STYLETHREAD -- LET'S TALK SHOP!

Metric · Gucci

oops...need $ advice

Starstuff · Kenneth Cole

I *personally* would pay as much as I can, as often as I can. The interest is based on the balance, and the more you can pay down the balance, the less interest.

At least I think that's how it works. Better to keep your savings separate -- God forbid you have an emergency and you need it. If you used your savings to pay your card, and then need money, you're back to square one.

ILoveChoo · Hermes

pay it off. why pay interest on it?

tara t · Marc Jacobs

i feel very icky if i don't have at least 500 in savings. i don't right now either. so if i were you, i'd pay as much as you could every 2 weeks. 500.00 isn't a huge debt to worry about. if you pay as much as you can every 2 weeks, it will be gone in no time :)

but i suck too. i've been tossing money every which way for the wedding as well as the new house. but i haven't been shopping much.

luckylily · Gucci

At first glance I think it makes the most sense to use the savings, however I don't always think that is the best idea. I personally would be freaked out if I had no savings whatsoever. I'm always worried about my dog, like what if there is some emergency that comes up. That was the first thing I thought of when I read your post since you have a dog too.

And, seriously, $500 isn't much and it probably isn't going to take you that long to pay it off and won't add that much interest. I'd pay as much as I can as often as I can. Maybe sacrafice a few coffees, magazines, or nights out with the goal of paying it off in two months or less.

Hermione · Kate Spade

suze orman addresses this point: she says there's no point in having savings if you've got debt that you're paying interest on.

pay the card off with your savings, if there's an emergency, use the card. that's what it's for!

after you've done that, put every bit you can away into your savings until it's replensihed.

voila! no interest, no harm done. if there's any emergency, use the credit you've just freed up.

Dizzy · Marc Jacobs

I agree with the other girls, just pay it off as much as you can... and don't feel dumb. i do this all the time too. I had my card paid off at the end of the summer an it's sooooooo not now...

lynnie · Chanel

Hermione wrote:

suze orman addresses this point: she says there's no point in having savings if you've got debt that you're paying interest on.
pay the card off with your savings, if there's an emergency, use the card. that's what it's for!
after you've done that, put every bit you can away into your savings until it's replensihed.
voila! no interest, no harm done. if there's any emergency, use the credit you've just freed up.

i agree to a point- but i dont think you should wipe your savings out by paying this off. Not every emergency takes a credit card. I think you should pay AS MUCH as you can- maybe borrow a little from savings- and then pay the rest of the card and pay back your savings asap.

theotherjess · Chanel

I know practically nothing about this but can you return any of the stuff?

Starstuff · Kenneth Cole

lynnie wrote:

but i dont think you should wipe your savings out by paying this off. Not every emergency takes a credit card.

I agree. I had to take my cat to the vet, but ended up need a vet house call. Since I was a new client, the vet would only take cash. I was glad to have a little cushion, so (like I said before), keep a little in savings.

NCshopper · Hermes

I'd pay it off as much as you can when you can. $500 isn't going to be wiping you out with interest, so I don't really see the need to wipe out your savings right now to pay it off. But it also depends on your interest rate and how long it would take you to pay it off.

If you're paying an 8% interest rate, but your savings is in a savings account only making 3%, then it might be worth it to pay off the CC. But if you're going to take several months to pay it off, then you might want to leave the savings where it is as "insurance" if you have an emergency. Does that make sense?

alb · Marc Jacobs

Hermione wrote:

suze orman addresses this point: she says there's no point in having savings if you've got debt that you're paying interest on. pay the card off with your savings, if there's an emergency, use the card. that's what it's for! after you've done that, put every bit you can away into your savings until it's replensihed. voila! no interest, no harm done. if there's any emergency, use the credit you've just freed up.

I agree with this. I know you've worked hard to accumulate your savings, but I'd pay this off and be done with it. Also, like NCS pointed out, the interest on your CC is likely to be higher than the interest on your savings acct. If you don't have any debt, you can focus on building your savings back up quickly, and chances are really slim that an emergency for which you couldn't use a CC would come up during that short time period. My hubby and I have been faced with this issue, and we paid the CC off first. As scary as it is to be without savings, it's even scarier to have CC debt IMO.