Hey gals so I have a bit of CC Debt that the intro rate just came off of. I don't like paying a whole bunch of interest or having so much debt. For us it seams like something more important always comes up and the money we put aside to pay it down goes elsewhere. Just Yesterday my DH and I were saying no new projects that 2008 would be the finish up year. We came home to find a water leak under our bathroom sink and now need to replace the fixture so our no new projects idea isn't going so well. But It seams like that is what is always happening something breaks and we fix it and the debt goes ever higher.

So looking at options for our 5-7K of debt
1. Transfer to a New 0% interest card and have another 15 months to pay it off
2. Leave it where it is and pay it down as quickly as we can
3. Look at other loads that will give us a lower fixed interest rate (Rate is currently 10%)
4. Re-finance the house to pull out equity that will pay off the Debt and possibly a lower interest rate. We owe 70% of our homes value and have a 6.75% fixed rate. I am thinking this would be a worth while thing to do if we could signifigantly lower our fixed rate

So what options would you consider?

__________________
Kimberly Proud Mommy to Bethany Rose April 2006

I know refinancing is the most tempting solution so I'll address that first. IF you can honestly say most of your debt comes from home remodelling projects, you might consider refinancing. We're finishing up some home improvement projects and are currently re-fi'ing to roll our first mortgage and home equity line of credit together. Our fixed rate will be lower than your 6.75% so I recommend you look at the interest rates in your area to start. You could always decide to re-fi your first and NOT roll in the cc debt. The benefit of a re-fi might be just to improve your cash flow.

Personally, I'd leave the debt where it is. Maybe you could call the cc company and ask them to lower the new interest rate to be in line with your other cc's. If they refuse, transfer the debt to the other cc.

Then I advise that you concentrate on paying the minimum on the cc debt while you START to bulk up an emergency fund. The debt will never get paid off until you start saving money first. Seriously - until you start making sure you have cash on-hand to pay for the little emergencies you will always find a reason to charge to the credit cards.

Now, about your bathroom leak ... when you say you need to 'replace the fixture', what fixture do you mean? The faucet? That will cost what? $100, tops? With an emergency fund - and perhaps even without one - that shouldn't require a charge to the credit card.

Sometimes we have to change our attitude to start saving money. Instead of throwing money at a problem in order to get a quick fix, we need to adopt an attitude of 'making do'. I'm sure you have other sinks in the house. You could shut off the water to the one sink that leaks until you've saved up the money to buy the replacement. Yes, it's inconvenient but that's the point. How motivated are you to get out of the cc debt?

__________________
"I've been rich and I've been poor but independently wealthy is where it is at."

I agree - If you have a good credit score (720 or above) they should be able to lower your rate for you.

__________________
Read my Mommysavers Blog: Forget the Joneses
Check out the Mommysavers Group on Facebook

Download my free eBook full of savings ideas for the holidays Click Here