Debt Dumpers - 2015

[ruadisneyfan2]

The balance transfers are not 0% Gracie1. The Sears one is 5% and the Discover is 3%. The card that I am considering transferring is our Disney Visa -the interest on this card is 13.24%. With the balance of $8650, the interest is almost $100/mo. I am on track to pay off our Discover next month, but with this Visa card, I don't think we can hit our goal of December, because of our daughter's wedding, me being off the whole month of July, etc. so therefore I am making a new goal of paying it off by the time the 0% expires. With the large balance, a 3% fee would be $259, but I can probably pay that off in addition to my first payment, and that would be the equivalent of about 2.5 interest payments that we are paying now, is the way I look at it? I hate to put another balance on the Discover, but it would essentially be paying off the Disney Visa, and with 0% interest for a year, I think it's sounding pretty good! I could probably even pay it off a bit sooner than the year, but at least I'd have that cushion! As far as the loan that Discover is offering, I need to look at the paperwork again to get the details. I just want to be able to pay off the balance sooner than the allotted time with no penalty, so I will ask them that too. Or maybe I'll transfer the Disney Visa with the 0% offer, then do the remaining balance on the other 2 cards as a loan. What do you think?

Be careful transferring a balance to a card that already has a balance on it. It's possible that payments could be applied to the 0% balance and not to the previous balance which will still have interest accruing.
Also when we transferred our Disney visa balance to Discover, Disney visa started mailing us BT checks. 0% x 12 mos. Both DV & Discover were only 2% transfer fee.

 

[yupikgal]

Ok - so if you transfer the large cc to the 0% interest card and you can pay it off in the year that's the way I would go. I look at it the same way - if your paying $100 a month in interest right now on that balance then it pays off to pay the transfer fee of $259 vs the $1200 they would roughly be getting for the year. Now you have two other cards - what are the interest rates and balance if you don't mind sharing?

I think I may pay off the entire Discover this month instead of next, so that when I do the balance transfer from Chase, all that will show as the balance is the transferred amount. I feel like I should do this now because I don't want Chase charging me another $100, it looks like they charge it on the 18th of each month. The other thing i considered doing was to do the 18 month, 3.99% int. option with Discover, with no transfer fee. I've been trying to figure out if I can truly pay off the balance in 12 months, with the upcoming events.

The other 2 cards are; the smallest balance of all the cards has a $3850 balance with 12.74% interest, the largest balance of all of them has the 10.5%. The largest one is quite large, it can seem insurmountable at times, but I decided it has to be done (and can be) one step at a time. Thanks for your support & understanding!

 

[yupikgal]

Sounds like you have a plan. I would suggest doing a transfer of the largest balance(s) possible to the 0%, so any loans would be on smaller balances. Seems like you'd save more that way - provided you keep swimming and pay off the transfer balance before the promotion rate ends.

The largest balance is not going to be able to transfer-not enough credit on card. That's why I was considering doing a loan type deal, to roll everything into one. If things were different for the next 10 months, I would feel more confidant about being able to pay off a 0% deal within a year, we can probably do it, but it will be tight. Particularly the months of July/August, since I will be off in July, not sure when I get paid in August. July would be a month where I would have to pay the minimum, most likely.

I'm just glad that we can pay more than the minimum now-it's hard living away from the family sometimes, but I keep reminding DH that we are here temporarily, and it's boosting his retirement income, not to mention we are doing better financially overall.

Be careful transferring a balance to a card that already has a balance on it. It's possible that payments could be applied to the 0% balance and not to the previous balance which will still have interest accruing.
Also when we transferred our Disney visa balance to Discover, Disney visa started mailing us BT checks. 0% x 12 mos. Both DV & Discover were only 2% transfer fee.

That's why I said I was thinking about just paying off the $1100 on Discover now, and not waiting until next month. I wonder why we are getting a 3% transfer fee and you got 2%? I wonder if they would lower it if we asked. Thanks for your advice!

 

[gracie1]

Be careful transferring a balance to a card that already has a balance on it. It's possible that payments could be applied to the 0% balance and not to the previous balance which will still have interest accruing.
Also when we transferred our Disney visa balance to Discover, Disney visa started mailing us BT checks. 0% x 12 mos. Both DV & Discover were only 2% transfer fee.

Excellent point! Most cc will apply your payment to the amount with interest first - so if your going to transfer the amount then you definitely want to do it on a card that has no balance.

 

[gracie1]

The largest balance is not going to be able to transfer-not enough credit on card. That's why I was considering doing a loan type deal, to roll everything into one. If things were different for the next 10 months, I would feel more confidant about being able to pay off a 0% deal within a year, we can probably do it, but it will be tight. Particularly the months of July/August, since I will be off in July, not sure when I get paid in August. July would be a month where I would have to pay the minimum, most likely.

I'm just glad that we can pay more than the minimum now-it's hard living away from the family sometimes, but I keep reminding DH that we are here temporarily, and it's boosting his retirement income, not to mention we are doing better financially overall.



That's why I said I was thinking about just paying off the $1100 on Discover now, and not waiting until next month. I wonder why we are getting a 3% transfer fee and you got 2%? I wonder if they would lower it if we asked. Thanks for your advice!

Have you looked into getting a personal loan? If you were to do it through your bank you could do the paperwork and see if your approved. You won't get an interest rate extremely low - probably 12.9% - but you would put everything in the loan and know that after a certain number of years it's done! Maybe a 2 or 3 year loan. Or do the balance transfer on the one card - if your uncomfortable thinking that you can't have it paid off in 12 months but know that you can in 18 months then the 3.9% Is not that bad.

 

[Dentam]

Need to catch up but credit card debt is PAID!!!!!!! YAY for tax refund! Now that DH has a full time job and got a raise a few months ago, we are making it! So no more need for the card! We will keep it for emergencies but we don't need to use it!!!!! Now on to planning our Disneyland trip!

Wow, that's great!! Congratulations!!

 

[ruadisneyfan2]

The largest balance is not going to be able to transfer-not enough credit on card. That's why I was considering doing a loan type deal, to roll everything into one. If things were different for the next 10 months, I would feel more confidant about being able to pay off a 0% deal within a year, we can probably do it, but it will be tight. Particularly the months of July/August, since I will be off in July, not sure when I get paid in August. July would be a month where I would have to pay the minimum, most likely.

I'm just glad that we can pay more than the minimum now-it's hard living away from the family sometimes, but I keep reminding DH that we are here temporarily, and it's boosting his retirement income, not to mention we are doing better financially overall.



That's why I said I was thinking about just paying off the $1100 on Discover now, and not waiting until next month. I wonder why we are getting a 3% transfer fee and you got 2%? I wonder if they would lower it if we asked. Thanks for your advice!

I don't know how we got that. We did open the card with a BT offer so maybe that's how. ??

Also even after using the DV checks to pay off other balances, they still keep sending us new checks, still at 2% fee.


ETA: Ooops. My bad. The BT fee for Discover is 3%. I'm confusing the BT fee with the calculated minimum payment. MP is 2%.
Even at 3% it was worth it. Dh's DV was 14.24% with almost 7000 on it.

The happy part is that this is the Discover card I paid off over the weekend! yay!

 

[dayvewc]

Wel, I got my stuff from PetSmart today. Probably have enough dog food and treats for at least six months, flea & tick drops for 7 months (14 doses, 2 dogs), and new bedding. Grand total was $655, after sales, discounts, and rebates, I paid $105. Woohoo!

 

[ruadisneyfan2]

Wel, I got my stuff from PetSmart today. Probably have enough dog food and treats for at least six months, flea & tick drops for 7 months (14 doses, 2 dogs), and new bedding. Grand total was $655, after sales, discounts, and rebates, I paid $105. Woohoo!

You have done well, Grasshopper....

 

[gracie1]

Wel, I got my stuff from PetSmart today. Probably have enough dog food and treats for at least six months, flea & tick drops for 7 months (14 doses, 2 dogs), and new bedding. Grand total was $655, after sales, discounts, and rebates, I paid $105. Woohoo!

That is an awesome deal!!

 

[Dentam]

Wel, I got my stuff from PetSmart today. Probably have enough dog food and treats for at least six months, flea & tick drops for 7 months (14 doses, 2 dogs), and new bedding. Grand total was $655, after sales, discounts, and rebates, I paid $105. Woohoo!

WOW!! I wish our PetSmart would move locations so I could shop that kind of sale! Nicely done!

 

[dayvewc]

You have done well, Grasshopper....

That is an awesome deal!!

WOW!! I wish our PetSmart would move locations so I could shop that kind of sale! Nicely done!

Thank you.

Bragging a little, but I netted 2 16 foot flexi leashes, 2 $80 kong beds, a 6 month and 2 4 month supplies of Advantix II, A LOT of assorted treats, a tray (12 pack) of grain free Blue Buffalo Basics canned food, 3 24 pound bags of Blue Buffalo foods (assorted Wilderness and Basics lines), and then a 7 pound bag of Blue Buffalo cat food and 6 pound bag of Blue Buffalo Naturally Fresh cat litter for one of my coworkers. She's going through a pretty bad divorce (from someone who may rank worse than my ex-SO ;-) ) and was unsure if she could keep her 3y/o daughters Christmas kitten.

I may be on some rough times, but she's going through worse, and this will help her some. And with the deal, it's something I can do.

P.S. I like Blue Buffalo. It's done wonders for my girls.

 

[PrincessKymm]

Need to catch up but credit card debt is PAID!!!!!!! YAY for tax refund! Now that DH has a full time job and got a raise a few months ago, we are making it! So no more need for the card! We will keep it for emergencies but we don't need to use it!!!!! Now on to planning our Disneyland trip!

Way to go!!!! Have fun planning!!!! That is one great reward for paying off your cards!

 

[Dentam]

Thank you.

Bragging a little, but I netted 2 16 foot flexi leashes, 2 $80 kong beds, a 6 month and 2 4 month supplies of Advantix II, A LOT of assorted treats, a tray (12 pack) of grain free Blue Buffalo Basics canned food, 3 24 pound bags of Blue Buffalo foods (assorted Wilderness and Basics lines), and then a 7 pound bag of Blue Buffalo cat food and 6 pound bag of Blue Buffalo Naturally Fresh cat litter for one of my coworkers. She's going through a pretty bad divorce (from someone who may rank worse than my ex-SO ;-) ) and was unsure if she could keep her 3y/o daughters Christmas kitten.

I may be on some rough times, but she's going through worse, and this will help her some. And with the deal, it's something I can do.

P.S. I like Blue Buffalo. It's done wonders for my girls.

You came out with some great items, and Blue Buffalo food is supposed to be very good. Very nice of you to get the cat supplies for your coworker!

 

[dayvewc]

You came out with some great items, and Blue Buffalo food is supposed to be very good. Very nice of you to get the cat supplies for your coworker!

It is great food. One of my girls is gluten intolerant. If she eats any grains, her hair falls out in clumps. Blue is one of the few foods she can eat. And it's more nutritious, so she needs less so it lasts longer. Both my girls weigh in a bit under 30 lbs, and a 24 pound bag of food lasts over a month.

Sorry, I get excited about the food. I went from multiple vet visits each month, running $200 each for exams, tests, shots, and meds to 2 visits a year. Just from changing food. And since they eat less of it, it's not much if any more expensive than "cheap" food.

 

[PrincessKymm]

So has anyone else added up what they've paid off this year? I decided to and boy am I glad I'm dumping debt!!!!

I've paid so much off I figured out its a 4 day trip for me and DS without parkhoppers!!! That's crazy! Feels good to know I can go next year when I don't have debt anymore!

One minor setback, had to take DS to the ER last night for a migraine. He'd had it for 48 hours so he needed Meds. I got some funny videos after the painkillers kicked in but hopefully my FSA will cover the bill. Thankfully no testing they just medicated him and actually listened to what I said. He's better today so worth every penny but still!

 

[dayvewc]

So has anyone else added up what they've paid off this year? I decided to and boy am I glad I'm dumping debt!!!!

I've paid so much off I figured out its a 4 day trip for me and DS without parkhoppers!!! That's crazy! Feels good to know I can go next year when I don't have debt anymore!

One minor setback, had to take DS to the ER last night for a migraine. He'd had it for 48 hours so he needed Meds. I got some funny videos after the painkillers kicked in but hopefully my FSA will cover the bill. Thankfully no testing they just medicated him and actually listened to what I said. He's better today so worth every penny but still!

Way to go!! That is one way of looking at the payoff. lol.

Hoping that DS gets better.

 

[dayvewc]

On a different note ... roommate texted me this morning. Somehow, after 9 months of not being able to find any jobs he was willing to do, he has one after 2 days of looking. I guess the realization that he might have to live on the side of the road finally kicked in.

Sadly, it's only a part-time position, but it is supposed to transition to full-time at some point. So, got something to look forward to.

 

[gracie1]

On a different note ... roommate texted me this morning. Somehow, after 9 months of not being able to find any jobs he was willing to do, he has one after 2 days of looking. I guess the realization that he might have to live on the side of the road finally kicked in.

Sadly, it's only a part-time position, but it is supposed to transition to full-time at some point. So, got something to look forward to.

Didn't that happen before and he ended up quitting the pt position?

 

[dayvewc]

I guess the difference this time is that before he quit and tried to move out to somewhere else. This time, he has no where else to try to move to, and I've already told him that the day he quits is the day he leaves again.

But fingers crossed he's over whatever mid-life crisis he was going through.