Wednesday, July 15, 2009

I don't want to make the same mistake...please help. Credit card finance charges are eating me

I would like to consolidate my debt ($20,000), which is mostly credit card debt, by taking a line of credit with Bank of America? From the explanation I received from this bank, it sounds like it is another credit card. I have thought about taking an unsecured simple intertest loan at 13%, but the line of credit APR is 8.9%, which is really enticing. I would take either loan for 5 years with fixed monthly payments.



Which of the two approaches (loan or line of credit) would YOU take to save the most money, and why, for paying off high interest credit card debt?



Has anyone one ran into this situation before? How did you resolve it?



I can certainly use the extra money to buy my son clothes and school supplies.



Thank you.



I don%26#039;t want to make the same mistake...please help. Credit card finance charges are eating me away.?

Do not do debt consolidation. You are just making more debt for yourself! Your son will have to shop at Walmart or the thrift store and you will need to buy his school supplies at the 99 Cent store this year while you dig yourself out of this hole.



The best way to clear up your situation is HARD work!



Start with the smallest amount of credit card debt. Make changes and cut out extras to make double payments on the lowest balance card first!



After it is paid off take the money you were paying towards that card and apply it towards the card with the HIGHEST interest rate, while still making minmum payments on the others. After that card is paid off, move to the card with the next highest interest rate.



All the while know that your interest rates will GO UP if you are even ONE DAY late on the payments. It%26#039;s in the fine print of your credit card contract.



If you are willing to pay down and off all your cards (do not cancel them you need them for history) you will find your life is much simpler.



Shopping with coupons, not buying food or coffee out and no other extras for a year to two is better than the stress you are feeling now!



(I colored and cut my own hair and did my own nails for 5 years and learned to like the savings!)



I PROMISE I HAVE BEEN THERE DONE THAT and while raising two kids on my own without help.



If I can do it.... I know you are a strong enough person to do it too!!



Best wishes and much success!



I don%26#039;t want to make the same mistake...please help. Credit card finance charges are eating me away.?

File for bankruptcy and start over.



I don%26#039;t want to make the same mistake...please help. Credit card finance charges are eating me away.?

Unfortunately my only option was bankruptcy . Not an easy decision for me. I only filed on credit cards as there are unsecured. Do I feel badly? Of course I do.but was trying to keep an old car running as I live off of a disability check and there weren%26#039;t many options for me. I was being taking to court by one of the credit card companies and had to work fast and hire a lawyer In the state of NJ and maybe others states, they have changed the laws making it harder to do this and if you have assets....they could take you to court and you would lose so much more. I would go for the loan. You never pay off credit cards if you owe so much. You are only paying on interest for the rest of your life. If they aren%26#039;t fixed.....watch out. Read the fine print too.



The loan would be paid off much quicker and keep your credit in good standing. Bank of America does hand out credit cards and offer a low introductory rate and then it sky rockets. Be careful and don%26#039;t fall into the trap of another credit card. Good luck and I wish you the best for you and your son.



I don%26#039;t want to make the same mistake...please help. Credit card finance charges are eating me away.?

Hi,



I used %26quot;Credit Solutions%26quot; to settle my debt.They managed to reduce my debt up to 58%.It%26#039;s legitimate.I came accross this company on NBC News Special Edition.Check it out here:



http://tinyurl.com/2gbdzu



I don%26#039;t want to make the same mistake...please help. Credit card finance charges are eating me away.?

I agree with other.. Don%26#039;t take a line of credit. You would be better off %26quot;Card Hopping%26quot; if you can. Take a look at http://preferred.ecreditdirectory.com/ca... .. This is a list of %26quot;Balance Transfer Cards%26quot; that offer low or 0% interest for a given time (there is one that offer 15 months!!).. Good Luck!



I don%26#039;t want to make the same mistake...please help. Credit card finance charges are eating me away.?

At 13% for 5 years, payments are $455 a month.



At 8.9% for 5 years, payments are $414 a month.



If you use the home equity line of credit and don%26#039;t make your payments, the bank can foreclose on your home.



You would probably run up your credit cards again (as noted by you last sentence), so you should cut up all your cards and use cash instead until you pay it off.



I don%26#039;t want to make the same mistake...please help. Credit card finance charges are eating me away.?

I%26#039;d go to a different bank for total debt consolidation, pay off 100% of all your credit cards, and then cut them up and send them back to the companies. The easiest way to stay out of credit card debt, DON%26#039;T use them! If you dont have the cash to get something, then you don%26#039;t need it. Yeah, its tough having to tell the kids %26#039;no%26#039; but sometimes thats a good thing too. There is nothing wrong with making the kids wait an extra day or week or two for something. And as far as having the credit cards for christmas, just think of the fact that for once, you can plan ahead and NOT have that added worry of the extra debt after christmas!



I don%26#039;t want to make the same mistake...please help. Credit card finance charges are eating me away.?

Quit charging.



Pay everything on time and pay extra on one account.



When it is paid off do the same with the next account.



Your low APR may be changed for something as small as a .one hour late payment



I don%26#039;t want to make the same mistake...please help. Credit card finance charges are eating me away.?

The open equity line is a great way to replace credit cards if you have available equity, and plan on continuing to use credit cards. The rate on an equity line is going to be higher than that of a fixed equity loan. Get the fixed equity if you just want to eliminate your high rate debt. The equity line is basically a credit card with your home as collateral.

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