We do not use credit cards. Just got them paid off last summer and do not plan to ever use them again.

__________________
DS-16
DD-13
DD-5
DS-3

I also pay our credit cards in full every month. I can't stand the idea of paying 18%+ interest on debt when I'm only making 3.5% in my savings account.

__________________

We have several credit cards (how else would I make my gazillion online purchases? ), but we pay off the balance each month. We actually have rebates on our c.c. so we make money instead of losing. LOL I just used some of my rebates to buy gift cards we gave my 3 nephews for christmas, and am giving another free giftcard to sil for her birthday this month. There have been a very few times in the past (usually Jan after Christmas) when we've not paid the whole bill, and when I saw the finance charge it made me sick. I kept thinking of just throwing that much money away each month. I'm WAY TOO FRUGAL for that.

__________________

We use ours but pay it off every month. Been in deep with CC & don't intend on ever being that way again. I guess sometimes, though, you gotta do, what you gotta do.

__________________
Remember you aren't saving money on a good deal if you won't use it!
Remember when shoping, plan your work and work your plan.
Match your ads and coupons!

We put everything we can on our credit cards including groceries and gas and pay it off every month.

We have an awesome rewards card and get about $500-$700 worth of Target and Home Depot gift cards a year for free.

Certainly helps my Target addiction as well as saving for larger home improvement purchases.

We have $5,000 in cc debt. It used to be more, but as I pay it off, I lower my spending limit so that I fill it up again. I hope to get at least $2500 paid off and lower the limit again to $2,500, then $1,000...

When DH and I got married he had alot of cc debt from his previous marriage, along with alot of lawyer fees that we are still paying off. I am hoping to have the debt and the lawyer paid off by 2008/2009. The good news is we haven't added to the debt in the 4 years we've been together

We have some it it is not that high. My goal is to get it paid off this year. Does anyone have any good ideas of how to get it paid off the fastest.





Kim

These are some things you might consider to pay credit cards off faster ...

1) Take the credit card out of your wallet so you still have it in case of emergency but it's not there for everyday use. If you are still tempted to use it, consider cutting it up.

2) Pay off as much as you can each month, at very minimum double whatever the min payment is.

3) If you do online banking, have a certain amount automatically going to pay the credit card right after payday ... similar to paying yourself first but you are paying yourself back first.

4) Once it is paid off, continue to have that same amount of money or more deposited directly into a savings account and watch it grow. Soon you'll be making interest on the money instead of paying interest on it.

5) Call your credit card company and ask them to lower your rate. They might not but if they do, you will save a lot.

6) Whatever you do, don't cancel the account. If you cancel it, they have no reason to want to help you anymore and canceling a credit card can negatively affect your credit score / rating.

7) Consider transferring the entire balance to a new 'introductory low/ no interest rate' card and pay it off aggressively. Again, this can save you thousands if you pay it off before the introductory period ends.

8) Remember the credit card companies make money off your debt. They want to keep your business so they will generally do what it takes to keep your business.

(I haven't had credit card debt but I had a lot of student loan debt. By doubling my minimum payment I paid it off in 7 years instead of 15, and paid nearly $9,000 less in interest over that time! ) :rah rah:

__________________

we have just a little more than the average but are paying every last cent to get rid of it...after we clear our ungodly medical bills with our tax money the rest will go toward our cc debt i have shredded all the cards except for one with a low limit(it is at a 0 balance) and interest rate of 3.99% fixed with no annual fees.