Credit card debt

[disneydave2003]

Any tips on how to get rid of credit card debt quick? Is it common for a cc company to have special promotions to lower your interest rate, is it worth giving them a call or a waste of time? I know they have promotions for low rates on transfers, just wondering if they have any to lower rates on your current account.

thanks-
dave

 

[momof3disneyholics]

Originally posted by disneydave2003
Any tips on how to get rid of credit card debt quick?

thanks-
dave

File bankruptcy?? (just joking)

I called a credit counseling service and they lowered my debt alot. There are commericals on tv about this, but I found my service over the internet.

 

[cinmell]

Not sure if you can lower your rate, but I read that you can cut your payment time in half pretty much if you send in a payment and a half or double payment each month. If your minimum due is 100, send in 150 or 200 if you can.

 

[Feralpeg]

You can ask to have your rate lowered. Some companies will do this for a short period (usually 6 months). Some won't even consider it.

There are a couple of ways to reduce your burden, but it all takes time (unless you win the lotto). If you have equity in your home, you could take out a loan and pay off your credit card debt. You will still owe the same amount, however your payments will be consolidated (thus lower) and your interest rate will be lower. Word of warning! If you do this, close your credit card accounts. If you start using them again, you will be in worse shape than you were before.

I have no idea what your situation is, but I've known several people who have used services such as Consumer Credit Counseling. They contact the people you owe and make arrangements for you to pay lower amounts. You actually pay the service and they pay the other companies. Some of the companies will actually wave all interest if you work through a service such as Consumer Credit Counseling. There is no fee for working with CCCS. In order to use this service, you have to surrender all of your credit cards. It will take awhile, but I've seen several people pull themselves out of a real mess.

Whatever your need, I hope things work out!

 

[PamOKW]

Doubling up on the payments is the idea I've heard -- in fact, an expert on Oprah yesterday mentioned it.

Another thing to pay attention to -- don't be late on a payment. The fellow on Oprah mentioned how they often automatically jackup your interest rate to 25% or more and usually won't lower it again until you have a year of on-time payments. They also may charge fees for the late payment. You might try looking at www.oprah.com to see whether they might have some of the info still posted.

 

[dvcfamily41801]

If you own your home, perhaps you might want to look at a home equity loan. The interest rate is lower and you can consolidate your credit cards into one monthly payment.

 

[djkeenan]

My ex left me $40k in the hole, all on credit cards unknown to me.

My new DW and I have been successful at paying them off and getting the rates reduced. What we did was collected the best offers from other credit card companies and called our credit card vendor and asked if they could match the rate. in nearly every case they ended up lowering their rate.

The real key is to cut your spending . I recently received a substantial bonus and our thoughts and immediately went to new furniture, but instead we put every cent of it into paying off the last bits of our old credit cards .

I have to tell you it feels wonderful to have a zero balance once again .

Good luck with your efforts to deal with your credit card companies . We hope you make some real progress and three are self from this trap that can keep you down forever.

 

[KristiKelly]

You could call and see if they'll lower your rate or try for a home equity line. We have an equity line that we put my car on @ 4.25%, that beats the 19-24% that alot of credit card co. charge. Also, even if you get your cc rate lowered, often times if you're a day late, they'll bump it back up. Good luck! Yesterday's Oprah was this subject, you might could go on her website and see if there are any tips from the guy on there.

 

[robinb]

Originally posted by djkeenan
My ex left me $40k in the hole, all on credit cards unknown to me.

Yikes! What a sleezebag. That kind of story makes me glad that Wisconsin is a martial property state and that all credit must be acknowledged by both spouses. No "surprise!" credit cards or loans.

 

[DawnCt]

I would avoid calling consumer credit card services unless you really need to. It does show up on your credit report if they intervene. I would not take out a second mortgage to pay off consumer debt. It is too easy to get those cards out and do it all over again. I would call the credit card companies and ask them to lower your rate. If they do not, consider a balance transfer to the low or no rate promotional cards. If that isnt' feasible, pay of the cc with the highest rate first and then work on the others.
I use credit cards and balance transfers to pay both of my boys college tuition. It is cheaper than the college billing plan. You have to be diligent in paying it off before the rate goes up however or you have defeated your own purposes.

 

[mudnuri]

If your rate it too high, it's because your a high risk to the credit card company. They are not likely going to reduce your interest rate. I agree with the others- either pay MORE than the minimum, like at least twice as much, or transfer the balance to a lower rate card. however if you have a high interest rate right now, again due to high risk, I doubt you can get a new card...especially if you have a lot of debt...

A home equity loan is one of the BIGGEST mistakes people make with credit card debt. If your having problems paying the credit cards, which obviously is happening, or you wouldnt be in debt...you are now putting your house on the line!...imagine losing your house because you couldnt make the payment.

DH and I did have credit card debt about 8 years ago...close to 50K worth...we paid it off by paying 4x the minimum, and cutting up the cards. We never got behind in payments, we just had insanely high credit lines... We now pay cash for 95% of purchases.

Brandy

 

[robinb]

Originally posted by djkeenan
My ex left me $40k in the hole, all on credit cards unknown to me.

Yikes! What a sleezebag. That kind of story makes me glad that Wisconsin is a martial property state and that all credit must be acknowledged by both spouses. No "surprise!" credit cards or loans.