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1:06 pm
March 30, 2011
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Kevin @ Avant
| | Chicago, IL | |
| Member | posts 192 | 
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I'm new to this site, and I noticed this section of the forum is like a ghost town. I was wondering how many people on here carry credit card balances and what they are doing to pay it off. I'd like to hear some stories from members in this community.
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4:57 pm
March 30, 2011
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Budgeting in the Fun Stuff
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Sorry…I've never carried a balance past the monthly pay date. :-)
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5:01 pm
March 30, 2011
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Kevin @ Avant
| | Chicago, IL | |
| Member | posts 192 |
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Haha, great for you. I carry a $4,000 balance, but I really don't have the urge to pay it off. I just take my extra money and put it towards my brokerage account. The interest rate is only 7%, so not really killing me.
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5:05 pm
March 30, 2011
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Budgeting in the Fun Stuff
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DebtEye said:
Haha, great for you. I carry a $4,000 balance, but I really don't have the urge to pay it off. I just take my extra money and put it towards my brokerage account. The interest rate is only 7%, so not really killing me.
I even pay off my 5.375% mortgage as quickly as possible. Debt makes me itchy, lol. If I was a better risk taker, I'd probably make better investment returns…
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5:07 pm
March 30, 2011
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Kevin @ Avant
| | Chicago, IL | |
| Member | posts 192 |
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 To be honest with you, I've NEVER applied more payment towards my principal balance. I just pay the regular PITI every single month for the past 6 years. Good news is that my residence only decreased 10% in value (whew).
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5:41 am
March 31, 2011
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Frugal Confessions
| | Houston, TX | |
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Wow Debteye–the interest rate is 7% and you are carrying it? Eek! I guess I am itchy about debt like Crystal.
My husband and I paid off all of our non-mortgage debt last September (woohoo!!!): http://www.frugalconfessions.c…..heckup.php
I'm heading over to check out your site:).
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6:04 am
March 31, 2011
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Jason@LiveRealNow
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I'm currently carrying $22k in credit card debt, but I don't mind because it's only at 9.9%.
:)
Really, I hate it. When I started caring about my debt in April 2009, It was inching up on $30k. In addition to that $7k paydown, I've also paid down $28k in other debt, including my student loan and paying off my car a full year early.
Right now, I'm paying just a bit above the minimum payment on that card, because my son is going into vision therapy, which is expensive and only partially covered by insurance, so I'm maxing out my HSA to at least make sure my share is covered pre-tax. When that's done, I fully expect to have my credit card paid off in about a year, and my mortgage the year after.
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9:57 am
March 31, 2011
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Derek@LifeAndMyFinances
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Frugal Confessions said:
Wow Debteye–the interest rate is 7% and you are carrying it? Eek! I guess I am itchy about debt like Crystal.
My husband and I paid off all of our non-mortgage debt last September (woohoo!!!): http://www.frugalconfessions.c…..heckup.php
I'm heading over to check out your site:).
I agree with Amanda and Crystal on this one. Debt really makes me itchy too. Not only do I hate paying interest, but I also am afraid of the uncertainty. If I lost my job, I don't really want to cash in my investment savings or have the collection agency calling me.
I got rid of $18,000 of debt in 14 months, plus I bought a $6,000 Jeep in there too! I feel so free now that it's gone! :)
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10:00 am
March 31, 2011
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Kevin @ Avant
| | Chicago, IL | |
| Member | posts 192 |
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I guess the reason I'm carrying it is because my brokerage account is performing really well these days. If I ever lost my job, I have about 1.5 years in savings I could live on.
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3:33 pm
March 31, 2011
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Budgeting in the Fun Stuff
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DebtEye said:
I guess the reason I'm carrying it is because my brokerage account is performing really well these days. If I ever lost my job, I have about 1.5 years in savings I could live on.
Then why not use a little of that savings to just pay off the debt? Why waste 7% when you don't have to? Is the brokerage account that 1.5 years of savings?
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3:38 pm
March 31, 2011
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Kevin @ Avant
| | Chicago, IL | |
| Member | posts 192 |
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I do pay it down. Beginning of the year was $11k. I pay an extra $300 in principal every month. I just choose not to pay it off in full. My 1.5 year savings is in my savings account.
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3:40 pm
March 31, 2011
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Budgeting in the Fun Stuff
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DebtEye said:
I do pay it down. Beginning of the year was $11k. I pay an extra $300 in principal every month. I just choose not to pay it off in full. My 1.5 year savings is in my savings account.
Is your savings account making better than 7%? I feel like I'm missing something…
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3:52 pm
March 31, 2011
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Kevin @ Avant
| | Chicago, IL | |
| Member | posts 192 |
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I wish there was a savings account that paid 7% :)
Personally, I'd rather not touch my savings account. I'll be done paying off the entire balance of the card by the end of this year at the rate im going, and only pay about $200 in interest. Any excess cash I just throw it into the brokerage account.
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3:54 pm
March 31, 2011
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Kevin @ Avant
| | Chicago, IL | |
| Member | posts 192 |
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However, there are times when I just feel like I should just get rid of it. When my accounts are performing well, I like to keep the momentum going. Maybe I'll just pay it off in a few months
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4:07 pm
March 31, 2011
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Budgeting in the Fun Stuff
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Well, good luck! Thanks for an interesting conversation!
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5:53 am
April 1, 2011
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Jackie
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Add me to the "debt makes me itchy" club. I hate owing money, and we're working on paying off our house. I've got a blog about debt and an app to help others get out of it!
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8:46 am
April 1, 2011
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Khaleef @ KNS Financial
| | Fat Guy, Skinny Wallet | |
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I'm with many of you. I'm in debt, but I HATE it!
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9:49 am
April 1, 2011
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Roger the Amateur Financier
| | Northwestern Pennsylvania | |
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I didn't realize just how many people got 'itchy' at the thought of being in debt. Personally, I've noticed that the more my debt increases, the more it bothers me; while I wasn't terribly worried about paying my credit card debt when it was hovering around one or two thousand, now that it's over $13,000, it's definitely gotten to the point where I want to kill it dead. (And get back to my old habit of paying off anything I charge by the time the bill is due.)
To that end, I'm trying to get as aggressive as possible with my card payments, I'm attempting, as best I am able, to only use cash for my purchases, and I've been debating whether I should take out more in student loans so I can pay down my card balance. It's a tough choice; on one hand, I could pay off nearly $6000 in credit card debt with the remaining student loan money I have available, and the student loan interest is tax deductible, so there are some financial advantages. On the other hand, the student loan doesn't have much better interest terms than my credit card (at least, until they increase the prime rate), and I'm afraid that without a five figure credit card balance to spur me on, I might slip back into old habits.
So, that's my debt story, and my current credit card considerations. Here's hoping I get it paid down as soon as possible.
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11:00 am
April 1, 2011
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Jason@LiveRealNow
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Never replace unsecured debt with secured. Worst case scenario, you can file bankruptcy on your credit cards. You can't do that with your student loans. If you default on your student loans, you're open for judgment-free garnishment and seized tax refunds. Let it go long enough and you're risking property liens and social security garnishment.
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1:09 pm
April 1, 2011
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sooverthis
| | Kentucky | |
| Moderator
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I spent way too many years being comfortable with my debt, which made it easier to take on even more. These days, I'm paying it off as fast as I can.
At my worst point, I had about $21,000 in credit card debt and high-interest personal loans. $10k of that was paid off with a private student loan (stupid me!), and the rest was discharged in Chapter 7 bankruptcy in 2006. Since then, I racked up another $6000 and have paid it down to $1000. Once it's paid off, I will never carry a credit card balance again! I also have a car loan and over $40k in student loans to pay off.
I'm using a debt snowball right now to pay off my card balances by the end of the year. Not a total Dave Ramsey convert, though; I'm also contributing about 19% of my take-home pay to my Roth and savings account. Trying to make up for lost time, I guess. I'm also starting a second job this month to increase my snowball. I want all this debt gone by the time I'm 35, which is only 7 years away.
I simply don't have enough income or patience to justify going into debt any more. I'm learning to save for the things I want to buy, which is a totally new concept for me. It's amazing how much better it feels to buy something with the money I already earned, instead of earning money just to watch it pay for all the crap I already bought and forgot about.
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