How quickly do you pay off credit cards?

[RoJoHen]

I bought a new TV last year and put it on my Best Buy credit card. I've been making monthly payments since then, usually paying about $50 each month (the minimum required payment is $10). I'm at a point now where I could pay off the rest (about $400), but I don't know if I should just stretch it out or simply pay the full remaining balance. I have no interest for another 9 months, so that's not even a factor.

So how quickly do you pay off your credit card bills? Do you only pay the minimum, or do you pay more in attempts to get rid of the debt as fast as possible?

I also have a personal rule that I cannot make more than one major purchase at a time, so I can't buy anything else until this current bill is paid off. Not that I need to buy anything right now, but I'd like to know that I could.

 

[Hermiod]

I pay mine off in full at the end of every month.

 

[Brent]

I owe $4500 on one and not the means to pay it off, paying the minimum does nothing, especially since I've got a lot of late fees. I fear I'll never get it paid off, I would have to pay well above the minimum and I just can't do that right now. I have another credit card where I owe $1200 on with the same situation, paying the minimum don't cut it and I can't afford more than that.

It really sucks, there is no way i can pay both off, or even pay on them, until I have more money to spare, and that won't be until my car is paid off in 6 months, then I'll have no car payment and can put that money toward the credit cards.

I really regret getting both credit cards now. My dad always said that his dad would say there was absolutely no need for credit cards, you should only spend money that you actually have, else it will just get you into trouble. Well, I'm in trouble, ugh.

 

[RoJoHen]

I really regret getting both credit cards now. My dad always said that his dad would say there was absolutely no need for credit cards, you should only spend money that you actually have, else it will just get you into trouble. Well, I'm in trouble, ugh.

This is one reason that the only credit cards I actually own are store-specific. I have one for Best Buy and one for Kohls.

It's also the reason I made my "one major purchase at a time" rule.

 

[Brent]

I really regret getting both credit cards now. My dad always said that his dad would say there was absolutely no need for credit cards, you should only spend money that you actually have, else it will just get you into trouble. Well, I'm in trouble, ugh.

This is one reason that the only credit cards I actually own are store-specific. I have one for Best Buy and one for Kohls.

It's also the reason I made my "one major purchase at a time" rule.

Originally I got the first credit card, from my credit union, for "emergencies." Well, they blessed me with a, to me, high maximum. I used it, I was reckless and immature with it, and I wish I could make different choices looking back, but I have to live with it. The other one I got because that one was maxed out, and now the new one is maxed out too. This was three years ago, since I maxed out the last one, and I of course haven't used them or gotten any others since then.

I hate myself for the trouble I've gotten myself into, no one else to blame but me, I do want to rectify it, I have every intention to pay them off when I can, right now funds are tight though and the best I can do is a bare minimum, like $20 a month on both, of course they want a lot more than that, ugh, so it aint gonna cut it.

Thankfully there is some light at the end of the tunnel, I'll have my car paid off in full in 6 months, I will for the first time actually OWN my car and have NO car payment. Then I can put that money towards paying off these credit cards each month.

 

[WillsBabe]

Depends. I never pay just the minimum. Most of the cards Ive had have been the 0% interest deal ones. The introductory offers last 12 months or so. I have always paid off the balance before the interest kicks in. When the offers have ended I usually try to pay the bulk off that month. Occassionally I don't manage it but usually the interest is minimal £2 - £3 for instance.

 

[wew]

Pay mine off every month now. Got in major trouble with them during college, took seven years of working 2 jobs to rid myself of the debt. It was definitely a learning experience.

 

[Seven of Five]

Credit cards are eeeeevil. Or at least they are when you're young and have no money, and the credit card company keeps upping your limit even though you only make a minimum payment every month.

Oh well. I made stupid decisions when I was 18-21, and I've been paying for it since. I'll be debt free in four years, and I haven't touched a credit card for about four years now, which is good. I think people should be better educated about credit card debt at a younger age, and/or credit card companies shouldn't be allowed to give cards to naive 18 year olds starting out at uni with 'their future ahead of them.'

 

[LaxScrutiny]

My dad always said that his dad would say there was absolutely no need for credit cards, you should only spend money that you actually have, else it will just get you into trouble. Well, I'm in trouble, ugh.

My dad said that his dad said "What's a credit card?"

I have one credit card with a $1000 limit that I use just for online purchases. If anyone scams the number I don't want $20,000 of credit available.

I pay it off as soon as the charge appears on the account. It's on my web banking page so I can transfer directly from my chequing the same day the transaction is posted. I usually never run a balance. The odd time I buy something for over $500 and pay it over 2 months, usually at Christmas when I've got more spending than usual. In these cases I don't fret over paying $2.00 interest.

When I was younger I let a card balance get out of control, that was a nightmare I'll never repeat. I don't think credit cards are necessarily bad, but the way they are structured is. I think that if you run a balance longer than 2 months they should automatically switch from the minimum payment bullshit over to an automatic loan repayment system, the same as if you took out a loan from the bank. It should then schedule itself for full repayment within a specified time, default 1 year unless you ask for an extended time.

If you need a loan, take out a loan. Don't use credit for loans. It's too easy to just sit on the principal, pay the minimum and then max it out again late in the month. My ex does that constantly, and then blames the world for not being able to pay it off.

Brent, my advice to you is to go to your bank. Take out a consumer loan with a 5 year repayment for the total amount of your credit card debt, plus $1000 or so. Put the extra thousand in a savings account, this is your new credit card to use if you're having an emergency.

Cancel at least one credit card. Keep one with a $500 balance to order pizza's and online porn or whatever you can't use cash for. The card you keep should be a high interest, no fee card that has at least some perks, like automatic extended warrenty, or "no questions" return policy. You should never run a balance on the card.

You'll probably have to do this in 6 months when your car loan is paid, unless you can convince the bank to consolodate that loan into the same payments as well. I know banks are getting weird with loans these days, but if you are cancelling credit cards this frees up credit in your credit report and they are likely to do this.

 

[Mr. Laser Beam]

In full, every month, as soon as possible.

 

[An Officer]

I would say pay it in full while you have the money now, you never know what may be ahead, and you wouldn't want a debt hanging over you if you experience hard times.

I believe credit cards are from the devil. I learned that at a young age. I've seen what they've done to people close to me, and I vowed never to get one... never have, and never will. All major purchases I've made, I've meticulously saved for, and payed the cash upfront (you can get a discount if you haggle for it this way as well ). That way of doing things sure makes you think really carefully about what you buy - difficult to hand over a large wad of cash on an impulse buy.

 

[Sledder]

I have one card that I pay off in full each month. I make 99% of all my purchases on that card to collect the points it offers but never ever carry a balance.

Maybe once I year I don't have enough cash at the end of the month to pay it off, then I use my bank line of credit to pay it (much lower rate) and pay that down. But that only happens about once a year for a major purchase.

 

[John Picard]

http://www.daveramsey.com

I haven't had a credit card in years and have more spending power than anyone who has one.

 

[Deckerd]

I use mine for buying big ticket items and then pay off in big installments after every pay day. I have a savings account which I'd rather not plunder unless it's absolutely necessary. My OH thinks I'm crazy not to just pay it all off but I feel safer with a big chunk of money I can get my hands on without having to borrow.

I don't understand people who don't have credit cards posting in this thread. It's like a thread which says "How many kids do you have and how old are they?" and sure as eggs is eggs you'll get a bunch of people who don't have children posting away merrily. It's like messageboard Tourette's or something.

 

[Augustus]

I pay mine off in full at the end of every month.

Ditto!

But I rarely ever make a purchase that would be big enough not to pay off every month. But it seems to me that if you aren't paying interest, it doesn't really matter how quickly you pay it off.

 

[Lindley]

I use by bank-linked card as a credit card, so it works like debit even though it's credit. So there's no need to pay it off.

 

[Agent Richard07]

I have always paid off the full balance every month for as long as I've had credit cards. Not only do I use them for pretty much everything, I also find that I need them because there are a number of things I can't do without them like make large purchases or buy things online.

 

[Scout101]

I haven't had a credit card in years and have more spending power than anyone who has one.

Weren't you complaining that you couldn't afford a $50 DTV converter box in another thread? Or that a medical bill or car repair (can't remember which. Vet bill, maybe?) of a few hundred dollars had cut your legs out from under you for a few months?

It's great to say you don't have credit cards, and prefer it that way, but no need to take it to foolish extremes by doing the bit about having "more buying power", whatever that's supposed to mean. How does not having a credit card equal that again? My cash in the bank is as green as yours, and my credit history means that companies don't blink when i need a loan (car, house, etc). I've got a 3-year 0% interest loan for the new truck I'm driving, and that was in December, not exactly a great time to get a loan...

I've got a couple credit cards, and use one as my "main" card for most purchases. Pay it off in full every month, and get 1.5% back on my purchases. I'm not the kind of customer that credit card companies want to have: I don't pay fees, interest, am never late, they lose money on me every month. I've got a couple of other credit cards, but they're either store-related (Sears, JC Penny) or semi-store related, like my LLBean card. In any event, no balances on any of them, works out quite nicely.

 

[An Officer]

I don't understand people who don't have credit cards posting in this thread. It's like a thread which says "How many kids do you have and how old are they?" and sure as eggs is eggs you'll get a bunch of people who don't have children posting away merrily. It's like messageboard Tourette's or something.

If people only ever posted about things of which have personal experience, it would be a very very quiet forum, and not as entertaining. What would become of jayson and his monkey sales, or transvestite cheerleaders?

I'll bet if any one of us regulars looked up every post we've made in the last year, a large percentage might be about things of which we have no personal experience.

 

[Deckerd]

Speculation and (in Jason's case) trippy fantasy are the main raison d'etre of this board as far as I can see. But there is a smattering of 'normal' conversations. If the OP had said "Should I get a credit card?" then that would have been an invitation for a free for all, IMO.