“Dear Steve,
I am 58, my husband 61. We presently have about $20000.00 in credit card debt. We are never late and have excellent credit so using a credit counseling agency is not a option.
We are no longer using our credit card and are paying cash. That has been hard but we know what we needed to do. We both are working full time and my husband will most likely retire in 7 years. Me due to the nature of my job I will be able to work for many more years beyond retirement age. I contribute 15% to my 401k. My husband had to roll over his into a IRA. We were unfortunately we did not get started to save for retirement until we were 40 due to job situations.
We would like to pay off this debt asap and what tool could we use to achieve this? I have heard of the snowball pay down but does it really work?
Ginger”
Dear Ginger,
First, just remember to not close your credit card accounts. Keep them open to help prop your credit score up.
Also keep in mind that a credit card is a much safer financial transaction tool to use than a debit card is. It’s okay to use a credit card, just pay the balance off in full. You can do it every week. You don’t have to wait to get a monthly statement.
Keep up the 401(k) contributions. Good job!
The free tool I like to help you reduce your debt quickly and pay the least amount of interest is ReadyForZero.com . Those guys have done a great job making a tool to help you prioritize and pay off your debt as fast as possible.
Take a look at ReadyForZero.com and let me know what you think.
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As always Steve, great advice. Continued success. http://goo.gl/hbI8Q
Ginger, there is no method faster than this; (a) make all minimum required payments, except for (b) whatever extra money you have for debt reduction, send to the Highest Rate card. That’s it.
With all due respect to the great feeling you might get from paying off the low debt card first, my own experience showed the low interest cards often came with a low credit line. So, while you’re busy paying off the 6% $1000 card first, the 24% $10000 card is accruing interest.
Simply put – $1000 paid on the 24% card saves you $20/mo but the $1000 on that 6% card, just $5/mo. When you view your debt as one lump sum, you’ll see the high rate method is the fastest there is.