One Down...
I just paid off and closed my Target Visa card. Phew. Slowly but surely, we are eating this elephant of debt one hamburger at a time. There are very few milestones, so I'm celebrating the hell out of this one.
Here's a bit of free advice: pay cash for everything, if you can. If you can't pay for something with cash (barring a house or a car), then you probably don't need it. I've learned that lesson the hard way.
Labels: Mind Over Money
posted by Jenny Jenny Flannery at
9:29 AM
3 Comments:
Oh, and their customer service rep tried to entice me with more and more bonus points and offered strategies for using the card and the points and not carrying a balance. They did not want me to close the account.
However, I was vigilant! I have recently learned that having many credit cards, even if they don't carry a balance on them, counts against your credit score.
So, ta-ta Target. I'll see you if and when I have some extra cash. You can take your bonus points and, well, keep them.
Thursday, November 16, 2006 9:56:00 AM
Klop-klop being ice cream, if I recall correctly? No thanks. It's raining and 59 degrees out. Maybe I'll splurge for a Hot Black Russian (hot chocolate and vodka).
Thursday, November 16, 2006 10:02:00 AM
Good for you! I've been there, done that. In fact the picture you used is from my blog from 4-5 years ago.
For one reason or another I've had credit card debt (medical bills, divorce lawyer bills, etc.) and it can be done.
Guess what? There is a reward for getting it done as well. It impresses the credit card companies (you'll see this as your debt/income ratio gets better), and it'll impress places you want to get loans through (for cars and homes) so you'll get lower rates. Eventually, you'll start to get some decent offers for low-interest balance transfers (many for until you pay the balance off). If you've still got balances on other cards, consolidate them to all. But here's the trick: If you've been paying so $500/mo to a bunch of different cards, once you get them all on one card, don't stop paying that much. Just keep it up until it's all gone.
The only exception to that rule is to put away a little money ($1,000 depending on your income and/or expenses) to take care of minor emergencies that come up... that way you don't have to charge anything more. Don't touch this money for fun, it's an emergency fund only.
Crown's MoneyMap shows great steps to financial stability.
Thursday, December 14, 2006 12:52:00 AM
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