I have enough money set adide to pay down all of my debt (student loans and the $800 balance on my credit card). This would take up almost all of my cash. Is it better to pay it off and have no debt, or save it to put down on a house/condo in the fall?
Tough question but if it was me I would pay off my debits first.Than work on your down payment for a house. I was in a situation like that before and now I wish I had paid my debts off because if puts a damper on my credit. At least you could apply for a loan for a house if your credit is paid and in good standing.
I vote to save it for the downpayment. Student loans are considered "good debt" and as long as you make your payment on time, it doesn't negatively affect your credit rating. If you have an $800 balance on a card with a limit of, say, $5000, that is good too because your ratio is low. If it's $800 with a limit of $1000, you may want to pay a little of it off to make the ratio better.
jj wrote: I vote to save it for the downpayment. Student loans are considered "good debt" and as long as you make your payment on time, it doesn't negatively affect your credit rating. If you have an $800 balance on a card with a limit of, say, $5000, that is good too because your ratio is low. If it's $800 with a limit of $1000, you may want to pay a little of it off to make the ratio better.
This is what I think too. As long as your total cc balances aren't throwing off your debt to income or your balance is high compared to your limit like jj said, it really doesn't "hurt" you for it to be out there. It becomes a problem when the opposite is true. And when I bought my house i found that we needed more upfront than I thought we would between closing costs, % expected down, upfront insurance we had to pay, etc etc.
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jj wrote: I vote to save it for the downpayment. Student loans are considered "good debt" and as long as you make your payment on time, it doesn't negatively affect your credit rating. If you have an $800 balance on a card with a limit of, say, $5000, that is good too because your ratio is low. If it's $800 with a limit of $1000, you may want to pay a little of it off to make the ratio better. This is what I think too. As long as your total cc balances aren't throwing off your debt to income or your balance is high compared to your limit like jj said, it really doesn't "hurt" you for it to be out there. It becomes a problem when the opposite is true. And when I bought my house i found that we needed more upfront than I thought we would between closing costs, % expected down, upfront insurance we had to pay, etc etc.
I agree with JJ and Laken. Some debt is okay.. and you are probably going to need more down payment money than you think, after all is said and done.
First I would pay off the credit card, but I would continue to use the credit card and just pay it off in full when ever you use it. I would continue making Student Loan Payments as scheduled and use the money as a down payment on a condo/house.
On a side note If you pay of your card don't close it. By having the card open it show a low debt to income ratio and affects your credit score positively.