[USER]

What would you pay or buy first?
$2754 LEFTOVER TO PAY OFF DEBT (after paying minimums)

Credit Card Debt:
Discover: $3412.56 28.24% $100
Quicksilver: $4517.35 30.24% $162
Platinum: $5632.37 28.74% $190
Target: $977.01 28.15% $31
Truck: $27900 10.99% $651.65

Wants:
New Phone + Wifi: $1400 (paid off) + tax & fees + $64 a month for the wifi service
New Queen Mattress & Bed Frame : $1700 + $200-$300
Outdoor patio bed: $300
Playground: $1300

[David]

Pay off the debt before you buy a freaking playground and new phone lol.

[Jennifer]

I would buy zero of the wants until all my debts were paid

[Svetlana]

Pay off target then discover. Unfortunately, I’d go with the Ramsey snowball effect on this one.

[Elizabeth]

All your wants tell me you aren’t serious about being debt free. Only buy what you can afford to pay for.

[Robert]

number one, get it out of your head that you’re buying anything (that doesn’t involve basic survival) until you pay off all that debt.

To borrow some of Dave Ramsey‘s terminology; you are eating beans and rice and not going anywhere – no restaurants or no vacations-until you pay off that credit card debt.

I’m not being judgmental – I’ve been in credit card debt as well – but I’ve also gotten out of it. First, Kill the target debt because it’s the smallest.

Then put whatever is remaining toward the Discover card because it’s the next smallest.

Then, see if you can get some sort of consolidation loan or balance transfer loan and transfer those high interest balances into one loan or one card.

And then cut up all your other cards. As far as the stuff you’re wanting to buy.

And I can tell you right now you ain’t buying no outdoor patio bed or playground unless you buy them used or get them for nothing at all.

It’s not gonna be impossible for you to get out of debt, but it’s gonna take you some time. But you can do this.

[Gary]

Pretty poor financial choices. Too many wants when you have these debts.

[Bao]

definitely pay off all high interest debt first before you buy anything…

[Valentina]

I’d probably do highest interest debt to lowest interest, starting with quicksilver.

Maybe reward yourself with the outdoor patio bed but the other wants are pricey, I’d tackle more debt before the pricier wants

[Boris]

Pay off debt before you buy any wants. No reason to pay all the interest.

[Annie]

Just adding more (and sort of addressing why u should pay debt off first). If you continue to pay 485 on this debt it will take you almost 5 years.

And you will have paid $27K total instead of $15K.

So, imagine – if you decide to buy a deck or something then you are not only just buying a deck for let’s say 5k.

Instead you are now making your 27K become like 28 or 29K if not more because you are reducing how much u can pay off.

That doesn’t even consider if u tack on more debt for it.

Anyways at these month payments u are giving away 12K… how much have u already given away?

(Had this debt for how many years etc)

If you did whatever u had to to not pay interest then u would actually have more money in ur pocket.

Pay any of it off – as soon as u can. Roll anything over to 0% interest. Don’t accrue more debt. And u end up keeping more of ur money.

[Annie]

When I had credit card interest rates like that. I either calculated or looked at how much I paid in interest in the last 3 years.

Especially if it was revolving debt – meaning 3 years and 10k constantly… you keep looking at that and you come to learn that you are giving thousands of dollars away

I would pay any of them off. Whichever makes u feel better – a lot of good advice here – smallest one and knocking it out might be great for morale OR perhaps paying off highest interest one.

For me it was the latter – it was crazy once it clicked how much of my money I gave the bank for borrowed money.

Also if you check your history and if it is revolving debt for years – then u should probably assess if you are living above ur means.

Like do you spend an extra 2k per year and this is slowly adding up.
Pay off some debt but also any new debt u incur – pay that off immediately (e.g. no actual new debt).

So, if u charge 200 for groceries- pay it off that day. Or if u charge a 2k – pay it off that week with thr money you know u have before u even charged it.

Essentially u are no longer using money u don’t have – u only spend if you have it to spend.

And in reality it’s probably better to not charge it and just use ur debit – until u know that u won’t let it add back up

And then hopefully u can get a 0% interest card so u can either knock more debt out interest free.

[Mj]

Except for the wifi I’d pay off all CC debt before any purchases. The rest of that stuff is a want not a need.

First thing after that would be a new bed, unless you need a phone asap for work then I’d buy a lesser model and keep it until it stops working

[Bassel]

Those are crazy rates. Call each CC and ask if you can have additional reduction if you pay down. They prob won’t.

Get a zero % transfer and commit to not running up the empty card – call cc and freeze so it’s work to go around it.

Then pick highest rate and then next.

[Kristy]

If you plan to FIRE like, ever, I’d probably take a hard look at my spending and “wants”!

[Cxsi]

How much cash on hand do you have normally to put towards your debt?
The amount you have right now should be applied to what you normally do.

Pay off debt first then save to buy your wants in cash, but also ensure you have a fully funded emergency savings account before buying your wants.

Provided your APRs are so close on the cards, I’d go smallest to largest amount on debt first.

The difference in interest saved is negligible basically.

1. Target – this will be paid off less residual interest
2. Discover – you’ll have ~$1635 left on this
3. Quicksilver
4. Platinum
5. Truck

Take your cash on hand, calculate your minimums and apply it to all your debts.

Whatever you have left after for cash on hand to pay towards debt goes to the first debt being paid off. Once the first is paid, repeat.

Minimums to all and whatever is left over goes to the next debt to be paid off, etc.

Once your debt is gone, do not use debt to pay for your wants, but take those same funds you’ve been paying off debt with and save it to cash flow your wants.

If you’re trying to get rewards on your want purchases via credit, then just make sure you have the cash first and pay it off in full on the statement it posts to either before the statement cuts or before the due date on the statement.

Remember, after your credit card debt is paid off on each account, you’ll have residual interest to pay meaning the last statement you pay off in full won’t be the last.

You’ll have another statement for the interest accrued from that prior months daily balance. Should be minimal though.

[Moore]

Pay off Target, apply the rest to Discover. Since the wants aren’t necessities, focus on paying off the credit cards first, lowest balance to highest.

[Svetlana]

This might be an unpopular opinion but I’d look into a low cost debt consolidation company.

You might pay $100 a month for the service but they would decrease all of your apt by half and maybe negotiate a pay in full amount.

Or maybe you (yourself) can negotiate a half off deal with your platinum card and be done with your biggest one.

[Caroline]

Depends based on your wants staying motivated by seeing the list decrease may be better for you. First make sure you have your highest deductible or a 1 month emergency saved up whichever is higher.

Then the Snowball Method: 1 Target, 2 discover, 3 quicksilver, 4 Platinum

I’d personally do the avalanche method: 1 Quicksilver, 2 Platinum, 3 Discover, 4 Target

It’ll take 5 months to pay those off assuming nothing else is add on to them in the mean time.

It’ll take another 8 months to pay off the truck if you Snowball all the minimum payments and extra money you have into paying it off.

Make sure you have a 6-9 month emergency fund, based on you having kids the 9 month is probably better.

Then you can have one want at a time while you pay off your cards in full each month.

If you can’t pay off in full each month then cancel the credit cards and get a charge card that you can’t have balances rollover each month.

Credit is currently taking advantage of you.

[Josh]

Pay off debt first. Great app is Debt Payoff. Doesn’t really matter which one, interest is pretty much the same.

Once you pay off each CC, cut it up. You’re not a credit card person.

[Rick]

Get the mattress, and pay off all those debts. Those high percentages are making my eyes hurt. Start with the smallest and work your way up to the biggest.

[Wesley]

Credit card debt first. All of it before buying anything lol credit card debt will break you and paying minimums will not pay it off.

That just prolongs it.

You always always always pay 3 or 4 times the minimum if possible.

[Arizona]

Set aside 1k as a baby emergency fund if you don’t already have savings set aside, then pay off your target card then throw the remaining money at discover (776.99 or 1776.99 depending on if you already had some savings for emergencies).

You’ll have one card paid off and only have $2,636 or $1,636 to pay off on your next card and be able to pay it all the way off next month!

Close the target card after paying it off since it seems you can’t manage credit cards well -no shade just saying what it seems from your debts.

Close your discover card when you pay that off too. If you don’t want to close them, you could cut the cards up at the least so you can’t use them anymore.

Only spend money you have so you don’t stay in debt forever.

Don’t get any of the “wants” until paying your debts.
I’d love to help you make a budget if you ever want help!

[Natalia]

pay the Quicksilver one as it has the highest interest. As you get money pay them in the same order, pay monthly minimums first and add the rest to whatever card has the highest interest in that moment.

Also, you need to cover your needs before your wants, it might take some time to adjust but you need to pay yourself first every month and this includes but no limited to

separating money for debts, investments, retiment account, 401k… and finally you take some fun and/or miscellaneous money each month and save up for whatever you want.

There’s no need to get into big debt for a phone.

[Josh]

1. No more purchases other than necessities and maintenance.
2. Pay off credit cards. Normally highest interest first (avalanche), but mentally maybe best approach to do snowball and pay off smallest debt first (especially with all so high).

3. Get rid of the damn truck. Get a civic with a trailer hitch and a good aluminum trailer (I remodelled my rentals for years with this setup; 35mpg not towing, 23 mpg towing). $10k car, $2500 aluminum trailer).

4. After debt paid off. Do mattress first as the good sleep with keep you healthy and help you increase income.

[Heather]

Used phones are 1/2 that price… playgrounds even less.
You can buy a new mattress on Amazon for like $400.
But really, allllll of those can wait until you’re out of debt.

I cannot imagine taking on an 11% loan on a depreciating asset for that cost.

But unfortunately you have bigger fish to fry first unless you’re willing to sell the truck and get one for <$15k cash (unless it’s new and you don’t have that much equity in it…)

But seeing the list of wants, maybe reevaluate what your wants really need to be (I know that sounds weird).

Those are all reallly expensive versions of that “want”.

Getting yourself out of this $40k+ hole is just the first step… the rest is recalibrating yourself so that you don’t fall back in.

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