credit card advice

[mainemike]

I trust no one, but I trust the gang here. I'm a financial dope, my personal finances are a mess. I have a Discover Card balance I'm looking to transfer in hopes of a lower interest rate. Anyone have any knowledge, experience, tips, etc...? Keep it simple! As if I was 10 yrs old!

[BShow]

easy; open up the new card with a lower rate on transfers. plug in the pertinent information and you're good to go. Assuming, that is, that you're approved.

[sbornia]

Check out the cards offered by your local credit union, or a national one like Pen Fed.

[marley]

It is OK to open a lower interest card to transfer a balance but.....only do this once and have a strong plan to pay off the balance in the shortest time frame possible. Do not get into a trap of opening cards/tranferring balances.

Debt is OK - i.e. car loans, student loans, mortgage. Credit card debit is bad, bad, bad...you should only put something on a card that you can pay off at the end of the month. This may sound easier said than done but it is possible if you live within your means. (I am not making any assumptions about your situation).

Also it should go with out saying but never miss a payment - this along with having a high credit limit (i.e. multiple cards open) can kill your credit score and will bite you in the wallet when you apply for a mortgage.

[sine]

Furthering the Credit Union line of thought..........go to your local Credit Union and see if you can get a personal loan. A CU should be able to offer a lower rate than typical cc transfer. Borrow what you need to pay off your cc debt.

[EDS]

Transfer the balance - hopefully to one with 0.0% interest for a few months. Do you get cash-back for points on your card? If not, might be a feature to look for in the future. Generally though, after transfering the balance, to the extent possible, don't use any credit card for a few months and start paying down the balance.

[j44ke]

Yeah, better to move away from credit cards and find alternative ways of paying down the debt. Do not go to a debt consolidation firm. They will leave you worse off than you were - A LOT worse. There is no short way around paying off this stuff, unless you win the lottery or an unknown wealthy relative croaks and leaves you a stack of cash.

[Joel Benjamin L]

If you are bad at finances, I would find someone (friend or family member) with whom you can have a open and frank conversation about your own finances. You need to figure out a way to end your credit card debt as soon as possible, even if that means taking on other forms of debt. This is impossible to do without saying how much you earn, how much you own, what sorts of resources are available to you, and how you are presently allocating your resources. If you can talk about all of that with someone helpful and forgiving, you will have a much better chance of getting onto a sustainable track.

At present, you are giving Discover, Visa, whoever quite a bit of money so that they can let you go on damaging your own future.

[Jonathan]

Instead of doing a balance transfer and lowering your credit score, call the current CC and see if they will match the offer rate. They are surely giving lower rates to new customers most likely.

[vertical_doug]

+1 with Jonathan,

The simplest solution is first try to negotiate your interest rate lower with Discover. It probably will not work, but it will not hurt. In going through the process, you can get competing offers from other credit card companies, look at previous statements, etc. This will walk you through it.

How to Lower Your Interest Rate With Discover Card | eHow

As with all financial products, the devil will be with the details.

[Saab2000]

Cut it up. Or put it somewhere you can't use it. Pay it off in the biggest chunks possible.

Look up 'compound interest' and you'll see how dangerous it is to be on the bad side of compound interest and how important it is to be on the right side of compound interest.

There are tons of websites with good advice on personal finance. Most have you paying off high-interest loans like credit cards ahead of everything else.

Read some of these. There is lots of good info that is both true and free.

1. Pay off high interest debts.
2. Save in interest earning investments or saving vehicles like a 401k or Roth IRA.

[Saab2000]

Cut it up. Or put it somewhere you can't use it. Pay it off in the biggest chunks possible.

Look up 'compound interest' and you'll see how dangerous it is to be on the bad side of compound interest and how important it is to be on the right side of compound interest.

There are tons of websites with good advice on personal finance. Most have you paying off high-interest loans like credit cards ahead of everything else.

Read some of these. There is lots of good info that is both true and free.

1. Pay off high interest debts.
2. Save in interest earning investments or saving vehicles like a 401k or Roth IRA.

[rphetteplace]

only use credit cards to cut coke with. I recommend A/X black.

[mainemike]

thanks all, very helpful. i'm gonna do some coke for a cple days and give it some thought.

[marley]

Are you paying with cash or selling your body?

Although I am sure the modern dealers are using Square with their iphones.