In what order to pay off 3 bills with no interest?

[ilovediznee]

Group,
Need some advice. I have three medical bills - all with approximate the same balance ($350) and none have any interest. I want to pay them off to free up about $60 a month and cannot decide - should I continue to pay the minimum ($20) each month and add more to one and eliminate them one by one or spread the extra over all of them and eliminate them at the same time?

I know this may sound trivial but I just realized this weekend they are all about the same balance and none have interest, but WANT to get them eliminated.

What would you do???

 

[Marionnette]

Group,
Need some advice. I have three medical bills - all with approximate the same balance ($350) and none have any interest. I want to pay them off to free up about $60 a month and cannot decide - should I continue to pay the minimum ($20) each month and add more to one and eliminate them one by one or spread the extra over all of them and eliminate them at the same time?

I know this may sound trivial but I just realized this weekend they are all about the same balance and none have interest, but WANT to get them eliminated.

What would you do???

It doesn't matter how you pay them down if they are all at 0%. It will take you the same amount of time to pay them all off. The only advantage to paying more on one and the minimum on the other 2 is that you will have that feeling of accomplishment from eliminating one of those debts early.

 

[Buzzsgramma]

I would pay the oldest bill first .....and so on...

 

[amcnj]

Make sure all are current, none are overdue or close to heading to collections or anything. If all are on equal footing and their terms all require just a minimum payment of $X then keep making that minimum, and it doesn't really matter how you pay them all off. You could divide extra amount you can afford and give each an equal extra amount each month, get rid of them one by one by devoting all the extra to one bill till it is done.

 

[threeboysmom]

For *my* personality, I would prefer to pay a larger amount on one of the bills and $20 minimum on the other 2 until the first is paid off, then move my focus to paying off the 2nd bill... then the 3rd.

Again, it's my personality - I like to see "progress" even though yes, it's comes out the same whether you pay off one faster or all 3 together, just at a slower rate.

 

[supersnoop]

Group,
Need some advice. I have three medical bills - all with approximate the same balance ($350) and none have any interest. I want to pay them off to free up about $60 a month and cannot decide - should I continue to pay the minimum ($20) each month and add more to one and eliminate them one by one or spread the extra over all of them and eliminate them at the same time?

I know this may sound trivial but I just realized this weekend they are all about the same balance and none have interest, but WANT to get them eliminated.

What would you do???

Do any have additional expenses incurred in order to pay the bills? By that, I mean, do you have to mail a check for one, but pay the others online? I'd focus on any difference that adds to the expense, and get rid of those, first.

 

[Richard M Nixon]

Are the minimum payments fixed (you'll pay $10 a month regardless of whether the balance is $10 or $1000) or are they a percentage of the balance? If it's a fixed-fee, pay the smallest first - that way you'll stop having to pay the $10 or whatever. If they're all percentage based, it doesn't matter.

 

[smiths02]

Mathematically, it doesn't matter, but psychologically, it does. You will have a feeling of accomplishment when each of them gets paid off. I would pay off one at a time. It will also be less headache to pay fewer bills.

 

[DVC California]

Group,
Need some advice. I have three medical bills - all with approximate the same balance ($350) and none have any interest. I want to pay them off to free up about $60 a month and cannot decide - should I continue to pay the minimum ($20) each month and add more to one and eliminate them one by one or spread the extra over all of them and eliminate them at the same time?

I know this may sound trivial but I just realized this weekend they are all about the same balance and none have interest, but WANT to get them eliminated.

What would you do???

If there's no official "due date", I would pay off as slowly as possible since this is an interest free loan. If you are nervous about the outstanding balance, make the extra payments to yourself in an interest bearing savings account.

HTH, Steve.

 

[Iowajes]

Will they stay interest free forever? If so, I don't see much benefit to paying them off early- but if you really want to, I'd pay off one then move to the next; that way you have fewer creditors to come after you later if something happens. Start with the one that has the smallest balance remaining, that way it gets paid off sooner.

If interest free is only for a period, pay off the one that changes to interest baring first.

 

[ilovediznee]

Thank you for everyone's input. Yes, they are all current and none overdue; all are completely interest free and all have a fixed amount of $20 per month minimum but I of course can pay more. I agree with a previous poster that psychologically to eliminate 1 of 3, then 2 of 3 and then the last would give me more satisfaction, not to mention shorten the list of who I have to pay each month.

Thanks again!!!

 

[aliceindisneyland]

I would negotiate a lower price if the bills are paid in full within 30 days. Get a credit card with a nice sign up bonus and 0 percent interest and then pay that one cc down ASAP. You'll save $ off the medical bills and get a bonus for the cc.

If you can pay more, negotiate a lower price and pay all three off now. You will save money and the headache of managing 3 tiny bills. Also, MIL worked as a hospital financial advisor forever and she told me [when I had a hospital bill] that the providers often get tired of tiny payments being dragged out (on balances big and small) and just send them to collections anyway, agreement or no.