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modig
Aug 20, 2002

Zeta Taskforce posted:

Let me rephrase what you are asking and flesh it out with numbers. You are saying that you want to buy a car worth $20,000, and suppose you finance it at 5% for 4 years (at $461/mo) and that works within your budget. Your dad is saying that $15,000 is enough car for you and he doesn’t want to see you in anything more expensive than that. Are you wondering if the dealer will sell you the $20,000 car for $15,000, but be willing to finance you at 20.5% (and give you a payment of $461)?

If I read that right, then no, I doubt it.

Yeah that's right, ohh well.

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lament.cfg
Dec 28, 2006

we have such posts
to show you




modig posted:

Yeah that's right, ohh well.

If you're paying the whole loan with cash, you should be adult enough to tell your dad "I can afford the car I would like to purchase, and will be purchasing it." Don't be a child and play games with your loan, grow a pair and tell the truth.

FISHMANPET
Mar 3, 2007

Sweet 'N Sour
Can't
Melt
Steel Beams

BorderPatrol posted:

Well, sometimes the hive mind is right.

Being good with money is a behavior modification, not shuffling around cards and drawing out 0% financing as long as you can. Why are you wasting all this time and effort trying to "game this system" on something that doesn't even matter? The credit companies aren't dumb. They offer a 0% interest because you will spend more money.

Statistcally speaking, yes, I will spend more money, but here that's not the case, as I'll be buying a $379.99 computer one way or the other.

I'm also not trying to game the system. I could buy it with cash right now, and be totally fine. I make well more than enough every month to pay my living expenses and debts (student loans, and one hefty credit card from my college years). My job is 100% safe for the near to medium term, if not forever.

And before anyone says it, yes, I could put $400 more against my credit card and pay it off a few weeks sooner, but I'm not viewing it as some race to the bottom where I see how fast I can get that number down to zero, then start doing some stuff with other numbers where the numbers are an end of themselves, all the while eating nothing but ramen and watching my black and white TV with rabbit ears and the free converter I got from the government.

I work to live, not work to make numbers. It's not a view I ever see expressed here in BFC. It's usually either live far beyond means via credit and drown, or live frugally with no debt what so ever. I'd like to live somewhere in between, moving forward, but still being able to enjoy my life.

I understand the living frugally life, that's how my parents lived, and now my mom has reached the point where she literally has no idea what to do with all the money she's socked away over the years. When she passes away in 20 or 30 years, I'll be inheriting $500k to $1 million, but at what price? While we didn't live like paupers, it would have been nice to maybe take some more family vacations, things of that nature, rather than sit on a giant pile of money forever.

I guess this is really long way of saying I appreciate the information you're giving me, but I'm going to ignore the advice (except of Zeta) and make my own educated decision.

Maybe I should make a thread where you can all watch in horror while my debt steadily goes down while I continue to buy myself "toys" and go out to eat all the time.

illcendiary
Dec 4, 2005

Damn, this is good coffee.

FISHMANPET posted:

Statistcally speaking, yes, I will spend more money, but here that's not the case, as I'll be buying a $379.99 computer one way or the other.

I'm also not trying to game the system. I could buy it with cash right now, and be totally fine. I make well more than enough every month to pay my living expenses and debts (student loans, and one hefty credit card from my college years). My job is 100% safe for the near to medium term, if not forever.

And before anyone says it, yes, I could put $400 more against my credit card and pay it off a few weeks sooner, but I'm not viewing it as some race to the bottom where I see how fast I can get that number down to zero, then start doing some stuff with other numbers where the numbers are an end of themselves, all the while eating nothing but ramen and watching my black and white TV with rabbit ears and the free converter I got from the government.

I work to live, not work to make numbers. It's not a view I ever see expressed here in BFC. It's usually either live far beyond means via credit and drown, or live frugally with no debt what so ever. I'd like to live somewhere in between, moving forward, but still being able to enjoy my life.

I understand the living frugally life, that's how my parents lived, and now my mom has reached the point where she literally has no idea what to do with all the money she's socked away over the years. When she passes away in 20 or 30 years, I'll be inheriting $500k to $1 million, but at what price? While we didn't live like paupers, it would have been nice to maybe take some more family vacations, things of that nature, rather than sit on a giant pile of money forever.

I guess this is really long way of saying I appreciate the information you're giving me, but I'm going to ignore the advice (except of Zeta) and make my own educated decision.

Maybe I should make a thread where you can all watch in horror while my debt steadily goes down while I continue to buy myself "toys" and go out to eat all the time.

No need to get uppity. You didn't provide any numbers regarding your current debt situation from the outset, so everyone assumed that you were like every other person who waddles into BFC randomly looking for "advice," when they really mean "help me justify this purchase I can't afford."

Just pay the poo poo cash, no need to gently caress around with small payments if you make more than enough every month.

Responsibility reigns supreme in BFC, you know that. We're all trying to "live", too. Granted, there are some in BFC that are obsessed with numbers and are always trying to hit a certain point in savings, but in the current financial climate, can you blame them? No one's job is safe, even if they think it is. By all means, enjoy your netbook, but don't get upset when people see a relatively useless decision (financing a $400 laptop) and call you on it.

Sophia
Apr 16, 2003

The heart wants what the heart wants.

FISHMANPET posted:

And before anyone says it, yes, I could put $400 more against my credit card and pay it off a few weeks sooner, but I'm not viewing it as some race to the bottom where I see how fast I can get that number down to zero, then start doing some stuff with other numbers where the numbers are an end of themselves, all the while eating nothing but ramen and watching my black and white TV with rabbit ears and the free converter I got from the government.

You realize that by paying interest on your hefty credit card bill it is basically the equivalent of going out every month and setting fire to some money, right? I'm not saying you shouldn't buy yourself a netbook or should live in the ridiculous scenario you painted above, and it sounds like you're paying your debt down just fine, but you're acting like having that debt isn't costing you anything. "Living frugally" and "living with no debt whatsoever" are not the same thing, though for some reason you think it is. I have no debt whatsover but I don't live frugally.

If your mother or someone else in your family, god forbid, ever gets ill or has a need for that money, you'll be glad that she saved it instead of taking you to Disney World once. Maybe you should be grateful that you won't have to be the one to pay for her retirement like so many other kids have to pay for their parents.

But regardless of all of what I just said, it's still a terrible idea to try to game a system in a manner that carries huge risk (another credit card to lose track of or overspend with) and little reward (a few dollars in interest). It's just a poor and unnecessary financial risk. The fact that you don't seem to understand that concept says a lot more about your financial position than your paycheck or your bank account.

Dead Pressed
Nov 11, 2009

FISHMANPET posted:

Statistcally speaking, yes, I will spend more money, but here that's not the case, as I'll be buying a $379.99 computer one way or the other.

I'm also not trying to game the system. I could buy it with cash right now, and be totally fine. I make well more than enough every month to pay my living expenses and debts (student loans, and one hefty credit card from my college years). My job is 100% safe for the near to medium term, if not forever.

If you're not trying to game the system, why gently caress around and put yourself in a situation where you could potentially get hit with backlogged interest out the rear end in a top hat? Pay for it in cash. It is simply not worth the potential benefit of <$5 interest you could save vs. the interest you would have to pay IF you made a mistake.

quote:

And before anyone says it, yes, I could put $400 more against my credit card and pay it off a few weeks sooner, but I'm not viewing it as some race to the bottom where I see how fast I can get that number down to zero, then start doing some stuff with other numbers where the numbers are an end of themselves, all the while eating nothing but ramen and watching my black and white TV with rabbit ears and the free converter I got from the government.

If you're not worried about interest, why are you worried about getting 0% financing on a computer less than $500? I have no problem with you financing for 0% if you don't think you'll gently caress it up, but jesus...at least put that $400 into the credit card if you're not going to pay cash.

quote:

I work to live, not work to make numbers. It's not a view I ever see expressed here in BFC. It's usually either live far beyond means via credit and drown, or live frugally with no debt what so ever. I'd like to live somewhere in between, moving forward, but still being able to enjoy my life.

Are you new here? We carry debt, we don't carry STUPID debt. Carrying a credit card balance isn't wise however you slice it. Personally, I prefer taking advice from people who don't pay card interest, but have a home they can afford at a rate they can pay and not have to worry about foreclosing on immediately if their income takes a dip for a while.

quote:

I understand the living frugally life, that's how my parents lived, and now my mom has reached the point where she literally has no idea what to do with all the money she's socked away over the years. When she passes away in 20 or 30 years, I'll be inheriting $500k to $1 million, but at what price? While we didn't live like paupers, it would have been nice to maybe take some more family vacations, things of that nature, rather than sit on a giant pile of money forever.

No. You don't understand it, and she may not either. A million dollars isn't a ton. While a sum like that would be great to inherit, nothing is guaranteed. She could find a brain tumor tomorrow that for some unseen reason her insurance doesn't cover. She could need long term living care. An endless number of things could happen through which she could need that much, or more. Just because she can't blow it all now at once doesn't mean it isn't wise to have that money set aside.

quote:

I guess this is really long way of saying I appreciate the information you're giving me, but I'm going to ignore the advice (except of Zeta) and make my own educated decision.

If you're more educated than we are, please, feel free to do what you want and ignore the "hive mind". Its obvious you don't appreciate the information with the forming of your statements and that you're another member of the baby-boomer idealism of "want it now, I deserve it now". While there nothing wrong with instant gratification, you're falling into the same pit that many did during the downturn of "I can afford this debt; my job is secure". Good luck with that.

quote:

Maybe I should make a thread where you can all watch in horror while my debt steadily goes down while I continue to buy myself "toys" and go out to eat all the time.

Please do.

Zeta Taskforce
Jun 27, 2002

OK people. Let FISHMANPET be. It is his decision and he will deal with the aftermath. This is not a life or death matter.

FISHMANPET
Mar 3, 2007

Sweet 'N Sour
Can't
Melt
Steel Beams

Sophia posted:

You realize that by paying interest on your hefty credit card bill it is basically the equivalent of going out every month and setting fire to some money, right? I'm not saying you shouldn't buy yourself a netbook or should live in the ridiculous scenario you painted above, and it sounds like you're paying your debt down just fine, but you're acting like having that debt isn't costing you anything. "Living frugally" and "living with no debt whatsoever" are not the same thing, though for some reason you think it is. I have no debt whatsover but I don't live frugally.

If your mother or someone else in your family, god forbid, ever gets ill or has a need for that money, you'll be glad that she saved it instead of taking you to Disney World once. Maybe you should be grateful that you won't have to be the one to pay for her retirement like so many other kids have to pay for their parents.

But regardless of all of what I just said, it's still a terrible idea to try to game a system in a manner that carries huge risk (another credit card to lose track of or overspend with) and little reward (a few dollars in interest). It's just a poor and unnecessary financial risk. The fact that you don't seem to understand that concept says a lot more about your financial position than your paycheck or your bank account.

The debt is costing me money, and hence why I'm paying it down, but $100 now is worth more to me than $143 in three years (what $100 would get to in 3 years based on my interest rate) as I'll be making more by then etc etc, so now not in an all out balls to the wall rush to pay off the credit card debt.

As for my mother, the vacation thing is kind of petty, but I also see the toll it's taken on her, especially now that she's semi retired (but still working and making plenty of money) she's starting to spend money on things like clothes and furniture and a house she likes and blah blah blah and she's a much happier person for it.

As far as the risk, I take a risk every time I cross the street or get into my car, it matters how I mitigate that risk. I look both ways before I cross the street, I buckle up when I get in my car. I trust myself to make the monthly payments. I just a few months ago made the 12th and final payment on an engagement ring with 12 months no interest (disclaimer: the trick worked, I got a bigger ring because of financing, but she loves it, and I don't give a gently caress), and I made no late payments.

(USER WAS PUT ON PROBATION FOR THIS POST)

Brennanite
Feb 14, 2009
I've been going over my finances trying to find places to cut and realized I'm paying $100/month for basic cable and "essential" Internet. (Apparently there's a level below even basic!) This is completely unreasonable in my opinion. What are my options for bringing this cost down besides straight-up canceling?

Ashcans
Jan 2, 2006

Let's do the space-time warp again!

Are there other providors in your area? If so, you can sometimes call up your current service and tell them that you have an offer for X from their competition, but that you would like to stay with them them if they can offer you something similar. It may be that you are in a captive market and they won't do jack, but I have had companies offer me six or twelve month discounts and even credits to try and keep me on as a customer.

Brennanite
Feb 14, 2009

Ashcans posted:

Are there other providors in your area? If so, you can sometimes call up your current service and tell them that you have an offer for X from their competition, but that you would like to stay with them them if they can offer you something similar. It may be that you are in a captive market and they won't do jack, but I have had companies offer me six or twelve month discounts and even credits to try and keep me on as a customer.

There's just one cable company. I don't even understand how that's possible in a major metro area.

Dragyn
Jan 23, 2007

Please Sam, don't use the word 'acumen' again.

Brennanite posted:

There's just one cable company. I don't even understand how that's possible in a major metro area.

Gonna go out on a limb and say Comcast. They monopolize the market in my area.

Pray for Verizon to put in FIOS infrastructure near you in the near future, and my God help you if you have buried telco lines.

candide
Jun 16, 2002

The Tipping Point
Count me in as another Comcast sufferer.

Do you find yourself watching cable that often? I was in the same boat as you until I finally made the jump to streaming online, and haven't looked back since. I find Netflix ($7.99/mo) and Hulu (free) offer most of what I'm interested in.

Bojanglesworth
Oct 20, 2006

:burger::burger::burger::burger::burger:
Look at all these burgers-running me everyday-
I just need some time-some time to get away from-
from all these burgers I can't take it no more

:burger::burger::burger::burger::burger:
I have had Comcast for about three years, nothing but problems non stop. I had to call at least once a week because my Internet would constantly go out, I had several technicians out to my house, all of which fixed absolutely nothing. Eventually I got tired of calling the customer care number so I started dialing random phone numbers that I found online until I got in touch with someone who actually helped me.

Within a day I had a new router and modem, and havent had a problem since. This is also what my bill has been for the last five months, not sure why. Comcast is a disaster:



edit: not complaining about $5 a month Internet.

Built 4 Cuban Linux
Jul 15, 2007

i own america
Get rid of your cable TV and just go with the internet. You'll still be able to watch all the shows you like, but you'll do a lot less idle TV watching. You'll catch up on the episodes you want to see but you won't find yourself sitting on the couch watching 'Pawn Shop Wars' or something just because it's on. Also: you'll save money.

|Ziggy|
Oct 2, 2004

Bojanglesworth posted:

I have had Comcast for about three years, nothing but problems non stop. I had to call at least once a week because my Internet would constantly go out, I had several technicians out to my house, all of which fixed absolutely nothing. Eventually I got tired of calling the customer care number so I started dialing random phone numbers that I found online until I got in touch with someone who actually helped me.

Within a day I had a new router and modem, and havent had a problem since. This is also what my bill has been for the last five months, not sure why. Comcast is a disaster:



edit: not complaining about $5 a month Internet.

I'm jealous. I don't have cable, but internet is needed and it's ~$40/mo. At least I've never had problems other than being a little slower than normal infrequently.

Brennanite
Feb 14, 2009
Sadly, I see you are all familiar with my pain. Right now, I'm strongly considering Netflix/Hulu + digital antenna. (My husband wanted a solution that kept TiVo in the picture.) I really hope it works, because I could switch to better/cheaper Internet at the same time and completely drop Comcast all together.

Bojanglesworth
Oct 20, 2006

:burger::burger::burger::burger::burger:
Look at all these burgers-running me everyday-
I just need some time-some time to get away from-
from all these burgers I can't take it no more

:burger::burger::burger::burger::burger:

Brennanite posted:

Sadly, I see you are all familiar with my pain. Right now, I'm strongly considering Netflix/Hulu + digital antenna. (My husband wanted a solution that kept TiVo in the picture.) I really hope it works, because I could switch to better/cheaper Internet at the same time and completely drop Comcast all together.

My wife really wanted to keep the cable but it was absurdly expensive, for the "triple play package" which is essentially required, we were spending $161 a month. Just internet by itself is like $60 normally but I somehow lucked out with that $5.25 deal.

When we turned the cable off I bought an Apple TV 2 on some gizmodo deal of the day for $80 shipped and just use Netflix with it, which is I think $9 a month.

Fake Edit: Comcast also tried to charge me $500 (yes, five hundred dollars) for the lovely Scientific Atlantic HD box that they had no record of me returning, even though the tech picked it up at my house during one of the many service appointments. That took months of fighting to resolve too.

Chin Strap
Nov 24, 2002

I failed my TFLC Toxx, but I no longer need a double chin strap :buddy:
Pillbug
Netflix is the best value in entertainment ever invented.

modig
Aug 20, 2002

traveling midget posted:

If you're paying the whole loan with cash, you should be adult enough to tell your dad "I can afford the car I would like to purchase, and will be purchasing it." Don't be a child and play games with your loan, grow a pair and tell the truth.

Yeah I know, the bit with "my dad" was my imagination of what I would say to try to get a mad discount. This was a hypothetical: is this scheme doomed to failure and probably illegal? question, rather than an actual question.

lament.cfg
Dec 28, 2006

we have such posts
to show you




modig posted:

Yeah I know, the bit with "my dad" was my imagination of what I would say to try to get a mad discount. This was a hypothetical: is this scheme doomed to failure and probably illegal? question, rather than an actual question.

Doomed to fail? Yes
Illegal? No

If you can 'con'vince them to give you a low principle high-interest loan, awesome. Just make sure there's no penalty for early repayment.

Sophia
Apr 16, 2003

The heart wants what the heart wants.

modig posted:

Yeah I know, the bit with "my dad" was my imagination of what I would say to try to get a mad discount. This was a hypothetical: is this scheme doomed to failure and probably illegal? question, rather than an actual question.

I'm not a lawyer, but I doubt it's illegal to get a discount. It's certainly not illegal to simply tell a sob story in hopes that you get one. But unless you get an extraordinarily stupid car salesman they are going to know what game you're running especially if you try to lop 25% off of the price. Plus I imagine that someone running a branch for a large-ish company can't just send something back to headquarters that says "So, I sold the car but for waaaay less than it's worth. Don't worry!"

It might work on a smaller monetary scale than in your hypothetical if it's a smaller, non-corporate dealership. I guess. I don't know much about buying cars so I could be wrong.

Zeta Taskforce
Jun 27, 2002

modig posted:

Yeah I know, the bit with "my dad" was my imagination of what I would say to try to get a mad discount. This was a hypothetical: is this scheme doomed to failure and probably illegal? question, rather than an actual question.

The real reason your plan isn’t going to work is because the dealer doesn’t hold onto the loan. As soon as they sell the car they will either sell the loan or more likely, they won’t even do the loan and they will just facilitate it between another bank or the manufacturer financing arm. If you buy the car for $15,000, they get $15,000 (there are some kickbacks if they actually do pad the rate, but lets not get into that). But even if the bank and the dealer were one, which they are not, there are two things that could go wrong from the banks perspective. That they get the money too soon, and that they don’t get it at all. Get it too soon and they might only get $17,000 in total payments back. Or as with any loan there is a chance the borrower won’t pay and then they have to go about the hassle tracking you down and hope they find you.

Zeta Taskforce fucked around with this message at 16:14 on May 6, 2011

Voodoofly
Jul 3, 2002

Some days even my lucky rocket ship underpants don't help

I know you said your question was hypothetical, so here is a hypothetical reply.

Besides what others have said, I'll also add that your plan is a little too close to fraud for my tastes.

Let's ignore, for instance, that GMAC and a Chevy dealer are not the same person (as Zeta explained) and you could negotiate this sort of deal.

If you just said "hey, can you rework the numbers so it is a lower base price and higher interest" and they agreed, no fraud.

If you said "hey, can you rework the numbers so it is a lower base price and a higher interest so that, after it is paid off in five years, the numbers are the same" and they agreed, probably no fraud (but possibly a negligent misrepresentation).

If you said "hey, for [xxx] reason I can only pay this as principle debt, can we restructure it so that you get the same amount of money with the interest rate as I pay it back over five years" and they agreed, now we are in a touchy area.

Basically, if you make any sort of representation that you are not planning on paying back the loan until the five years elapses, and that representation becomes one of the reasons the car dealer agrees to make the deal, then that representation is part of the contract. If you always intended that representation to be false, and only said it to make them enter your deal, then it was a fraudulent statement. There are many different legal definitions for fraud, and many different ways you cau sue someone for fraud, but fraud almost always carries extreme penalties. Even if they can't prove fraud, there are lesser standards such as negligent misrepresentation that you might be bordering on as well.

Now, do I think they would sue you for this? Probably not. It is hard to prove and probably cost more than they ever expect to recover. But if you could possibly find someone dumb enough to go along with your deal in the first place, that dumb person might not take too kindly to you pulling something on them.

Again, this is all hypothetically speaking, of course. If you really plan on doing this, you should probably talk to an attorney in your local area.

Xguard86
Nov 22, 2004

"You don't understand his pain. Everywhere he goes he sees women working, wearing pants, speaking in gatherings, voting. Surely they will burn in the white hot flames of Hell"

Brennanite posted:

There's just one cable company. I don't even understand how that's possible in a major metro area.

Getting screwed like a free market and no choice thanks to poorly considered government regulation. Welcome to telecom in america!

Even if they have a monopoly, you can still get deals sometimes by calling up to cancel and then tell them that you just can't afford any cable service right now. Often, they'll throw you a discount or some promotional deal because $1 is better than $0.

Sometimes they won't offer any discount, so you should be willing to actually cancel.

Bodnoirbabe
Apr 30, 2007

Just a quick question about how I should do my snowball debt payoff. I know it's recommended to do smallest balance first regardless of interest so you'll be motivated to stay with it, but I am thinking it might be better to do the opposite.

Here's my debt:

Car - $1985 8.49% interest, $150 min/mnth
Credit 1 - $4200 0% int until 04/2012, $160 min/mnth
Credit 2 - $1000 0% int until 04/2012, $11 min/mnth

With the snowball, it would have me pay off Credit 2, then credit 1, then the car.

Currently, I've been paying $300 to the car, $200 to credit 1, $200 to credit 2 per month.

Since I don't have much debt and I have no problem paying them, I was wondering if it would be smarter to just get that car paid off so I can snowball more money into the other credits faster to ensure payoff before the interest back-accumulates.

What say you?

illcendiary
Dec 4, 2005

Damn, this is good coffee.
What will the interest rates on the cards be come April 2012?

Bodnoirbabe
Apr 30, 2007

illcendiary posted:

What will the interest rates on the cards be come April 2012?

That's a good question. I'm not 100% sure on both, but I know the $4500 will be about 20% interest. The other, I can check on.

illcendiary
Dec 4, 2005

Damn, this is good coffee.
Assuming your car payment is fixed, I think the prudent thing to do would be to structure your payments such that the $1000 card is paid off right as April 2012 rolls around. That means about a $300/$100 split between your $4200/$1000 cards respectively. This could change depending on what the interest rates are.

FCKGW
May 21, 2006

n/m

illcendiary
Dec 4, 2005

Damn, this is good coffee.

Bodnoirbabe posted:

Just a quick question about how I should do my snowball debt payoff. I know it's recommended to do smallest balance first regardless of interest so you'll be motivated to stay with it, but I am thinking it might be better to do the opposite.

Here's my debt:

Car - $1985 8.49% interest, $150 min/mnth
Credit 1 - $4200 0% int until 04/2012, $160 min/mnth
Credit 2 - $1000 0% int until 04/2012, $11 min/mnth

With the snowball, it would have me pay off Credit 2, then credit 1, then the car.

Currently, I've been paying $300 to the car, $200 to credit 1, $200 to credit 2 per month.

Since I don't have much debt and I have no problem paying them, I was wondering if it would be smarter to just get that car paid off so I can snowball more money into the other credits faster to ensure payoff before the interest back-accumulates.

What say you?

Actually, now that I think about it, it might be wiser to just pay the minimums on your cards for the time being and pay off the car since you are actively being charged interest on it.

So if you're putting $300 to the car and $200 to each card, instead put $171 toward the card minimums and pay $500-550 on the car. You'll be done in four months or so.

At that point, structure your payment such that the lower balanced credit card will be paid off come April of next year, and put the rest toward the bigger card.

Zeta Taskforce
Jun 27, 2002

Bodnoirbabe posted:

Just a quick question about how I should do my snowball debt payoff. I know it's recommended to do smallest balance first regardless of interest so you'll be motivated to stay with it, but I am thinking it might be better to do the opposite.

Here's my debt:

Car - $1985 8.49% interest, $150 min/mnth
Credit 1 - $4200 0% int until 04/2012, $160 min/mnth
Credit 2 - $1000 0% int until 04/2012, $11 min/mnth

With the snowball, it would have me pay off Credit 2, then credit 1, then the car.

Currently, I've been paying $300 to the car, $200 to credit 1, $200 to credit 2 per month.

Since I don't have much debt and I have no problem paying them, I was wondering if it would be smarter to just get that car paid off so I can snowball more money into the other credits faster to ensure payoff before the interest back-accumulates.

What say you?

It’s my understanding of the debt snowball that you pay minimum payments on everything but the smallest debt, which you attack with a vengeance. And you do that regardless of interest rate. That said, I don’t think anyone would quibble if you had two debts with fairly similar balances and you went for the one with the higher interest rate first. It would be one thing if you put a $1900 debt in front of a $1000 debt. Just don’t put a $10,000 debt in front of a $500 one.

That said, the bigger one concerns me. Please tell me it wasn’t one of those get furniture for 18 months at 0% deals because if it is, you have a bomb on your hands. Based on your current repayment rate, you will come in just under the wire, but life happens. You will have good months and bad months and I don’t know if $700/month is an idealized month, or if you have been paying these down at that rate for a long time.

What is your car worth? Another thing you can do is refinance it and if there is enough equity in it, roll all the credit cards into it. You will lose the 0%, but you will have a fixed rate that should be lower than 8.49% and nothing to stop you from putting $700/mo into it.

Ulf
Jul 15, 2001

FOUR COLORS
ONE LOVE
Nap Ghost

Bodnoirbabe posted:

Just a quick question about how I should do my snowball debt payoff. I know it's recommended to do smallest balance first regardless of interest so you'll be motivated to stay with it, but I am thinking it might be better to do the opposite.
The reason snowball debt payment exists is to keep people fiscally disciplined by giving them better psychological feedback as they pay things off. If you don't think you need that extra boost, by all means work out a repayment schedule that pays things off slightly faster.

FISHMANPET
Mar 3, 2007

Sweet 'N Sour
Can't
Melt
Steel Beams
I once came here with a similar question, and a goon was kind enough to generate a spreadsheet that did some calculations, which I modified to make more generalized. When I get home I'll find it and post it with some instructions.

FCKGW
May 21, 2006

I did 2 calculations with a debt snowball calculator.

Payment is broken down as $700/mo available for repayment, minimums on anything you aren't focusing on paying down. The 2 credit cards are at 0% interest for the next 11 months.

Here's your breakdown when paying the smallest debt first:


and here it is paying the largest interest one first


Here's the difference in interest, provided you pay the cards during the introductory APR.

quote:

It will take you 11 months to pay off these debts if you snowball correctly. During that time, you'll pay $20.00 in interest.

If you paid the same amount per month, but changed the order in which you paid your debts so you weren't paying the highest interest rates first, it would cost you an additional $63.00 in interest.

So, the length of time you're paying off your debts is the same, and the cost to snowball the smallest debt is only $43 over 11 months.

So, there isn't a heck of a big difference in any way to attack it. When I did my debt snowball, I had about $12k in CC debt. My smallest card was $300 and my largest was $3000. Paying off the smaller debt was a very good feeling, and helped keep me motivated to continue the snowball. This isn't the same situation, but that's what helped me get through my debt.

If I were in your shoes, I would pay off the car first because having a paid for card is very nice, and it's a secure feeling to own something that the bank can't repo if all hell breaks loose and you can't make your payments. Then I would hit up the $1k card then the $4k card.

Zeta Taskforce
Jun 27, 2002

Ulf posted:

The reason snowball debt payment exists is to keep people fiscally disciplined by giving them better psychological feedback as they pay things off. If you don't think you need that extra boost, by all means work out a repayment schedule that pays things off slightly faster.

Keep in mind that if you actually ask the question “Are you one of those people who need a psychological boost to pay off your debts faster”, you will have somewhere around 0% of people admitting to that. I think the larger idea is to be intentional with your money and not what most people do which is wait until they get paid and then react to whatever happens to be in their face.

Chin Strap
Nov 24, 2002

I failed my TFLC Toxx, but I no longer need a double chin strap :buddy:
Pillbug
I would totally pay down the 0% ones first, because 0% offers are designed to try to screw you over. Sure you *can* manage to do it right, but they are 100% ready to pounce on you at the slightest mistake, and frankly I don't like people holding that much power in their pocket over me. As BorderPatrol showed the differences aren't that great, but only in the perfect case of nothing coming up that would cause you to be late.

Bodnoirbabe
Apr 30, 2007

Thanks to everyone for the info, and super thanks to Border Patrol for the chart! It seems everyone is split like I am. Ha. I think I'm gonna go car, then credit 2, then credit 1. I'm not that paniced, as I know it will be just under the wire, but next year, we have $3000 tax credit we're gonna get for buying a house last year in California, so I'm just gonna do a lump when we get that in around Feb or March.

And Zeta, you're correct! The $4200 is a furniture payment! My brother moved out and took all his furniture with him, leaving us in the lurch. The $1000 is for a refrigerator from Home Depot that he also took with him when he left.

Normally, I despise debt. I hate the feeling of things over my head, but we were between a rock and hard place when he moved out so I only bit the bullet when it was interest free for 12 months and I knew I'd be able to do it.

I know most people would say they don't need the motivation, and I'm no different, but I really do mean it. I hate debt and live mostly debt free besides my house and car up until all this. I mean, I've only had those debts for a month and I've already got a plan down to get it paid. Just wanted opinions on which to attack first.

I appreciate the feedback from everyone! Thanks a bunch!

Bodnoirbabe fucked around with this message at 23:07 on May 6, 2011

zelah
Dec 1, 2004

Diabetes, you are not invited to my pizza party.
So I want to get one of those shiny new iMacs but I'm not sure which way would be best to go about it.

I could afford to just go buy one in cash right now if I want to transfer some from savings to checking, or in a month and a half if I don't want to touch savings. OR I could apply for the apple/barclay financing card and spread it out over 12 months at 0% apr and then have a new credit card as I only have 1 right now, but then it goes to like 20 or 22% apr. OR could I go down the street and get a personal loan from the local credit union?

My credit score is 681 according to transunion right now but I think that's going to change soon since it was reporting me listed on a card that I shouldn't be on. Creditkarma says I'm utilizing 2-5% of my total credit but in reality it's about 12% right now and transunion says I'm utilizing about 59% (the card they think I'm on is near-max).

Will my score go UP because my actual utilization is down? or will my score drop because my number of accounts goes down?


e: one more thing. If I decide to move from BoA to that local credit union I mentioned, is there any issues I should be aware of? Right now I have a checking, savings, and credit card with BoA. I'd want to close the checking and savings and start them up over at the CU and leave the BoA card where it is.

zelah fucked around with this message at 20:41 on May 7, 2011

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lament.cfg
Dec 28, 2006

we have such posts
to show you




The Barclay card is awful and designed for people who can't afford a MacBook to get one on lovely credit terms. You can get a much better credit card elsewhere, if that's what you really want.

How much do you have in savings? That will determine whether I suggest you spend from that, or just save up.

In reality, just save up.

Do you want to wait (a month and a half, which is nothing) to buy your MacBook outright, or have to pay it off from a credit card, loan, etc?

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