Chosen by Asker

Here's a good yardstick: pay at least three times the "minimum payment" required by the lender.

by jlf

1 month ago

Asker's Rating: 

first off credicard should never be over 45% of you max limit if thats the case get it below 45% as soon as possible then if you wanna make a good impression i would suggest taking about 6-8 months to pay it off that way your bank sees that you are capable of hadling your finances well.

by Han_yhn- 1 month ago

It really depends on your goals and the interest rate of the card. My personal opinion is that credit card debt should be wiped out as soon as possible, and THEN use that extra money for savings, or paying down other debt such as car loans to save money on interest in the long term. If it's a high interest rate (I consider 'high' to be more than 10%), then pay it off as soon as you can, with whatever leftover money you have each month. If it is a low interest card, you would want to weigh the pros and cons of paying it off with extra money or paying some towards debt and some into savings/retirement. There are a lot of different opinions on this. Figure out about how much you're paying in interest each month and play with a credit card payoff calculator (google it) to see what makes sense for you.

by whitewolfe- 1 month ago

It's hard to comment on this without knowing a whole lot more of what your finances are. Different people define "disposable income" differently. I would suggest putting half your disposable income toward paying off your credit card debt. In December, when you are buying gifts, you may have to spend less. Once you have the credit card payed off, you might want to consider making extra payments on your cars. You also vaguely mention "one loan payment" and this may also be a good thing to make extra payments on. You should usually try to pay down your highest interest rate debt first. In your 20's it is acceptable to owe a lot of money on a car. By your thirties, you should aim to pay off your cars early, and then start saving up money for the next car. My impression is that you owe way to much in debt and need to aggressively attack it. If one of you becomes unemployed, you are going to have major problems with this much debt. You need to spend a lot less and pay down debt. I may also add that you should have an emergency fund of 3-6 months salary and be contributing to a retirement fund. If you aren't doing these things, you need to cut back anymore. (These comments are based on a very limited knowledge of your situation, and may be wrong.)

by cobo- 1 month ago

If you have $500 - $1,200 in disposable income after paying all your regular expenses, your best bet is to put as much money as you can toward the credit card each month. Since it is most likely that the interest rate on your credit card is the highest of all your loans, the quicker you pay it off, the better. At worst, it will take about 7 months @ $500 per month to pay it all. It seems like you can comfortably set a goal of having it paid off in 6 months. It also appears you have excellent credit, so you might even be able to transfer the balance on this card to one with 0% interest so you can save even more money. Good luck. Hope this helps.

by Mel M- 1 month ago