What's the most credit card debt that you've ever had at one point in your life?

[Anonymous]

I pay off credit cards twice a month. I pay what I have spent to date, not what is billed to me. That way I always know exactly where I am financially. I am also about a billing cycle ahead, in case I need that buffer.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:I pay off credit cards twice a month. I pay what I have spent to date, not what is billed to me. That way I always know exactly where I am financially. I am also about a billing cycle ahead, in case I need that buffer.

Sounds a little obsessive to me.

[Anonymous]

Mine was up to about $20k, for no reason at all. I was at about $8 when I graduated law school and started in big law. You'd think I'd have paid it off quickly, right? Nope. I liked going out for drinks a lot, impressing women by spending a ton on them, and generally enjoying life. In short, I was an idiot, but that's not exactly unusual for single guys in their mid 20s with large incomes and no real responsibilities.

I was fortunate enough to realize it before it got out of hand, and knocked it out in under a year. Never carried any since, though I recognize that's mostly due to good fortune and fear and not and not a surfeit of virtue on my part.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:I pay off credit cards twice a month. I pay what I have spent to date, not what is billed to me. That way I always know exactly where I am financially. I am also about a billing cycle ahead, in case I need that buffer.

Does doing this affect your credit rating? Or is it really not any better than simply fully paying your cards off (once) every month?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:100 grand of zero interest for one year debt that I invested in the market.....

I call BS.

[Anonymous]

We have about $33k in credit card debt alone. We owe about $13k on our cars each. I have $6k in school loans left. Plus a $200k mortgage. We earn a combined income before taxes of $120k a year. We racked this up while living in an expensive area and were putting day to day living on the card. Now that we moved somewhere much more affordable we are trying to pay it down but it feel like we'll never get out.

[Anonymous]

We're at about 60k. All for health care costs. We have a plan to pay it off this year (we live on one income) but it looks like we will make enough from the sale of a property to pay it off in June. We've had health care costs at about this level every year for the last three years. Hoping this will finally be the end.

[Anonymous]

$13k. I was a single mom with cancer. Rolled it into a 15-year refinance on the house so I'm technically still paying it off but at a much lower interest rate.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I pay off credit cards twice a month. I pay what I have spent to date, not what is billed to me. That way I always know exactly where I am financially. I am also about a billing cycle ahead, in case I need that buffer.

Does doing this affect your credit rating? Or is it really not any better than simply fully paying your cards off (once) every month?

Not PP, but yes, it does affect your credit rating for the better. Credit utilization is a component of your credit score. Credit agencies report utilization at the end of the cycle. So if you max your cards and don't pay it off until it's due--your score will be lower than if you make pre-payments like the PP does.

[Anonymous]

53k. Paid it off and no more, ever.

[Anonymous]

20:52, no bs. A couple years ago I took every zero interest zero fee offer and invested all of the proceeds in stocks. Worked out well as the return was over 12 percent.

[Anonymous]

8:51 - I'm the car repair poster. I will eventually get a new car, but in previous years, I maybe spent $1K-$1.5K on repairs, max, cheaper than buying. (the car has less than 100K miles and is 11 years old.) My daughter will be in public school soon and there'll be more money available for car payments. It's been running well since the repairs, but I'll likely ditch it the next time it needs something expensive.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

refusal to delay gratification

I really hate that term. Just admit you live beyond your means or you simply cannot afford your wants.

Never had any credit card debt. It's slavery unless you can make it work for you instead of against you. If we don't have the money, we don't buy. Period.

Are you really this much of a douche in public? Probably not, right? So why here?

[Anonymous]

About 7K. Irresponsible when I first got a job out of college and lived above my means. When I was 25, I got sick and had to quit my job. Thankfully I kept the health insurance, but with no income and being completely overwhelmed, I just couldn't keep up with bills and stopped paying. I'm 28 now and just finished paying it all off.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I pay off credit cards twice a month. I pay what I have spent to date, not what is billed to me. That way I always know exactly where I am financially. I am also about a billing cycle ahead, in case I need that buffer.

Sounds a little obsessive to me.

NP: maybe? But I do the same thing and it really helps me. I get paid twice a month, I pay off my credit cards twice a month. Keeps me from feeling like I have money but I don't actually have. I use cards a lot for the points, but if I don't keep them on a tight leash, I could get into trouble. So I do, and I don't. Different things work for different people.