overhwlmed and upset

iVillage Member
Registered: 08-23-2005
overhwlmed and upset
5
Tue, 05-23-2006 - 10:56am

I am totally overwhelmed right now.

lvhunnie2005

Avatar for 2locachicas
iVillage Member
Registered: 05-14-2003
Tue, 05-23-2006 - 11:14am

First of all, I want to say I have watched your progress and you are inspiring! You have done so well even this year with buying a house, you deserve a pat on the back(truly you deserve a day at the spa but we are all too frugal here for that!).

check your citi card that is 0% until next year. I have one that is 0 until november with no transfer fees. If that is the case I would move your Chase over to that one immediately. If there is transfer fees I would call them and see what they can do about it. If I have the card, the deal is out there. If you can't pay off the other 0 citi card in the next 2 months then I would move that one to amex. Amex runs that deal all the time so if you cant pay off your last(!) card by next May then you should be able to move your other stuff over to AMEX. Just pay attention to the transfer fees because I have noticed all of my cards are upping the fees quite a bit. We almost moved something and realized there was no upward limit on the transfer fees and it would have cost us $300 or something ridiculous.....

iVillage Member
Registered: 03-27-2003
Tue, 05-23-2006 - 11:50am

It is always scary when you first buy a house. Once you make a few mortgage payments it will start to get easier. I think I was amazed that I managed to make the payment at all for about the first six months!

I agree, if you can get that Chase balance somewhere else at a lower interest rate, do it. But yes, be careful with the balance transfer fees. I used to get offers where it was 2% or something, with a maximum of $75. Now they are coming saying 4% and no limit on the maximums. Have you called Chase and asked them to lower the interest rate, telling them that you are getting balance transfer offers from other cards in the mail just about every day?

Heather

iVillage Member
Registered: 01-06-2005
Tue, 05-23-2006 - 11:58am

HUGS!


Breathing is a good idea.

 

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iVillage Member
Registered: 08-23-2005
Tue, 05-23-2006 - 1:42pm

Thank you for the kind words.

lvhunnie2005

Avatar for endomagazine
iVillage Member
Registered: 11-09-2004
Tue, 05-23-2006 - 4:57pm

Hello,


I too have a Chase credit card with a 24% interest rate. Ugh! Currently, it's holding a small balance with a 0% balance transfer rate until mid 2007, but even with the low "teaser" rate, it's still my "target" card.


I understand that the debt can feel overwhelming. I totalled up our debt and without the mortgage, we are at 35k in credit card debt and 12k on a truck loan. Believe me, I wish we were closer to 10k too!


Good idea to transfer those high interest rate balances to a lower rate and then cut up all the cards. I wouldn't even keep the "just one for emergencies" that the efund won't "cover". Work on building up that efund *first* to $1000 before paying down any debt (except for minimums) so that you won't need that "emergency" credit card.

Sincerely,
Lindsey Schocke


Geeks on Tap: Mission Accomplished

Sincerely,
Lindsey Schocke

Geeks on Tap: Mission Accomplished