Credit Card Debt

[Anonymous]

Trying to get some credit card debt paid off. What is the rule of thumb? Pay off/down the high interest ones first? Or the ones with the highest balance?

[Anonymous]

Pay off the ones with the highest interest first, and then take the $ you were paying towards that, and once you're finished paying the high interest ones off, put that same amount of money towards the next thing.

[Anonymous]

As I recall, Michelle Singletary, the WaPo financial columnist, suggests paying off the one with the smallest balance first so that you feel like you are making progress.

But in terms of saving the most money, paying off the one with the highest interest rate first seems the most rational.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:As I recall, Michelle Singletary, the WaPo financial columnist, suggests paying off the one with the smallest balance first so that you feel like you are making progress.

But in terms of saving the most money, paying off the one with the highest interest rate first seems the most rational.

Singletary is an idiot, generally speaking. I mean, the woman has no business advising people on personal finances.

That said, I can see the wisdom in tackling the smallest balances first, especially since it frees up more money to throw at the bigger balances.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:As I recall, Michelle Singletary, the WaPo financial columnist, suggests paying off the one with the smallest balance first so that you feel like you are making progress.

But in terms of saving the most money, paying off the one with the highest interest rate first seems the most rational.

Singletary is an idiot, generally speaking. I mean, the woman has no business advising people on personal finances.

That said, I can see the wisdom in tackling the smallest balances first, especially since it frees up more money to throw at the bigger balances.

Why?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:As I recall, Michelle Singletary, the WaPo financial columnist, suggests paying off the one with the smallest balance first so that you feel like you are making progress.

But in terms of saving the most money, paying off the one with the highest interest rate first seems the most rational.

Singletary is an idiot, generally speaking. I mean, the woman has no business advising people on personal finances.

That said, I can see the wisdom in tackling the smallest balances first, especially since it frees up more money to throw at the bigger balances.

Why?

Mainly because her aversion to debt is completely over-the-top. Most prudent financial advisers will tell you debt is ok if you can earn a higher rate of return on the borrowed money elsewhere, and they would be right. Singletary is all "no debt! no debt! cuz my BIG MAMA said so." Her heavy reliance on a folk hero (her "Big Mama") is also really dumb. Who gives a crap what some old grandmother said?

She's just not very thoughtful. Everything is knee-jerk, anti-debt balance when the reality is that leverage, when used correctly, is a powerful wealth-management tool

[Anonymous]

Paying off small balances first can have a psychological benefit-makes you feel like you're making progress and also means you eliminate payments more quickly (making it less likely that you'll overlook one by accident).

Paying off high interest balances first will save the most money in the long run and allow you to pay the debt fastest.

[Anonymous]

Pay off the cards with the lowest balance first. Then use that money toward the next plus what you were already paying.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:As I recall, Michelle Singletary, the WaPo financial columnist, suggests paying off the one with the smallest balance first so that you feel like you are making progress.

But in terms of saving the most money, paying off the one with the highest interest rate first seems the most rational.

Singletary is an idiot, generally speaking. I mean, the woman has no business advising people on personal finances.

That said, I can see the wisdom in tackling the smallest balances first, especially since it frees up more money to throw at the bigger balances.

Why?

Mainly because her aversion to debt is completely over-the-top. Most prudent financial advisers will tell you debt is ok if you can earn a higher rate of return on the borrowed money elsewhere, and they would be right. Singletary is all "no debt! no debt! cuz my BIG MAMA said so." Her heavy reliance on a folk hero (her "Big Mama") is also really dumb. Who gives a crap what some old grandmother said?

She's just not very thoughtful. Everything is knee-jerk, anti-debt balance when the reality is that leverage, when used correctly, is a powerful wealth-management tool

+1 to all that. Plus, her insistence on advising others to tithe is infuriating. She can do whatever she wants in her own life - but she purports to be a personal financial advisor. In that sityation, when someone comes to her for advice about getting out from under a mountain of debt, letting her personal religious beliefs color her advice is irresponsible.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:As I recall, Michelle Singletary, the WaPo financial columnist, suggests paying off the one with the smallest balance first so that you feel like you are making progress.

But in terms of saving the most money, paying off the one with the highest interest rate first seems the most rational.

Singletary is an idiot, generally speaking. I mean, the woman has no business advising people on personal finances.

That said, I can see the wisdom in tackling the smallest balances first, especially since it frees up more money to throw at the bigger balances.

Why?

Mainly because her aversion to debt is completely over-the-top. Most prudent financial advisers will tell you debt is ok if you can earn a higher rate of return on the borrowed money elsewhere, and they would be right. Singletary is all "no debt! no debt! cuz my BIG MAMA said so." Her heavy reliance on a folk hero (her "Big Mama") is also really dumb. Who gives a crap what some old grandmother said?

She's just not very thoughtful. Everything is knee-jerk, anti-debt balance when the reality is that leverage, when used correctly, is a powerful wealth-management tool

+1 to all that. Plus, her insistence on advising others to tithe is infuriating. She can do whatever she wants in her own life - but she purports to be a personal financial advisor. In that sityation, when someone comes to her for advice about getting out from under a mountain of debt, letting her personal religious beliefs color her advice is irresponsible.

Yeah, I think that's it. Her entire thing is "here is financial advice based on my own personal convictions, not what's best for you." She brings in all of her own personal biases -- openly, I will admit -- but rather than tailoring her advice to the people soliciting it, she runs every single situation through her own value system. And her cookie cutter approach, no matter how patented it may be, only layers financial ignorance on people who already lack a sophisticated understanding of money.

[Anonymous]

Pay the highest interest rate first. Coincidentally, my highest interest credit card of 23.99% also had a balance of $1500 only.Paying that off, saved me a lot of money and gave me a boost.
Good luck, you can do it! I paid off $17K of credit card debt, $20k to go, and I only make about $50k a year.

[Anonymous]

Being debt free is awesome. I applaud MS for advocating against the "leverage" that got so many people into massive trouble.

There is simply no excuse to carry a credit card balance.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Being debt free is awesome. I applaud MS for advocating against the "leverage" that got so many people into massive trouble.

There is simply no excuse to carry a credit card balance.

Yes, the nerve of some people, losing jobs or having medical emergencies!

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Pay the highest interest rate first. Coincidentally, my highest interest credit card of 23.99% also had a balance of $1500 only.Paying that off, saved me a lot of money and gave me a boost.
Good luck, you can do it! I paid off $17K of credit card debt, $20k to go, and I only make about $50k a year.

Congrats! And how did you do it?

[Anonymous]

Singletary's advice isn't horrible for people that don't have two nickels to rub together and limited resources - her target audience. Once, for grins, I wrote into her chat asking about a situation where no debt was involved (don't have any) and her answer was very muddled - kind of like "yay you, no debt monkey on your back...ummm go find a financial advisor to tell you what to do when you DO have money"

And credit card debt is never a smart idea. I defy you to find any investment that nets more than the interest on a card.