https://www.financeglobe.com/Finance/Articles/articles/409/1/Credit-Card-Interest-Rate-Reduction-Scam/Page1.html

I wouln't trust a third-party to negotiate my credit card debt with my issuer. Giving my personal info over the phone to my authorized CSRs is scary enough...

Sure thing!

Column headings
Card name (alphabetical)
Current month
Limit
APR
Min. payment
Balance
Available credit
Utilization
Average Utilization


Having it this way is a lot easier to remember to check your accounts even if you have 0% utilization but have cards that have annual fees whether billed annually or monthly (like Hooters).

Are you familiar with how to use Excel? If not, send me your email addy and I will send you the spreadsheet that will also contain two additional tabs. One is a calculator- where you enter some of the data from the card list and it is connected to spreadsheet #2 that will automatically calculate "avalanche" or "snowball" payments which will let you see how long it will take you to pay off your cards and how much interest you will pay at the current APR. Very helpful tool, well worth it!

honeyb - can you explain this spread sheet thing. I am interested and don't know the how to...?

I keep an Excel spreadsheet and mine has not only the utilization overall but for each card as well.

Ooops, I am waaay off. I thought Hana was talking about Excel being removed from her PC.

You could also try some personal finance software with notifications regarding payments, credit limits, and balances.

This is all free with Mint.com. However, to see utilization habits for each specific card may be difficult. With Mint you're able to see all your transactions from every account you have in one place. This allows for you to see spending habits with graphs and lists. You can also categorize transactions and choose to only see habits in the specific category - all with a monthly budget watching each transaction keeping you on track.

See this link for Mint information: https://www.financeglobe.com/SocialNet/forum/showthread.php?t=1581

Edit: I don't understand how one spreadsheet could show all your utilizations (transactions) without you inputting them every month. To me, that sounds time consuming and unnecessary..?

hi hanna,

you're right, the excel file is not there anymore. i tried to get the file too, but it opens this website that says: "This webpage is parked free courtesy of GoDaddy.com".

So I guess whoever the owner of that site took it down, or wasnt able to maintain the site anymore...

So if anybody here still has the file, if they could kindly give another link where we can download it, or send the file to us, we would truly appreciate it. =)

I have Microsoft Excel on my PC but there's no excel file from the link. How can I access that excel file?

Hum, I wonder if you have not completely installed all of the Microsoft files. Let's see here,..... 1st of all, do you have the Microsoft Office Disk?

Another way is to click:
1. Start----> All programs ---> Microsoft Office----> Excel

If not, I believe it is possible for you to see if it is installed in your PC, by clicking:
1. Start----> Control Panel--->Add/Remove Hardware

If not, ......: someone will be in here to assist you. I am not PC smart at all. I have a funny feeling that the error is minor because sometimes I will install something and select only for a few programs to be added. I don't use all of Microsoft programs, so I unchecked all that I do not want installed. It frees up space on my PC.

4. Freedom from Debt https://www.financeglobe.com/Finance/Articles/articles/122/1/Freedom-from-Debt/Page1.html

I like Mary's article. Very practicle advices. One of the surest ways to becoming debt free is to "Stop incurring new debt."

Hi Everyone]http://www.innovativepolitics.com/CC_Matrix.xls[/URL]

It is in Excel format, so you will need Microsoft Excel to use it. I also included a few examples so you can get started.

I hope it helps somebody!

James

I have Microsoft Excel on my PC but there's no excel file from the link. How can I access that excel file?

You are very welcome!

Oh my, never be afraid to post anything in here because we strive to help those who have questions. If you really feel that much uncomfortable, here are some links to provide information of what strategy members here has used.

1. Snowballing https://www.financeglobe.com/SocialNet/forum/showthread.php?t=784&highlight=debt

2. Debt-Get-Out-It https://www.financeglobe.com/SocialNet/forum/showthread.php?t=550&highlight=debt

3. Need help with old debt https://www.financeglobe.com/SocialNet/forum/showthread.php?t=759&highlight=debt

4. Freedom from Debt https://www.financeglobe.com/Finance/Articles/articles/122/1/Freedom-from-Debt/Page1.html

5. Intro to Debt Consolidation https://www.financeglobe.com/Finance/Articles/articles/12/1/Intro-to-Debt-Consolidation/Page1.html

6. Entire Credit Card Debt Articles https://www.financeglobe.com/Finance/Articles/categories/Credit-and-Debt/

Hope this helps!

Ps, if you have Excel, take a look at the link that Wildrage provided.

Thanks for the links Meya! I started with the fifth and it's very informative. I'l read the other links later and check back on the link from Wildrage.

Julienne, creditors have tightened their belts in the lending department so if you expect to use the cards after paying them down because you don't have savings to fall back on, then hold off on paying your cards. Credit card companies (ccc) jump on the chance to chase the balance (lower total available credit close to outstanding balance) on a credit card that's being paid off and don't give you any breathing room. You have to take that into consideration.

Also, it is recommended that you pay off your debt starting with the account with the highest interest rate. While that's true, it doesn't work for me. I want to pay off my Chase card which has the lowest balance when compared to the other cards I'm carrying a balance on. When you try to tackle the cards with the lowest balances first, you will feel like you're making progress which will encourage you to pay off the rest of your cards. However, if you plan to start paying your debt on the cards with highest balances, you will feel as though you're not making any progress since it's taking a long time to have it paid off and it will discourage you from paying off the rest of your cards. That's just my two cents.

Thanks too hjm331! you have a point and you're right about that. I feel the same way because when I look at my credit card with the lowest balance, I always think that I'm almost there (zeroing my credit).

Julienne, first thing is to have a budget. Make a list of all your creditors and what is owed, obviously bills such as electric, gas, water, phone, etc, fluctuate, but I'm sure you have an idea of what they run every month.

As far as credit cards go, some prioritize by paying the cards which have the highest debt, some pay based on highest APR. Then again, cards with the highest APR might have the smallest amount owed.

If at all possible pay more than the minimum, stop using the cards unless absolutely needed, pay consistently, and once you zero out all your cards, then manage them where you only have to use one, maybe two when needed.

As with any budget Julienne, pay yourself first, your savings is just as important as paying down your personal debt.

Thanks smcc. I thought paying myself first wasn't wise, considering the debts I'm still paying. It's good to know that I'm doin' somethin' right.

I say knock out the small balances first too. This was you can make larger payments to the highest balance later.

Excellent way to start!