articles/tool to help with credit card debt

[Carl Carlson IV]

I recently finished the final details of a couple articles and a tool to help with paying off debt, focused on credit cards. I'd appreciate any feedback anyone may have - Debt Payoff Calculator

This was something I created to help me pay off my own debt, and thought in turn, it may help someone else as well. I'm still in the process of paying of my debt, but it's going well so far!

It can also be used to post in your blog, or on a forum for lots of smart people. For example, if you wanted to calculate how long it would take to pay off a debt of $1,000 at 15.99% APR with a $30 payment, you would get:

Credit Card Debt Payoff Calculator free from givememyleg - where is that damn thing? Lights On!

Credit Card1

It will take you 3.75 Years to pay off your credit card debt of $1000 with an APR of 15.99% and monthly payment of $30.
You will have made 44.37 payments of $30 for a total of $1,331.06 or 133.11% more than your starting balance of $1,000.00.
You will have paid $331.06 in interest for an average of $0.24 per day, $1.70 per week, $7.36 per month, and $88.28 per year.

Anywho, thought it was something of value that can be shared. If anyone has any feedback, questions, or comments, they are greatly appreciated!

[Carl Carlson IV]

Well, no feedback yet, but that's alright. I know I have something of value here and someone will find it useful.

Anyway, just decided to bump this because I wrote an article on paying minimum payments - The Minimum Payment Trap

If anyone has an comments, that would be great, thanks!

[YakHairSandwich]

I got an idea, just stop paying your credit card bills.

It's a fraudulent system, lending money, and expecting them to pay interest on it, thus creating debt.

It's how the entire monetary system in the US works, if you know anything about the federal reserve.

I charged up all my cards, and then I never paid them, and I have no regrets to this day.

[CoolBee]

Ok - nice calculator

Just checked out an example and it comes up with similar answer to my own that I have - some differences due to how exactly your card company calculates interest etc, but useful for people wanting to get an idea of the best way to go with fixed repayments.

[Carl Carlson IV]

Originally Posted by YakHairSandwich

I got an idea, just stop paying your credit card bills.

It's a fraudulent system, lending money, and expecting them to pay interest on it, thus creating debt.

It's how the entire monetary system in the US works, if you know anything about the federal reserve.

I charged up all my cards, and then I never paid them, and I have no regrets to this day.

Well that's probably the quickest way to free yourself from credit card debt. Yes I know how the federal reserve works but I still use cash to buy things. Have you created your own currency or is that in the works?

How is the credit card system any more fraudulent than the system you described? I hope you got some neat stuff though.

[Cochonette]

My tool is: never activate a credit card!!! The only reason credit card companies are capable of existing is because they are ripping a bunch of people off. And those people are the poorer members of our society - the only reason people get stuck in debt is because they don't have money. They try to trick you into spending lots of money by having very low minimum payments. Then they charge exhorbitant interest rates. They can't do this business for free, much less reward good users for paying on time, and then end up with billions of dollars in revenue, unless they're making big money off of lower class and lower middle class folks.

[Carl Carlson IV]

Originally Posted by Cochonette

My tool is: never activate a credit card!!! The only reason credit card companies are capable of existing is because they are ripping a bunch of people off. And those people are the poorer members of our society - the only reason people get stuck in debt is because they don't have money. They try to trick you into spending lots of money by having very low minimum payments. Then they charge exhorbitant interest rates. They can't do this business for free, much less reward good users for paying on time, and then end up with billions of dollars in revenue, unless they're making big money off of lower class and lower middle class folks.

Right, people who can't control their spending should only be using debit cards/cash. Prevention is preferred. But once you're in the "oh ****" phase, it's nice to know how to get out.

[Cochonette]

people who can't control their spending should only be using debit cards/cash.

And people who can control their spending as well, because credit card companies survive solely on the basis of those who can't pay their bills.

[Carl Carlson IV]

Putting all of the blame on the credit card companies isn't right. Sure, you could say many bad things about how they run their business, how they milk people dry, prey on the weak, and how they make their money, but if used responsibly credit cards are simply a tool to make an electronic transaction. If you use the card when you have the money, and pay off the balance each month, you are not charged any interest and the company makes no profit from you. It's more of a convenience.

Ignorance is a big problem, most people don't know how credit cards work until it's too late (if they even learn then). You don't have to support or use their business, but it's also the consumers fault who spend what they don't have for stuff that they (probably) don't need. It's just an easy trap to fall into if you aren't educated about it before hand.

[Carl Carlson IV]

Originally Posted by CoolBee

Ok - nice calculator

Just checked out an example and it comes up with similar answer to my own that I have - some differences due to how exactly your card company calculates interest etc, but useful for people wanting to get an idea of the best way to go with fixed repayments.

Thanks! I'm also looking to add support for minimum payments so it can be compared vs a fixed payment. What differences did you notice in the interest?

[James81]

Originally Posted by YakHairSandwich

I got an idea, just stop paying your credit card bills.

It's a fraudulent system, lending money, and expecting them to pay interest on it, thus creating debt.

It's how the entire monetary system in the US works, if you know anything about the federal reserve.

I charged up all my cards, and then I never paid them, and I have no regrets to this day.

LMAO

This is a fantastic idea! If you want to destroy your credit rating. Dun dun dun!

But perhaps if you stopped paying your credit card bills, you might also make the lifestyle change that you enjoy being hounded by phone on daily basis and do not need debt again for the next 7 years. I dunno. Whatever works.

Dave Ramsey talks about the Debt Snowball method in his material. Pick up a copy of The Total Money Makeover for some really sound, debt-free type of advice to handling personal finances. (No, it's not hte quickest and most effective way to build wealth with the resources we have today, but it IS the soundest, least stressful, and most solid way I know of to eliminate debt and build wealth.)

[Carl Carlson IV]

Originally Posted by James81

Dave Ramsey talks about the Debt Snowball method in his material. Pick up a copy of The Total Money Makeover for some really sound, debt-free type of advice to handling personal finances. (No, it's not hte quickest and most effective way to build wealth with the resources we have today, but it IS the soundest, least stressful, and most solid way I know of to eliminate debt and build wealth.)

Just added it to my wish list on amazon, will get it with my next batch of books, thanks for the recommendation!

[Cochonette]

Originally Posted by Carl Carlson IV

Putting all of the blame on the credit card companies isn't right. Sure, you could say many bad things about how they run their business, how they milk people dry, prey on the weak, and how they make their money, but if used responsibly credit cards are simply a tool to make an electronic transaction. If you use the card when you have the money, and pay off the balance each month, you are not charged any interest and the company makes no profit from you. It's more of a convenience.

Ignorance is a big problem, most people don't know how credit cards work until it's too late (if they even learn then). You don't have to support or use their business, but it's also the consumers fault who spend what they don't have for stuff that they (probably) don't need. It's just an easy trap to fall into if you aren't educated about it before hand.

You have not understood my argument. I am saying you must change the system because it is inherently flawed. It is not about a particular credit card company trying to rip people off simply because it happens to be made EASY by the system. It is the fact that the way credit card companies work is INHERENTLY exploitative. At least, that is based on my knowledge of credit card companies. I'm not an expert on them, so feel free to enlighten me - but only if you have understood my previous posts first.

But this is true for other cases as well, like the exploitation of the Third World by the First World. First World exploits Third World through its professed economic system and leads it into ever-increasing poverty, First World always blames poverty and refuses any responsibility for itself, other than donating a band-aid to glue onto the problem.

[CoolBee]

I know people who have done away with all their credit cards etc when they move abroad 'to make a fresh start' and then for some reason - ill health, aging parents, refusal of new country to renew visas etc, have had to return to the UK.

Without a credit rating in the UK you are a non-person and it is incredibly difficult to get restarted, difficult to rent property, difficult to open a bank account, difficult even in some cases to prove you even exist!

My own view is to keep cards and accounts open and use occasionally to keep them all active in the various systems (and to switch to online banking and no paper statements as well to limit possibility of fraud from postal delivery causes).

@CCIV - the differences are just the way that card companies calculate stuff here. For example, if you pay off part not the whole debt, you are charged interest on the whole debt for an additional month. The revised debt then becomes the new whole debt. Also, exact number of days - banking days - and exactly when payments arrive. It's not a huge problem and I don't think you could produce a simple calculator to cover all possibilities because many people dont know the exact conditions of their cards!