Looking for Financial Advice

[buickfunnycar.com]

Originally Posted by 70rs

Cut them up and close the accounts....

Careful there...while seemingly good advice...closing accounts will limit your available revolving line of credit and that may drastically lower your credit score.

[70rs]

Originally Posted by musclecarjohn

Careful there...while seemingly good advice...closing accounts will limit your available revolving line of credit and that may drastically lower your credit score.

Good point about the credit score being affected. My bad. Sometimes it is better to use them on a minimal use basis just to keep them active and open.


But again, if you can not pay that balance in full each month the cycle starts all over.

[Beegs]

Cut the cards but DON'T close the accounts. Credit score will take a hit if you do.

You might have to play hardball with credit card companies to get a deal...I am sure it can be done...you just need to play the game.

[slamdimpala]

As a loyal Dave Ransey listener he always says to pay off your lowest credit card off first. Meaning if for instance you have three or four cards, which ever card has the lowest amount of money on it pay it off first. He says that if you see balances and cards get payed off you will keep doing what you are doing, if you try to pay off the biggest one first you will get discouraged real fast as the balance never seems to drop. Hope this helps. If you choose to do Daves steps its for sure a life change so be prepared to do what ever needs to be done. Good luck.

[Ketzer]

Another Ramsey believer.
The problem is, a person (not neccesarily you) who has bad spending habits and a lot of debt is not going to like what Ramsey is going to tell them to do. His system flat works.

Jeff-

[70rs]

I think the underlying theme here is to make some serious changes in spending and focus on a new program of some sort. The key though is that you have to be willing to make those changes and stay commited to them.
Best of luck! And as with anything involving money do your research before you jump on something that might not be the right move for you.

[Vegas69]

Blow every penny, it's not going to do you any good when your in the nursing home crapping you're own pants.

[GM Muscle]

Originally Posted by Vegas69

Blow every penny, it's not going to do you any good when your in the nursing home crapping you're own pants.

AMEN!!

[GregWeld]

Mark --

That why you have to have TIME on your side - thus the early start... interest rates don't stay static for 40 or 50 years...

Plus - it's an over simplification of the process - but the message is SAVE SOME MONEY...

Of course Todds version is more fun... But I can tell you from personal experience - I've been poor - and I've been rich - RICH is way way way way more fun... Money isn't everything - but it beats the hell out of whatever's in second place! And it DOES buy happiness. Just look into Charleys eyes!

[Vegas69]

Of course I was kidding to some degree. I wouldn't save every penny waiting for retirement to get killed in a car accident at 42 or think life is going to be at it's high point at 65. Start with making a list of expenses and your average net monthly income. Figure out where you can widdle down your out of pocket cost every month and pay off your worst debt first.

I'm in a similar situation right now. I'm trying to get rid of every bill I can. Mainly so I don't have to work so hard and can take off even more time from the old grind. Luckily I don't have any credit card debt and all my toys are paid for. I recently refinanced my house from a 15 to a 30 after 5 years of paying down the note. That cut it down 1k by itself. Could I have kept making those payments? Yep, but I don't plan to be here forever and I may decide to lease this property instead of sell it down the road. That wouldn't make sense with a 15 year note. I also was able to lock in a 5% 30 year note and the rent would be much more than my payment. I've leased a brand new car for 10 years. 6 years of that being BMW's. I'm done with that crap too. I'm paying cash for my next car. It will be 2 years old with a warranty and I'll get a deal like I just scored on the Tundra I bought for Kelli. My goal is to have my montly nut down to under 2k a month by July. That will allow me to spend more time doing things I want to do than beating the pavement trying to make a sale. Let's face it, the gravy train is over for a while. Life's to short to work all the time. Business expenses are a whole different deal.