How much REVOLVING CREDIT DEBT are you carrying?

[UdoKier]

Please don't include mortgage, Student Loans or car debt. Just credit cards, lines of credit, consumer loans.

I cut my cards last week and paid my entire $4000 tax refund to one of my VISA accounts. I'm on my way to solvency. Wishing everybody luck in getting there, too.

[SCDem]

1. I try to pay mine off every month

use it for airmiles

[newscott]

2. I'm much better now.

Before the wife and I had kids we had about 80k in credit debt.

[purji]

3. zero

The house is the only bank loan I have period.
no car payments no credit card debt.

[Warpy]

8. Same here

I recognized the beginning of a scam in early 1991 when those junk fees started appearing and got rid of the cards.

If I need a loan, I'll go to a BANK.

[unblock]

4. kinda hard to divorce credit card debt from mortgage debt

we have a mortgage and a home equity line of credit (heloc), but i've also got a lot of credit cards that charge a lower interest rate than the heloc, so we use that rather than the heloc.

which means we're really just using the cards "better" mortgage debt. it's wierd, cards are obviously supposed to be at higher interest rates (unsecured debt vs. secured debt), but when they aren't, it makes sense to jump at the opportunity.

[HereSince1628]

5. Good for you...

Life after credit cards is possible.

[Worst Username Ever]

6. I chose my credit card over a home equity loan, so I have 12K.

I would only qualify for around 7% APR on a home equity loan because my DTI is so high. The other alternative was to call Chase and have a cash transfer done to my bank account from my card. 3.9 fixed until paid off, no closing costs, no appraisal, no income verification, no paperwork, only a 50 dollar transfer fee. Not deductable but even with the deduction I would still be paying more with the home equity. The only down side is that when someone asks what my credit card bal is, I have to say 12K. Oh, and if I miss a payment (I have never done so in my life) they will jack my rate up.

[Warpy]

13. I got rid of the cards in 1991

and bought my house in 1996. I took out two used car loans and paid them both off ahead of time, plus a loan on a used trailer to live in, and paid that one off ahead of time.

You can establish credit without credit cards, just take out a small loan on something else and pay it off quickly. Also, keep paying all your utility bills on time.

Credit cards are a scam, espcially now when they can jack the rates up on a whim and it seems there is no ceiling. They'll jack your rates up if your on time payment is delayed by the USPS or any other reason that's out of your control. Get rid of them ASAP.

[Worst Username Ever]

16. My creitt is great

but my DTI sucks. If I want to borrow, I get high interest rates. The credit card loan was the way to go (I used to be a consumer loan and mortgage lender).

[AndyTiedye]

30. Set Up Automatic Payment If You Can

That makes it much harder for them to claim you are late.

[Walt Starr]

22. My home equity IS a credit card

and shows up on my credit report as revolving credit because it acts like a credit card for the first ten years, then becomes like any other mortgage.

Used it to pay off my other credit cards because the interest was lower plus it's a write-off.

[meganmonkey]

7. I use my credit cards once or twice a month

and seldom more than I can pay off each month (occasionally for vacation or buying a computer or something, but I pay them off pretty quick). Right now I have about $200 on a credit card, charged within the last couple of weeks. I don't like using my debit card online and I ordered stuff online.

I have 3 credit cards with about $30,000 credit available. They keep uppng my limits, as if I am suddenly going to spend $12,000 on a credit card?!?!

I would like to not have them at all, but I will be purchasing a house in the next few months and I needed to establish credit. That's the part that sucks. I will never be able to buy a house for cash, I need to be able to qualify for a mortgage.

I got my first credit card when I was about 27, and by then I knew better than to abuse them. I was too scared to get one before that because I didn't trust myself, and I didn't have a consistent enough income to even pay the minimums.

[spinbaby]

21. You can lower the limit on your cards

I lowered the limit on my Mastercard to $5,000 when I realized that I had a $27,000 limit on a card that I used twice a year for minor travel expenses. It seemed that every time I charged something and paid it off the next month, they felt I was even more credit worthy and raised my limit again. It was bizarre--$27,000 limit on a card that had never had more than $1,500 charged to it.

[meganmonkey]

27. Actually, I think it is good for my credit -

when I try to get a house, I am under the impression that the ratio of my debt to my available credit comes into play. So if I have combined $30,000 credit available and I am only using a few hundred of it, that reflects well on my credit report. That's how a mortgage pre-approval guy explained it to me. :shrug:

It's all ridiculous to me anyway. I don't like to spend money I don't have and until I was 27 I never did - and that means I can't qualify for a mortgage?! My credit is bad because I don't owe anything and I never have?! That always amazed me...

What a messed up system. I am just grateful I dodn't discover credit cards when I was in college or my early 20's because I would be f*cked if I had!

[BOSSHOG]

9. "I cut my credit cards last week"

DO you mean you physically cut them up and threw them away? That's a good idea but it does not cancel your credit card account. You have to request the credit card issuer do that. If you have a line of credit on a card which you cut up but did not "cancel", that line of credit can be tabulated against any future loans you may seek to acquire. Best of luck on your journey to solvency.

[UdoKier]

20. Physically cut them and put them in the drawer.

I will close some of the accounts when they are paid, and keep a couple open with no balance. It's better for your credit rating to have the accounts open and available, but to not use them. I have an Old Navy card that I keep open but never use for that reason.

[madrchsod]

10. not a dam penny

wiped that crap out several years ago...

[CrispyQ]

11. I have 6500 on a 4% card & am

paying it off at about $400 per month. House paid off & no car loans.

[BigBearJohn]

12. what the hell would happen if EVERYONE paid off the CC bills?

[AP]

26. It would result in quarter with huge bank profits followed by years of...

...losses.

[Blue_Tires]

33. the credit companies would lobby for legislation

that no one would be able to use cash anymore!!!

I'm at $2500 (down from $4800 at this time last year), and I'll be free by the end of 2005....

now, if there were only some way to deal with those evil student loans!

[IrateCitizen]

14. Finally ready to eliminate the last of it!!!

My wife came into our marriage with significant CC debt. We've completely eliminated over $15K in a scant 3 years, and managed to save some as well!

Now, it's just socking money away. No more CC debt for us! I pay off the final bit as soon as a money transfer clears for me to write out the check!

[Gold Metal Flake]

15. Just paid it all off.

I had been making use of zero percent introductory rates to prevent finance charges while paying it down. Now, we will go through our cards and cancell some. Once the accounts are cancelled, I will write those and tell them that the bankruptcy bill was the reason.

[proud patriot]

17. Zero

Thank goodness .

the only debt we have is under $5500 through
our credit union for a used car loan .

[trof]

18. I got caught in the early 70s.

I started flying for TWA in October 1968.
The first year you're on "probation", i.e. NOT a member of the union and they can fire you for no cause. I made $500 a month, flat salary.

I kept my nose clean and survived the first year. The second year I went on hourly pay, with a guaranteed minimum, and my pay damn near tripled overnight. We were in high cotton.

Credit cards were a relatively new wrinkle. I had just gotten married and we were setting up housekeeping. Needed lots of stuff (or we thought we did), so we just "put it on the card". We thought we were living within our means because we were well able to make the minimum payment each month.

Then, out of the blue in 1971, I was laid off.
DISASTER.
I got a job making less than I did the first year at TWA. Miz t. went back to work. Did I mention we'd bought a house? We were in deep doodoo. We damn near had our mortgage foreclosed. I managed to hold our creditors at bay for a year and a half till I was recalled to TWA.

Ever since then, through two more layoffs, I have ALWAYS paid off all credit cards EVERY month. It was a hell of a lesson.

[Tierra_y_Libertad]

19. $O Had to learn the (semi) hard way.

About 20 years ago we discovered we were paying interest on $4000+ in credit card debt with no end in sight for things we couldn't even account for. Took out a loan from the credit union and paid them off at a much lower interest rate.

Since then, we use our credit cards only for the sake of convenience to buy major items (appliances and such) or, for use on internet purchases (mostly books and vitamins). All purchases are paid off before interest kicks in. We have rarely exceeded $100 in interest carrying debt in those 20+ years. And, in those rare instances the debt was paid by the next month.

For most things, it is cash on the line, or cash in the bank to pay the credit cards.

Usually, that Turbo Toe Nail Cutter that looks so alluring loses it's luster if I have to reach for my wallet and extract cash for it.

[SW FL Dem]

23. Been there, done that - Now Debt-free

We have been debt free (except for our mortgage) for 3 years now. We use credit cards but only charge what we can pay in full each month. I never want to be in debt again.

[AP]

24. Frontline Report said 55 mil Americans pay off cards in full, 35 mil don't

And the average indebtedness for those 35 mil is about $8000.

They interviewed a panel of people, some of whom said that they could pay off their debt if they wanted to, but think they're protecting themselves against job loss, etc., by holding on to cash rather than paying down debt.

They didn't realize that if they're making 1% on their savings, and paying 20% on their cards, they're losing money.

They didn't realize that it'd be smarter to pay off the debt and then, perhaps, use the cards after they ran through their cash if they, in fact, did have a financial crisis.

[IrateCitizen]

28. You're forgetting about another alternative...

That is using introductory offers for 0% APR for a year on balance transfers. That's what my wife and I did to get rid of our CC debt. We were able to steadily erode it, while saving money at the same time. If the intro period for a card was coming due, we'd simply switch to another card.

Now, we're completely paid off (except for the AMEX we use for airmiles but pay in full each month) and have a nice chunk of savings to build on.

[AP]

29. Well done. You paid $0 in fees and interest while in debt. That's making

the system work for you.

[slackmaster]

25. All of mine is on a HELOC

Home Equity Line Of Credit, which is both a consumer loan and a mortgage. I took the line out three years ago as an alternative to a car loan.

[forintegrity]

31. Got into trouble with CC's

3 times over the past 30 years. Am all paid off now and haven't had one in about 5-6 years. We pay cash for everything except home and 2 car loans. If we don't have cash, we don't buy it!

Every day I get CC offers in the mail...sometimes 2 and 3 in one day. My adult kids also get them.

After this bankruptcy bill passed, I am sending them back (only if the postage is free) telling them I am not interested because of this bill and if I hear from them again I will contact my Attorney General. Just like I used to do with phone solicitors before I got on the "do not call" list. We need a vehicle to stop these CC mailings: like a "shove your CC" list!

[IrateCitizen]

32. A reality check on credit cards -- they're NOT all evil!

By that I mean that it actually behooves you to hold on to a card that you have a long history with, even if you never use it anymore. If you don't want to be tempted by it, simply lock it up in a safe. But DON'T get rid of it!

Why, you ask? When you go to get a loan for a car or home, part of your credit score is determined by your current credit history. If you do not have any CC's with a positive long-term history, it can actually HURT your credit score and get you a HIGHER interest rate.

Therefore, you should pick one no-fee card that you've had for a number of years and ALWAYS hold on to it. It will actually HELP you in the long run....