Credit Cards Debt

I have 4 credit cards with approx. $25,000.00 worth of debt on them. I would like to get ahold of a non-profit debt counseling service in order to get rid of the high interest rates and pay them off alot sooner instead of only paying the interest and the over the limit fees. I have not used these cards for the past 5-6 years and the accounts are closed except for me making payments on them. I am not even touching the actual principal that I owe, although, I have probably paid enough on these cards to have actually paid off the actual principal. How is the best way to do this and what are some reputalbe non-profit agencies that will help achieve this? I have also heard that some credit cards will take a settlement on some accounts. Is this a good idea and how much of the amount owed do they usually want? I realize that this may hurt my credit rating but to be honest with you it isn't worth squat now, so what is the difference? Does the debt consolidation hurt your credit as well?

You would want to get in with a company that is non profit as you stated in your question. Other companies charge you a fee for doing this for you, as much as 50.00 a month. Consolidated Credit Counselors is a company I used before the only problem I had with them is the agreement they have with the issuing banks it to make payments that is 5% of what you owe. That was too high for me so I had no other choice but to do a bankruptcy. In time your credit rating will improve. But by taking action and just not walking away will definately improve your credit rating.

2006-02-22 08:23:30 by mony ou

www.letsforgetdebt.com - An excellent informative site and service to help anyone with credit card debt. A step by step video talking about the ...

I am trying to help someone who has aboout $10,000 in credit card debt, spread over 6 cards, get things turned around. Is there anyone who knows the options they have and which processes are the best. Any help is greatly appreciated.

Debt consolidation and balance transfers are two different things. If you're looking to consolidate debt, a low interest personal loan is probably more along the lines of what you're looking for. While you won't have the lowest rate out there, you will have one bill, a fixed amount to pay each month, and at the end of the loan, the debt will be paid off. There are some good ones out there, just look around and weigh your options carefully.

Balance transfers done on brand new accounts usually have a teaser rate of 0% for about a year, then the regular apr will apply. Keep in mind that you will also pay a fee for the transfer on most accounts, roughly 3% up to the max amount stated by the company for each transfer done. If the person in question has low credit limits on their current accounts and they are carrying balances near that line, the chances that you will be able to find a company willing to transfer the entire amount is low. You'll be asking them to take on a $10K balance with little to no interest being paid and in return they will only make a small amount off of the fee. Balance transfers have very low profitability, so issuers don't like to treat them as "consolidations" because they know they'll take a loss on the amount unless the person doesn't switch over to another issuer once the teaser rate expires.

If you go the balance transfer route, keep in mind too, that you won't know what limit will be approved, so you won't know ahead of time if you will be able to do the entire balance transfer or not. Don't give the transfer info upfront, because if it's not enough to transfer the entire amount, they'll go ahead and transfer as much as the limit will allow, leaving you with more than one bill and a hit on your credit for the inquiry.

With the info you've given here, the debt consoliidation loan sounds more like what you would need. At least with that, there's no guessing what your payment will be, what your interest rate may change, and you'll know when the debt will be completely paid off.

2007-11-05 14:06:39 by ikeasks

Price: $19.95

I'm carrying 5 credit cards but I wanted to know which ones to drop and which to hold on to. Some of the cards are more recent and have better reward programs than others. I know credit card debt is bad but I don't want to have to cull all of them at once. What do you suggest ?

If you are going to keep a card, then keep the ones with the higher limits and the older ones. Start with getting the lowest debt paid first. Then keep it at zero. Use the money you were paying on it to pay the next higher one. When it is zero keep it there. Use that money to pay the next. Keep going until you've paid them all.

As far as credit goes, history is important. That's why you should keep the older cards. Credit limits are important. That's why you should keep the higher limits. The rewards/perks are false. You pay more in interest and penalties than you'll ever get.

2009-08-31 06:03:05 by road2perdition

Price: $19.99

Hi

I have 2 credit cards. 1 with WellsFargo with 3000 limit and have 1700 debt and USBANK with 4000 limit with 2500 debt. I am a new graduate landed with a descent job. I was wondering if pay off both of my cc debts would be better or pay until both cards are below 30% of card utilization?

Why would you want to keep your cards charged up 30% and pay the banks interest on that each month.

PAY THEM OFF!

www.daveramsey.com

2007-08-12 15:09:38 by Corsica2147

I have over $20,000 of credit card debt. I am able to pay them off slowly now, but I am thinking of consolidating everything with a debt management program. This program said they will close all my accounts and all I have to pay is a low monthly payment of $500 a month for all my credit cards. Is this a good deal? I am not sure. Thank you for reading and thank you for your time.

This is not a good deal. Reducing your payments will not save you anymore at all, infact, often times you will end up paying more in the long run.


The only way a debt consolidation loan is a good idea is if you get a lower interest rate, but continue to make high monthly payments, so more money is going towards principal rather tha towards interest. This is the only way to pay off more of your debts...applying more money towards the principal.

If you don't go the route of the consolication loan, make extra payments on the smallest debt only...make as big of a paymnet as possible on this one, while maintaining the other minumum payments. When that debt is paid off, move that entire payment amount onto the next smallest debt. COntinue doing this until it's gone. Again, the key is to make sure the monthly payments stay high, you're just transfering the payments from one to another as they get paid off. This is the "Debt snowball" strategy that most debt management companies recommend and is also promoted by people like DAve Ramsey, and Richard Kiyosaki.

2008-11-11 08:38:39 by Leroy