Whats your Debt? (Page 6)

phoenixazul - 2011-10-17 9:06 AM RE: Credit cards while you're in college. When I left for school, my parents opened up a credit card for me (in my name, but mom had access to see what was going on), but with a $500 limit. I was told to buy my books each quarter with it and then once a month buy a sweater or something little, something $20 or so and pay it off every month to start building credit. So I had 4+ years of zeroing my balance and using it responsibly, and I did the same in graduate school (with a much higher line of credit), and I've continued to do that into my adult life. When we were considering putting in an offer on a house, my husband and I found out that our credit scores were both in the 800s. It also meant that I could buy my car with a 0.9 finance rate. Moral of the story: credit cards while in college can help you build credit for your adult life. They just have to be used responsibly and with restraint.

TriMike - 2011-10-14 4:19 PM

I have a mortgage and two car payments and significant CC debt.  Our combined income is 110K annually and we have four kids at home.

I have REPEATEDLY tried to negotiate with my CC company to reduce my interest rate so I can pay off the card (18.9%APR) and they refuse.  SO I talked to a debt counselor who will "negotiate" on my behalf with the CC for a reduced rate but I have to pay him a fee and it will affect my credit.

How do you go about fighting with a CC company to reduce their interest rate?  I pay everything ontime but I just can't seem to get ahead???

I'd do the debt reduction/counselor approach but I feel as though why pay them to reduce my APR when the CC should work with me?

I even sent a letter to each member of their board of directors (Capital One) and not a single response.  I DID get a resonse from Capital One themselves saying they wished they could help me but because of the economy they had to keep my rate so high???

VERY frustrating not being able to reduce my APR. 

furiousferret - 2011-10-15 7:31 PM

Question:

If you had an equal amount owed to a vehicle (29k) and student loans (32k) which one would you pay off first?

Since my Student loans are 3% apr higher than my car payment, and my Jeeps depreciation value will always be close or ahead of what I owe,  I think I'm going to knock those out first.  My intention initally was to pay off the Jeep in 2 years but eliminating the student loans seems like a safer route.  If I get laid off I can always sell the Jeep but I'm stuck with the Student Loans.

Or am I missing something?

Just an addendum; both me and my wife finished our bachelors recently, and both those degrees increased our salaries signifigantly.  I hate those loans but they were worth it for us!

smbrown - 2011-10-17 4:43 PM Well yeah, I got a card too for this exact reason, building credit, but I'm still loathe to use the thing unless totally necessary.