Help a lurker pay off CC?

[persa]

Please don't quote

So embarrassingly enough, I need to pay off some sizeable CC debt with high APRs and I thought I'd do a balance transfer at 0% and put away the CC cards for a good long while (yeesh).

My offers are:
Current Chase cc that is paid off, 2% transfer fee and about 13 months at 0%

New Citibank diamond preferred cc with 3% fee but 21 months at 0%

New Discover it card with no fee and 12 months at 0%. This card offers 5% cash back on gas, restaurants and Amazon BUT like I said, I need to put the CC away for a while so I probably shouldn't let this be a factor.

I'm leaning towards the current Chase cc so that I'm not affecting my credit. It would be a much larger payment than the Citi card but not really any difference from the Discover, just with the addition of a transfer fee.

What would MM suggest?

[shevacc]

How much money can you put towards paying off this debt? Will it be paid off in 13 months? 21 months? What happens after the 0% time is up on each of the cards?

[persa]

Aug 30, 2016 14:12:53 GMT -5 shevacc said:

How much money can you put towards paying off this debt? Will it be paid off in 13 months? 21 months? What happens after the 0% time is up on each of the cards?

It goes to the regular APR. Currently it's 8.49% on my chase.

I'd probably at least be able to pay off 3/4 of it, if not all of it, in 12 months. It would be tight and having 21 months would be better but I don't know that the fee and applying for a new CC makes it worth it. But maybe it does?

[persa]

The discover card is 11.24-15.24% and the citibank is 13.24% after the promo period

[shevacc]

Aug 30, 2016 14:37:36 GMT -5 @callmefia said:

I would do the no transfer fee and pay down as much as possible, then transfer any remaining balance to your current Citicard after the 12 months. The promo's might be different in a year, but don't pay the 2% fee on the full balance if you can pay it on 1/4 of the balance next year!

Edited for clarity.

That makes sense to me. I wouldn't worry about the credit score difference in opening 1 additional card -- it should be fairly minimal. But...I would cut up the card after you get it so that you're not tempted to make any purchases on it. Changing habits can be hard and you really don't want the additional available credit to mean more debt.

[Crazy Latina]

depends on how much you owe and how fast you can pay it off.

[persa]

OK so do the Discover card with no fee and see how much I can pay off in 12 months and then if I need to, transfer the (hopefully much much smaller) balance then?

[persa]

Aug 30, 2016 14:45:21 GMT -5 shevacc said:

Aug 30, 2016 14:37:36 GMT -5 @callmefia said:

I would do the no transfer fee and pay down as much as possible, then transfer any remaining balance to your current Citicard after the 12 months. The promo's might be different in a year, but don't pay the 2% fee on the full balance if you can pay it on 1/4 of the balance next year!

Edited for clarity.

That makes sense to me. I wouldn't worry about the credit score difference in opening 1 additional card -- it should be fairly minimal. But...I would cut up the card after you get it so that you're not tempted to make any purchases on it. Changing habits can be hard and you really don't want the additional available credit to mean more debt.

Yes, habits are the hard part. I never quite adjusted to our more expensive household expenses and the addition of childcare costs for DD and then a set of twins (not to mention the fertility treatments to get said twins). My spending habits aren't outrageous IMO, they're just inappropriate given our current financial situation.

[shevacc]

Aug 30, 2016 15:10:26 GMT -5 persa said:

Aug 30, 2016 14:45:21 GMT -5 shevacc said:

That makes sense to me. I wouldn't worry about the credit score difference in opening 1 additional card -- it should be fairly minimal. But...I would cut up the card after you get it so that you're not tempted to make any purchases on it. Changing habits can be hard and you really don't want the additional available credit to mean more debt.

Yes, habits are the hard part. I never quite adjusted to our more expensive household expenses and the addition of childcare costs for DD and then a set of twins (not to mention the fertility treatments to get said twins). My spending habits aren't outrageous IMO, they're just inappropriate given our current financial situation.

Kids make things tough! But recognizing and deciding you want to make changes for a better future is a really great step. If you later feel up to posting a budget, the ladies here are super helpful. If not, tracking your expenses for yourself can help you see where to start looking for extra money to throw at this debt.

[persa]

Aug 30, 2016 17:14:08 GMT -5 shevacc said:

Aug 30, 2016 15:10:26 GMT -5 persa said:

Yes, habits are the hard part. I never quite adjusted to our more expensive household expenses and the addition of childcare costs for DD and then a set of twins (not to mention the fertility treatments to get said twins). My spending habits aren't outrageous IMO, they're just inappropriate given our current financial situation.

Kids make things tough! But recognizing and deciding you want to make changes for a better future is a really great step. If you later feel up to posting a budget, the ladies here are super helpful. If not, tracking your expenses for yourself can help you see where to start looking for extra money to throw at this debt.

Luckily DD is now in public school so our monthly bill for her has significantly decreased. The household expenses have been the main killer though. House poor and high utility bills. I actually really dislike our house and I'm ready to just cut our losses and sell this summer.

[aurora]

Aug 30, 2016 15:08:39 GMT -5 persa said:

OK so do the Discover card with no fee and see how much I can pay off in 12 months and then if I need to, transfer the (hopefully much much smaller) balance then?

This, but remove the word "hopefully." Make sure it is much smaller by setting up a strong but achievable auto-payment as soon after pay day as possible to piece prevent yourself even thinking about using the money for some something else.

[persa]

Aug 31, 2016 13:35:35 GMT -5 aurora said:

Aug 30, 2016 15:08:39 GMT -5 persa said:

OK so do the Discover card with no fee and see how much I can pay off in 12 months and then if I need to, transfer the (hopefully much much smaller) balance then?

This, but remove the word "hopefully." Make sure it is much smaller by setting up a strong but achievable auto-payment as soon after pay day as possible to piece prevent yourself even thinking about using the money for some something else.

Good point. I just opened a new free checking account at my CU that I'm going to move some funds into via direct deposit, specifically for paying off this debt.

[lys]

In addition to the advice given, I would also recommend tracking ALL of your current spending - and cut back where you can. Sell items you no longer need or use.

[Deleted]

persa, you got some great advice. Don't feel embarrassed that you have CC debt - shit, we've all been there / are there. Pay this sucker off and just remember how much it stinks so you don't get sucked in again!

You. Got. This!