Anonymous
Post 02/15/2013 10:33     Subject: how much credit card debt do you have? do tell please
Probably about $15K - $10Kish of which is the roof we put on our house on a 0% offer and hope to get a HELOC approved before the first 0% offer runs out in the fall (we didn't have enough equity when we did it because we only put 10% down on our house so that we could use the rest of our money for internal improvements). Most of this is 0% financing offers - maybe about $3K that isn't.

We have the savings to pay it off if need be, but prefer not to drain that.
Anonymous
Post 02/15/2013 10:32     Subject: how much credit card debt do you have? do tell please
$7k. We keep getting it almost down and then something happens, car repairs, etc. We are struggling with the cost of two day cares. I cannot wait until my oldest starts Kindergarten.
Anonymous
Post 02/15/2013 10:27     Subject: how much credit card debt do you have? do tell please
Anonymous wrote:
Anonymous wrote:30k but we make over 360k I think the rule is less then 10% or something like that is ok. THe interest rate is very low under 9% but if it did go up we'd just pay them off.


Seriously? At $360k income you should have 0 CC debt. And paying 9% interest is high.


If you make $360k you likely own a home. If you really need credit a HELOC would be a much lower rate.
Anonymous
Post 02/15/2013 10:09     Subject: how much credit card debt do you have? do tell please
Anonymous wrote:
Anonymous wrote:30k but we make over 360k I think the rule is less then 10% or something like that is ok. THe interest rate is very low under 9% but if it did go up we'd just pay them off.


Seriously? At $360k income you should have 0 CC debt. And paying 9% interest is high.


Why on earth would someone pay interest when they don't have to? I get the people who are un(der)employed, but this is just stupid.
Anonymous
Post 02/15/2013 10:00     Subject: how much credit card debt do you have? do tell please
Anonymous wrote:
Anonymous wrote:
Anonymous wrote:The first rule is you never spend money you don't have.
Zero balance


+1


Oh my gosh, you're right! How come I never thought of that! So what I should have done between 2008 and 2010 when we were underemployed and in dire financial straits is just used all the money I had to pay for my necessities (bills, groceries, health insurance, medical bills)!

Oh...but I didn't have enough money to pay for my basic needs and blew through savings.

And before you get all "don't live above your means" I can assure you that with a new baby, no maternity insurance, and spotty employment despite trying, you can easily make $3k a month and then need to spend $800 a month on other needs. Over a few years, that adds up.



I've been there PP. There was a time (thankfully a short time) where I paid my bills with my credit card. I did eventually pay that off and now am trying to keep a zero balance. Life throws some curve balls though!
Anonymous
Post 02/15/2013 09:59     Subject: how much credit card debt do you have? do tell please
None.
Anonymous
Post 02/15/2013 08:21     Subject: how much credit card debt do you have? do tell please
Anonymous wrote:30k but we make over 360k I think the rule is less then 10% or something like that is ok. THe interest rate is very low under 9% but if it did go up we'd just pay them off.


Seriously? At $360k income you should have 0 CC debt. And paying 9% interest is high.
Anonymous
Post 02/15/2013 08:14     Subject: how much credit card debt do you have? do tell please
About $2500 on a zero percent card (3% to transfer, though, of course). Plan to pay it off this summer, could pay it off now but waiting to see what happens with furloughs.
Anonymous
Post 02/15/2013 08:06     Subject: how much credit card debt do you have? do tell please
Anonymous wrote:
Anonymous wrote:The first rule is you never spend money you don't have.
Zero balance


+1


Oh my gosh, you're right! How come I never thought of that! So what I should have done between 2008 and 2010 when we were underemployed and in dire financial straits is just used all the money I had to pay for my necessities (bills, groceries, health insurance, medical bills)!

Oh...but I didn't have enough money to pay for my basic needs and blew through savings.

And before you get all "don't live above your means" I can assure you that with a new baby, no maternity insurance, and spotty employment despite trying, you can easily make $3k a month and then need to spend $800 a month on other needs. Over a few years, that adds up.

Anonymous
Post 02/15/2013 08:03     Subject: how much credit card debt do you have? do tell please
Anonymous wrote:Totally possible. So what. As long as you can make the payments who cares.


But 322 thousand! How much do you earn per year? That's like 5-10 years of an average salary with no expenses (maybe more like 1-3 years for a DC area salary). What if you lose your job or the economy goes even further south? It seems like a ticking time bomb to me.

How much interest, how much for monthly payments? With interest your paying more on those purchases than if you simply saved and bought them with money you had.
Anonymous
Post 02/15/2013 08:00     Subject: how much credit card debt do you have? do tell please
Anonymous wrote:
Anonymous wrote:The first rule is you never spend money you don't have.
Zero balance


+1


I agree and I try to live by that. Unfortunately times over the past two years were rough. Hours cut back at work, not making enough to get by so credit card turned into a temporarily lifeline. Had to use it for food, gas, rent on my tiny apartment a couple of times using convenience checks (interest is insane for that do not recommend), wisdom teeth removal since job stopped offering insurance. I now have about 10,000 in credit card debt.

My goal is to have a better higher paying job that offers full benefits by August and then pay down my credit cards over the following year. Fingers crossed.
Anonymous
Post 02/15/2013 07:53     Subject: how much credit card debt do you have? do tell please
30k but we make over 360k I think the rule is less then 10% or something like that is ok. THe interest rate is very low under 9% but if it did go up we'd just pay them off.
Anonymous
Post 02/15/2013 07:46     Subject: how much credit card debt do you have? do tell please
Anonymous wrote:The first rule is you never spend money you don't have.
Zero balance


+1
Anonymous
Post 02/15/2013 02:38     Subject: how much credit card debt do you have? do tell please
The first rule is you never spend money you don't have.
Zero balance
Anonymous
Post 02/15/2013 02:21     Subject: how much credit card debt do you have? do tell please
0! Why would anyone ever carry a cc balance?