Help Dealing With High Interest Credit Card Debt

RE: Help Dealing With High Interest Credit Card Debt Post by imaqt1962 (365) | (12/06/2006) Contact if it is a good card company they will work with you in order to keep your business. last year our card company raised their yearly fee to almost double i contacted them and told them i wanted to cancel my card, they asked why i told them.they agreed to reduce the yearly rate to back to where it was before so i would keep the card.doesn't mean to have to continue to use the card, cut it up!!.they won't know .they will think as long as the account is open that one day you will use it again.but in the mean time to will save a little money. then when it is totally paid off. cancel the card.......... RE: Help Dealing With High Interest Credit Card Debt Post by Persnickety Paula (321) | (12/06/2006) Contact Andy, you should try to call your company and ask them. If they won't do it, then find a new company! I recently changed companies and went with Capital One and have been very happy with them (so far). RE: Help Dealing With High Interest Credit Card Debt Post By andy (Guest Post) (12/06/2006) Does anyone know if I can call the credit card company and ask them to apply my monthly payment to the higher interest rate on my card. I have a promotional rate and a high regular rate. I would like to pay the higher one off first but they always apply it to the lower rate first. RE: Help Dealing With High Interest Credit Card Debt Post by miarocks (1) | (05/29/2006) Contact THE KEY IS, EVEN IF YOU ONLY PAY THE MINIMUM (OR $10-15 OVER), DO NOT DECREASE THAT AMOUNT AS THE BALANCE GOES DOWN!!! CC companies WANT you to only pay the minimum, that's why they make it so low and decrease it as the balance decreases. Keeping your payments level (even at the minimum payment when you first start on the "program"), you'll pay them off much faster. Go to www.cheapskatemonthly.com or bankrate.com and use their calculators--- good luck RE: Help Dealing With High Interest Credit Card Debt Post by lilithjune (4) | (03/06/2005) Contact For sure transfer the balances to another credit card with lower interest. YOu've probably been bombarded with credit card offers from other companies like my teenage son was once he started using his credit cards. He also went over the limit on his, and is in the same situation. I transferred his balance to another lower interest card, cut up the cards and he paid his off in 6 months.... RE: Help Dealing With High Interest Credit Card Debt Post by ChildlikeGrownup (13) | (02/22/2005) Contact Hi Robin, Please call Genus Credit Management at 800/955-0412. Genus Credit Management a not-for-profit credit counseling agency, offers free debt management and educational programs that help financially distressed families and individuals effectively manage their finances. Our clients are asked to make a contribution to AFS-Genus if they can afford to do so. All contributions are voluntary. Website: http://www.genus.org/ If any company indicates a handling fee - DO NOT USE THEM. Genus Credit Management has been around for 20+ years - longer then 95% of the companies out there that say they can help you reduce your debt. Trust me - I've been in banking for over 25 years, and I refer clients to this organization! Cindy RE: Help Dealing With High Interest Credit Card Debt Post By Michelle (Guest Post) (02/21/2005) How about contacting a debt-relief program? We were in a similar situation (to the tune of $8000). I called Consumer Credit Counceling Service. They were really friendly and helpful. They contacted the credit card companies and got most of them to reduce the interest. We paid $40 a week until it was paid off. It took 5 years but it was worth it. Five months after paying off credit cards, we qualified for a Rural Development loan and now live in our own home. I don't know if this company is available in your area, but there may be similar ones. Good luck and hang in there, it will get better. RE: Help Dealing With High Interest Credit Card Debt Post By Karen. (Guest Post) (02/20/2005) There are many credit card companies that give an introductory period of three to six months without interest. I suggest that you switch the entire balance often to one of these companies, and keep paying anything you can afford. RE: Help Dealing With High Interest Credit Card Debt Post by Jo Bodey (302) | (02/19/2005) Contact Well done on not adding to your credit card debt - great restraint and willpower showed there! I want to question your inability to pay only $10 over the minimum payment. I don't know your personal circumstances/income/outgoings but would like to respectfully suggest a little exercise. Imagine all your 'lifestyle' and belongings had been swept away in the Boxing Day tsunami. What would you need to survive? Like most of us you would want a roof over your head, warmth, (if the weather was cold), food and clothing. Your loved ones and dwelling were safe but you needed money to survive. The things that immediately spring to mind - clothes to cover your body and food for strength and survival are the essentals of life. If you were lucky enough to have a job you would also need to be able to get to this job to earn enough to support your family/your self. So what are the possible essentials for you in this situation? Rent/mortgage - to keep a roof over your head. Utility bills to make the living space habitable. You must be able to raise, (grow), or purchase enough food to keep yourself and/or your family alive and healthy. You must also be able to cover your body in a manner to keep you comfortable and earn your living, (i.e. if you have a work at home job this is not important - if you work in a top business office you need to dress to such a neat standard as to not inhibit your chance of keeping the job. So, taking all these into account, from your income you need to pay rent/mortgage, (+/- insurance), food, utilities and appropriate clothing. ANYTHING ELSE IS POSSIBLY SUPERFLUOUS IF YOU ARE SERIOUS ABOUT GETTING RID OF YOUR DEBT! I wasn't shouting there, just emphasising that if you are willing to forego any of the non essential spending you now feel is essential you will have a much better chance of reducing this debt. Eating out in the evening/convenience or pre prepared foods/eating lunch out/new clothes/cable/paying for the labour of others, (e.g. yard care etc) /junk food/cool drinks/expensive beauty aids, (don't get irritated here LOL! - I knew a girl who was always pleading poverty who spent $25 Australian on a bottle of shampoo, and the same on conditioner, and counted it as an essential!!!!). I'm not suggesting that you do any of these - just that if you do you .... 1. Look at where your money goes, (keep a spending log of every cent). 2. Try and fit all your spending into one of the above catagories. 3. Ask yourself if you want to spend the money on non essential items or paying off your credit card bill Changing credit cards will help to a certain extent but seems to me you are just 'moving the deckchairs on the Titanic' from the stern to the bow - eventually you will come crashing down no matter how good it felt when you moved that 3 foot up the deck. If you meet another financial crisis you could still sink. If you really want to get rid of this debt you will take every spare cent and apply it to your debt - and it will be gone very quickly. Regards Jo RE: Help Dealing With High Interest Credit Card Debt Post By connie (Guest Post) (02/19/2005) Either, 1. get one very low interest card to transfer the two accounts onto, and pay onto the one what you are currently paying the two, PAY IT OFF COMPLETELY. OR, 2. pay 15 over minimum on the lowest balance until paid off (5 over minimum on the higher balance), then put that total (paid off card payment + regular payment on higher card) towards the balance left on the remaining card. It might take a couple of years, but you will save your credit. RE: Help Dealing With High Interest Credit Card Debt Post By Debbie (Guest Post) (02/19/2005) Robin, Congratulations on stopping your use of the credit cards! That is the first step in getting out of debt. If I were you, I would look for a new credit card that will accept balance transers at a reduced rate. Credit card companies offer this all the time. Just make sure that the reduced rate is for the life of the transferred balance, not just an introductory period of a few months. I just got an offer from my credit union to transfer balances for 8% for the life of the balance. If you have made regular payments on your credit cards, then your credit should still be good. A good starting point would be your bank or credit union. You could also ask your friends and family to keep their eyes & ears open for you for any similar offers they receive and then you could call the company and apply. Good Luck! If you stick with your budget, I know you'll have success