Long story short, applying for Grad School Round 1™ plus charging plane tickets on my credit card while living in Japan messed me up big time. It's been a bit of an annoyance trying to pay that off and it never seems to go away.
Tonight I took the step that I thought necessary to help me pay it off - I am going to transfer my balance to a new card that has 0% interest for 18 months. This was a big step for me because I was always a little leery and scared of trying to take control of my finances in that realm - what if I make a mistake? My first credit card was under my dad's name and when I got older, I just transferred that to my own account. Sadly, I used to be GOOD at paying it off, but those plane tickets and grad apps messed up because it was alot within a small window.
My goal is to pay off as much of the balance that can be transferred (and/or do the math and make the payments needed to get rid of it ASAP) within that 18 month window. Before I turn 29, I want to get rid of 1/2 of my credit card debt.
However, I'm doing something drastic.
Cutting the cards. Both the old one so that it can be completely gone, and the new one, so I don't charge anything on it.
Begone, credit card debt.
I hope.
One of my goals for the new year is to greatly reduce my debt. I owe my parents as well as the credit card company. I'm hoping to get at least 70% of it paid off next year. (I owe my parents for buying me 2 knitting machines and oodles of yarn from a woman who could no longer knit. We all view it as them investing in my knitting business, so they're not super worried about me paying them back too soon)
ReplyDeleteGood for you! It sounds like you've found a couple of really good strategies to get debt free. Admirable, especially in one under 30. Way to go finding a 0% interest credit card.
ReplyDeleteGood luck and Happy New Year!
I'm glad that you have a plan to pay off your credit card debt. Before I paid off all my credit card debt I took to watching the Suze Orman podcasts. Watching the show really encouraged me to keep to my goal. There's nothing like sending the final payment to the credit card company. Good luck!
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