Are you cash and carry? In the past 3 weeks my car got hit on the street, my computer broke, my iPod died and I dropped my cell phone and cracked the screen. A grand on the MasterCard, easy.

300 dollars

$0.00

Pay it off religiously every month.


tA

Tribal Disorder

http://www.soundclick.com...dID=182431

Mine automatically gets paid off every month, but currently outstanding and building up until about 3 weeks time, about £850.

I'm owed about £800 from various friends for concert tickets and other loans though, and my DVD player broke a few weeks ago so I splashed out on a proper DVD recorder with a hard drive.
[Edited 6/1/06 12:37pm]

badujunkie said:

Zero, Zed, Nada.....
I use Amex Gold and pay it off every month....
That is the glory of being older, wiser and having spent and invested money appropriately early on....hint-hint to you younger people.

I owe so much that I'm thinking about shaving all my body hair, putting on a schoolboy uniform, and skipping around sucking a big ole lollipop in front of Michael Jackson.
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[Edited 6/1/06 13:23pm]

I got a little outta control over the last few years and I'm actively working on getting rid of it now. My cards are in a drawer so they don't get used.

I had three and I transferred them all over to one with a much lower interest rate. The balance is enormous. What can I say, it costs money to be me. Anyway, I cut all the cards up and just make the minimum payment each month, which is a whopper.

got me, got me, and got me. Im working my way out of it....

vainandy said:

I'm thinking of taking out a loan to pay them off and closing them all (only 4 of them, only 3 have balances) except one for emergencies that will be kept in the drawer. The drawer method seems to be working.
I'm really not that far in debt. It just seems like a lot right now. lol.

vainandy said:

All jokes aside, that's going to guarantee you'll never get out of debt.
Andy, make every effort you can to increase your payments.


tA

Tribal Disorder

http://www.soundclick.com...dID=182431

about 5k.

theAudience said:

Me too.
How much interest do they charge? Pleease!

theAudience said:

same here - interest free 55 days, automatic payment, for a very small fee once a year.
[Edited 6/1/06 16:52pm]

More than I'd like, but not enough for it to be a problem. I'm nowhere near maxed out, don't have any trouble paying bills when they come in, etc. Obviously I'd like to get it paid off, though.

Basically, what I do is have cards from numerous banks, and I play them against one another. At first I'd get deals like 3.99% interest on balance transfers for one year. Now I think I've got all of it locked in at single-digit interest rates through "X% for the life of the balance" deals... American Express gave me 2.99%.

theAudience said:

Agreed.

$900, from very recently. I had it down to nothing, and then I had some fucking medical stuff, and a car thing, and . . . bah. I hate it. I'm getting rid of it by the fall. And then I'm cutting the damn thing up. I'd rather starve than ever have credit card debt again.

ugh.... sore subject for me


I topped out at nearly 20k about 4 years ago. Since then, i've cut it down to about 10k. It's taken a massive effort, but it's been worth it. Obviously still have a ways to go.

NorthernLad said:

It's such a fucking awful trap. 'Cause most of us wouldn't have the debt if we had enough extra money to be able to afford to pay credit card bills. Bah.

Thanks TA. I had three of them and two of them had an interest rate of about 26%. The minimum payments weren't lowering the balances hardly any.

My first step was to transfer all three to one card which has a 4% interest rate and I had them to send me (in writing) that the rate would stay the same for the life of the balance. Their catch is that any new charges have a much higher interest rate. I have forgotten what that rate is because I have no intention of ever using it. I closed the accounts on the other three cards and I cut the new card up so I couldn't use it. I've been paying the minimum payment right now because it so high. When it goes down as I pay more, I intend to send them double the minimum payment.

I had to think about emergencies such as car trouble, doctor visits, etc., that got me in trouble to begin with. My paycheck is automatically deposited to my bank. I also set it up so that $50 each check (semi-monthly) goes to the credit union which is across town and I did not want an ATM card. It's a long drive over there so I think twice before going to withdraw any money. That separate account has been a lifesaver this year.

I've got a long way to go but I'm definately putting forth a serious effort on working on it.
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[Edited 6/2/06 12:25pm]

Is that all? I'll trade with you.

I've never been in debt as much as you were in the past but we are both around the same neighborhood now.

I have (only) a modest amount, thank the Lord. Weekly, automatic transfers pay it down, along with a monthly lump sum. Once I get my new job, I will up the amounts. At this rate, I'll be out of debt by year's end. From now on, cash.

vainandy said:

I had NONE b/c it took so long to work my way out of debt from grad school time, but I'm @ a point now where I need some things & if I stay "cash only" I'll never get them. So I'm going back in, but I'll only let it get up to $3k & then get rid of it again. That amount is nothing compared to what I worked my way out of so it doesn't scare me as much. I just hope nothing major happens

ZombieKitten said:

That's the way to go!

I notch up a few thousand a month but pay it off in full in the 55 day interest free period.


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[Edited 6/2/06 19:47pm]

bkw said:

Ditto

None. I pay it off every month.

VoicesCarry said:

My mama told me this is how I should be doing it, but every once in a while I charge up a whole bunch which I just can't pay off within the month.

im in a lot of debt, which is due in no part to my spending habits, more to do with having scrounging parents who are/were both on benefits (welfare) and putting myself through university. Theres nothing I can do about it bar earn money, so Im just waiting patiently until I graduate and Ill deal with it then it would be worse if my credit rating wasnt so bad, I only have one creidt card now and its the least of my debt! If they gave me more, Id sure as hell take them; Ive nothing else!

It really bothers me, right now I have £13 to last 10 days, which is for food and travel Not good!

But Im starting a new thing: "not letting it bother me" Im just not going to care! Ill let you know how it goes!