mean the Eskimos should buy ice.
Op: Do you have a budget? An emergency fund? How much do you pay towards your debt in a typical month?
Yes, I budget everything. I save 10% of my income into an emergency fund every paycheck. At this point, I'm paying about $150-160 a month towards credit card debt. But that's with me making minimum payments only. Of course I also have other debt, such as student loans, car payment, etc.
Good for you for getting a handle on your finances. I would suggest that you never have a balance on more than one credit card at a time. When I think of using credit, I always make sure that I am using it, and it's not using me. One of the benefits of building a credit history is you will get much better interest rate offers, so don't accept a rate that is insultingly high.
I would put the extra money on Card A. Then, I would look for a balance transfer offer of 0%, and I would transfer the remaining balance on Card A and the balance on Card B. You will incur a fee for this, but it won't be very much on this amount. Then I would pay this balance down within the time frame of the offer.
Good for you for getting a handle on your finances. I would suggest that you never have a balance on more than one credit card at a time. When I think of using credit, I always make sure that I am using it, and it's not using me. One of the benefits of building a credit history is you will get much better interest rate offers, so don't accept a rate that is insultingly high.
I would put the extra money on Card A. Then, I would look for a balance transfer offer of 0%, and I would transfer the remaining balance on Card A and the balance on Card B. You will incur a fee for this, but it won't be very much on this amount. Then I would pay this balance down within the time frame of the offer.
Card B is maxed out. Also, if I try to not have a balance on more than one card at a time, shouldn't I pay off Card B first since it's within striking distance of the amount of money I have available to put down towards credit card debt?
Or maybe I should pay off Card B completely and then do a balance transfer from Card A to B? But that would exceed the credit limit on B.
I believe gentlearts suggestion is really more of a "going forward" piece of advice. Ideally you wouldn't want to have so much debt that you max out a card and go over to a second card. But you're already there, so the question now becomes what do you do about it.
In a theoretical argument, people can go back and forth, because of a lack of details, but at this high of a rate, I don't even think this is a debate.
Card A with every extra dollar you have. Especially since card B is on a promotional rate of 0%. After your tax return, Card A will be both the lower balance and higher rate card, helping you stay focused and saving you interest.. This is a really easy choice.
Also, is it recommended to pay the card several times a month, or strictly on the due date?
The only time you really see any kind of impact from the several times a month approach is if you're worried about a) going over your credit limit or b) trying to maximize credit score.
For b) I don't think the impact is huge, but since the credit card company reports your balance only once a month, the lower your balance on the reporting day the better. Ultimately, I don't think it's a huge impact unless you're really close to maxing out your card and you need your credit score to jump immediately.
It might technically be a little better, but I think the hassle of having to log in to make the payment isn't worth not using auto pay.
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