Comments on: Paying Off Credit Card Debt

By: Overweight And In Debt: The Correlation Between Weight Gain And Pocket Drain | Frugal Dad

Wed, 05 Aug 2009 10:03:53 +0000

[...] you decide to pay off your debt first, it may mean that you won’t be ready for the pool by summer, but at least your budget [...]

By: Valerie

Valerie — Wed, 27 May 2009 22:51:18 +0000

I have just paid off my credit card and totally recommend it!
I am wondering though, to get my credit score up again is it worth using the card and then paying it off within days of each use? I know paying it off monthly is a good idea but is it just as good to pay it off within say 3 or 4 days each time or is that not worth doing? Any advice on that would be appreciated.

Good tip from a friend: Don’t cut up your card but keep it in the loft so you have to really think about whether you need to use it!

By: Should Parents Pay Off Kids Credit Card Debt? | Frugal Dad

Should Parents Pay Off Kids Credit Card Debt? | Frugal Dad — Tue, 31 Mar 2009 10:01:38 +0000

[...] it? If the answer is no, stop here. You simply cannot jeopardize your own financial well-being by paying off credit card debt for your kids. It would be different if they needed money to eat, or for a medical emergency, but [...]

By: Paying Off Debt With Inheritance | Frugal Dad

Paying Off Debt With Inheritance | Frugal Dad — Tue, 10 Mar 2009 10:01:12 +0000

[...] was just enough to pay off all the family’s debt plus $20,000. Kelly felt conflicted about paying off debt with her inheritance [...]

By: Kristin Harad

Kristin Harad — Mon, 02 Mar 2009 23:58:41 +0000

Lovely advice all the way through. The tone of this article is perfect – get a little angry and use that anger to get rid of your debt so you can start MAKING money instead of LOSING money and then you can begin to reach your financial goals. I love the bit of advice about calling your creditors and asking them to lower your interest rates or give you a free balance transfer – absolutely! Let them help you in your quest to becoming debt free! Make it a regular practice to call your credit cards to ask for a lower rate. I have one client who owes over $20,000 on a Visa that was at 18%. He spoke with a ‘rate specialist’, touting his rising credit score and declining balance and got his rate cut in half, from 18% to 9%! His monthly interest charge was instantly reduced by $150, which will help him pay off his debt even sooner.

By: Recession-Proof Your Debt Snowball | Frugal Dad

Recession-Proof Your Debt Snowball | Frugal Dad — Thu, 26 Feb 2009 11:01:05 +0000

[...] We rarely do things as prescribed, and our debt snowball plan was no exception. Thanks to a combination of events – from the broader economic slowdown, to a life-threatening illness in my family – I have becomes less and less aggressive at paying off debt, and opted to rearrange our priorities a bit to accumulate savings faster. But I did not want to completely abandon our goal of paying off credit card debt. [...]

By: New-Dad-Blog

New-Dad-Blog — Wed, 25 Feb 2009 21:01:27 +0000

I moved back home after college because the job market was in the toliet. I ended up goofing off for months until my dad finally woke me up one day by swatting me with the want ads. . .

Point taken!

By: Diane

Diane — Tue, 24 Feb 2009 19:17:03 +0000

Carole – If you think you cannot handle having a credit card without using it responsibly, you should certainly cut them all up.

With some self-discipline it is possible to use a credit card and pay it off monthly, which will improve your credit rating over time.

Some people use 1 card for necessities like gas & groceries then write a check for that amount, to save a place for the payment at the end of the month. Then you never spend more than you can pay.

I simply track what I’ve spent on the card & stick to my monthly limit. I know I’ll be buying another house in a few years, so I want a GOOD credit rating.

By: Carole

Carole — Tue, 24 Feb 2009 17:04:38 +0000

Good post; disagree with #6, though. Cut up ALL the cards so that there’s no temptation. If you have 3 months of living expenses in an emergency fund, you don’t need the CC, and not having them around helps develop the discipline needed to spend only the money you really have.

By: Frugal Dad

Frugal Dad — Mon, 23 Feb 2009 18:04:28 +0000

@Tara: Working off collections accounts while staying current with others is tough. If you have been in collections for a while, I recommend saving about half the amount you owe and then calling them up and offering 30% of your balance (leave yourself some negotiating room) as payment in full. Don’t send anything before you get it in writing, and don’t agree to a phone payment by giving up your bank account info. They will clean out your account.