So, as I mentioned in my introduction post, I have a little problem left over from graduate school - credit card debt! It's currently sitting at about $24k, broken down as follows:
| Card Name | Card Balance | Interest Rate | Minimum Payment | Expected Payoff Date |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| American Express | $2,291.53 | 15.24% | $80 | April 2021 |
| Discover (Balance Transfer) | $3,999.59 | 0.00% | $500 | September 2021 |
| Chase Sapphire | $7,813.70 | 15.24% | $185 | November 2021 |
| Chase Freedom | $1,133.04 | 14.99% | $50 | December 2021 |
| Chase Amazon | $4,799.42 | 13.24% | $110 | March 2022 |
| Wells Fargo Visa | $3,734.68 | 11.15% | $82 | May 2022 |
| Total | $23,771.96 |
(This doesn't exactly agree to my introduction because I also have a credit card that I use for my everyday spending and pay off every month that was included in Personal Capital's grouping.)
I am currently putting about $1,000 a month (my budget says $1,135, but I also have a small loan with Affirm that is getting paid out of that envelope at about $110) towards my cards. I also just pulled the trigger on decreasing my 401(k) contributions down to the minimum to get my employer match - that should give me about $230 extra per month to throw at my debt. I’m not sure when that will come into effect - I doubt this Friday’s paycheck (last day of month on a weekend = getting paid the Friday before), so probably the 15th. I really hated to do it, but the extra money will cut about four months off my payment time, and that was sufficient motivation to do it. I’ll crank up my savings again after I pay off all my cards.
The Discover card is a balance transfer card - it actually has two different transfers on it, both from the American Express. The first one ends September 2021, and in theory the second one ends December 2021, but I'm not 100% sure on how they're applying the payments, so I'm planning to pay the whole balance off by September 2021 so as not to risk any back interest.
I really appreciate balance transfers - they're really helpful for paying down debt as long as you pay it off before the BT period expires.
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