Paying off Debt

[finances5]

Hello everyone,

I currently have some debt with one credit company and have been paying off on a monthly basis. However, I'd like to try to speed up the process or reduce the interest rate.

When I looked into the possibility of transferring the balance from one credit company to another, this is what I was told:

"Your interest rate will be determined upon approval, which is based on the information provided on your application as well as your credit history."

They got me thinking "How would I know in advance that the rate that will be agreed upon will be lower than the one I have with the current credit company?".

I also looked into the possibility of borrowing from a lending company. However, my application was not accepted cause the debt / income ratio wasn't lower than a certain %. Although when I did the math, I did not think I was that far off the mark. And did ask them if there was a way I could get info on how much debt would I have to pay in order to make the debt / income ratio go lower than a certain %? They said it was based on an automated system.

Anyone, have any advice on what I could do with the current dilemma?

My current credit company charges 15.24 % interest rate.

I'd appreciate it. Thanks in advance!

 

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[Kyle Tully]

Make more money.

 

[RBefort]

The above is correct. Like MJ says, play offense not defense. Debts are nothing if you make 200k a month. Thatll be gone quickly. However, I paid off my CCs for peace of mind while learning Fastlane stuff. I snowballed my debt and threw everything I could to it. I had several CCs so I took advantage of balance transfers...yes, you get charged 3%, but that is nothinf compared to the interest u save over then0% period. I had a 125 pmt on one with 75 being in interest...monthly. moved it over for 12 months 0% interest for 50 bucks and paid that off within timeframe.

15% isnt too horrific. Better than in the 20s. Just gotta find ways to make more income and cut out all luxuries...eating out, going to movies, etc. Give it your all and youll be done in no time.

 

[DeletedUser12]

You could just apply for a no annual fee CC, don't use it, and see what balance transfer offers you receive (usually takes a few months of not using the card before they post good offers). I was able to get 0% APR for a year with a 3% fee with Discover.

Mindset aside, there's no reason not to do it if it will save you money.

 

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[socaldude]

I've been there before.

Owed $15k out of college.

There is no secret.

Decrease expenses as much as you can. Increase Income as much as you can.

Time is your enemy.

You wanna throw as much cash as you can as quick as you can at your credit cards.

Took me a little over a year to pay them off. Totally doable if willing to sacrifice.

 

[Choate]

Like others have all said, decrease expenses, increase expenses, and play offense.

I just graduated college in May, I have close to 70k in debt with a bachelor's making 24k a year. I am also paying for my own braces, another 7,000. With my budget, I can make it work. When I increase my firepower dramatically within a few years, this aint gonna be nothing.

Point is, whatever you're at man, its doable.

 

[Justin.p]

Many of my credit cards offer balance transfers right on the website and very clearly show the terms of the offer. If they won't tell you the rate ahead of time, it may be a predatory offer. Once you exceed a certain percent of credit utilization, you'll start getting all sorts of insane predatory offers in the mail for 24.24% loans of $500 and so on. I even got one that avoided the government set maximum credit limit buy offering me $3,000 and I would "only" have to pay $10 per $100 borrowed each month as a fee in lieu of interest.

When you have a lot of credit card debt the best thing you can do:
(1) Use every penny possible at the beginning to pay them down. As soon as you get your utilization down to reasonable numbers (below 50% and then below 30%) you'll start getting GOOD offers. For example Discover might give you 18 months no interest and 3% fee balance transfer. As soon as you get these offers you can do transfers and save tons on interest. Hence the sooner you get there the better.

(2) As soon as your utilization is down to say 50% you'll be able to apply for more cards. Apply for at least a few! But don't charge them up. If the new cards give you enough credit your utilization % could drop from say 50% to 30% even without having paid the debt down any further. This will help you get even better balance transfer offers etc.

Look into peer loans also, *if* you can get a low rate. These 3 don't require a hard inquire on your credit to see if you qualify!
https://prosper.com/ <-- My favorite.
https://www.upstart.com/
https://www.lendingclub.com/ <--- Rejects too easily IMO.

 

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