I can't seem to end my (0%) Credit Card Debt (Just a joke. Lighten up people)

transfer all your debt to cars on which your BT rate is over 14.9%.

this has proven to be an excellent incentive to get you to payoff your cards sooner.

veryhungry made a small typo. He meant transfer all your debt to cards on which your BT rate is over 14.9%. And he was kidding.

Srenna: Ironically, AlpineWhite is kidding as well.

AlpineWhite: Yeah, I hear your pain. I was at $130K and I've managed to get mine down to $118K, but it looks like I won't be able to reduce my debt until my cards let me pay off the bulk of the balance in March or April 2005. Unfortunately, Citi and Chase won't let me pay off the last $40K until September of next year. Looks like I'm stuck earning 4% in a 6-month CD at SMCU and 3% on the rest at Superior Savings!

What will I ever do?

Please help! My credit scores are so screwed up right now -- hovering between 585 (EXP) and 640 (TUC)!

Edit: Added "SMCU" as bank for the promotional 4% CD to reduce further confusion.

omniviper said: ... ouchies.... uhhh ever heard of a gun? a noose? or a rope?

Nah im kidn. If you cant afford to pay, file for bankruptcy. Its not like you have a choice from the looks of it.

Why would you declare bankruptcy because you have $120K or so pulled out of credit cards at 0% and have that cash stashed at ING making 2.2%? Wouldn't an easier solution be to just pull the money out of ING when necessary to pay off the cards? Oh I get it, you didn't understand the OP's sarcasm.

Questions:
1) What cards offer 0% BT and no fees for BT?
2) How do you take out cash and put it into an ING account? Isn't that a cash withdrawal instead of a BT? Don't you get charged on cash advances even though you have 0% BT?
3) What is a generally "good" credit score?
4) If you charge close to the max of your credit line, is that a negative for your credit score? If so, what is a good percentage of your credit line you should not go over to preserve a good credit score? For example - don't go over 70% of your credit line.

I am looking to open up 0% BT and no fees and get out cash or something to put into ING. But don't know how to do it. Any advice will be greatly appreciated. Thanks.

- Chris

Batman5347 said: Questions:
1) What cards offer 0% BT and no fees for BT?
2) How do you take out cash and put it into an ING account? Isn't that a cash withdrawal instead of a BT? Don't you get charged on cash advances even though you have 0% BT?
3) What is a generally "good" credit score?
4) If you charge close to the max of your credit line, is that a negative for your credit score? If so, what is a good percentage of your credit line you should not go over to preserve a good credit score? For example - don't go over 70% of your credit line.1) All of these questions can be answered using the Search feature and a couple hours worth of reading. In addition the knowledge you gain beyond what you pick up will save you from asking similar questions in the future.

2) None of this is helping either AlpineWhite or myself recover from our admittedly self-inflicted overutilized positions. Won't anybody help us?
76hhma said: Seriously, over the long term, these BTs will impact your FICO and credit situations (at least your debt-to-income ratio remains high that may prohibit you to apply for credit cards/mortgages, jobs, etc.). There is a trade-off for everything. JMHO.Your FICO score has no memory. If I were to take the money out of savings and repay my debts...um, you know, if they'd let me...my score would recover pretty much immediately. As soon as the next billing period closed and the new balance was reported to the CRAs, I'd have a brand new score with no knowledge that I'd been sitting on a balance for the last 6, 12, or 15 months.

4% is toomuch, howcan I get it???

alpinewhite said: I went to:

Superior Savings

and can't find anything near 4% on the 6-month CD.

http://www.superiorsavings.com/main.htm
and go to specials

gnat said: but where is this 4% 6-month CD?!??
I think it's elsewhere, because "the rest" went into Superior Savings.

alpinewhite said: Beginning mid-2003, I started to rack up (0%) CC debt. By early 2004, I had $125k of (0%) CC debt from MBNA, BofA, Discover, and Chase. I managed to get the debt down to $67k as the 0% offers were expiring. Now, I've gotten hooked again with more (0%) debt from BofA and AT&T Rewards. I'm up to $123k again!!! BofA is preventing me from paying off the (0%) loan until May 2005. And AT&T Rewards doesn't want me to pay them off until March 2005. Help!! I can't seem to get over the addiction of borrowing from these 0% credit cards and making money from my ING account. Where is it going to stop?

I don't understand why this is getting a negative rating... if you are borrowing at 0% interest and making 2.2% on the money from your ING account... all I have to say is brillant!!! If not, and this entire post is a joke, then you belong in "off topic".

I had about $25k on 0% offers this summer, i decided it wasnt worth the hassel for the 2.2% from ING.... when for opening closing a citi card you can easy make $120 on 2 months... $100 opening bonus, $15 CP sign up, and $5 online statements

although, if you are managin $100k plus I guess it is worth it

alpinewhite said: Where is everyone else parking their 0% loot?

I had about this amount of BT debt at the beginning of the year which is due this December/January. I'm continuing to hold I bonds from 2002-2003 at 3.49-4%, CDs from PenFed, and ING with 0% money.... but have paid down 30% in the past month or so. I found it worthwhile to pay off some of my MBNA debt (which they really try to prevent with their $15 mo. pymt) to be able to open some 10% CashBack reward cards. With non-BT MBNA cards their billpay feature is very useful... as are 0%BT cards that you can continue performing no-fee BTs throughout the promotion.

I have begun to rethink my position about 0% debt....a year and a half ago, I bought ibonds with 35K 0% which I sheepishly accepted because I knew I could pay it off with ibonds. Looking back it was a darn good thing... With bank CDs paying so low, 0% and cc rewards have more than made up the difference. I realize this is piddling amounts but since it is risk free....what the heck!

BTW, this thread is sounding like an AA 12 step meeting....My name is tooshy and I am a 0% addict The thing is we're not addicted, because all of us know if it didn't make sense we would stop in a NY minute. This thread is funny though. Now I'm envious that there are bigger 0% addicts than myself....

My thoughts regarding the 0% BTs vs. easy rewards is that, preferably, I'd have both.

I haven't jumped on the HGW1 deals, even though I'd like to, just because I *know* that my credit lines are utilized beyond all comprehension and I really would rather not lose my existing reasonably-sized MBNA credit line.

The only thought I have about these deals is that at $250 a pop, it seems like it'd be even more work to manage than my 0% BTs are and, hey, to earn that 10% refund actually costs me money.

Yeah, yeah, yeah...I realize that I'd be spending the money anyways on *something* during the course of the month and of course I'd rather be earning 10% Cash Back, instead of the 1% (REI Dividend from USBank on general purchases) or 3% (Cash Back via AMEX TrueRewards on Restaurant spending) I am now, but these are sacrifices I have to make with my current approach to credit line utilization.

mrbean said: tooshy said: I realize this is piddling amounts but since it is risk free....what the heck!

Well I wouldn't call it piddling amounts if it's several hundred. But I wouldn't call it risk free either. The biggest risk is me not paying the min bill. It hasn't happened yet but it sure made me ask "did I pay my bill yet" more often than I'd like.

It is piddling amounts when you compare to riskier forms of investments where the return is 8+%. Which is why I said 'risk free' in the same sentence

I still have to develop a sure proof credit card paying habit...since I use MBNA billpay, schedule a credit card bill payment right after MBNA statement cycle ends to maximize float time.

know exactly what xerty means, i have really learned to love my $50k or so of 5.25 cds and my 80k or so of i bonds - they look so nice and have become part of my family. And I couldn't afford them if not for other peoples money.

don't know but I am sure if I do sell them it'll be early in the year when they have no tax impact, ahem yes I am fooling myself. Somehow a tax hit tax year 05 seems soooooo much further away than one in 04 - obviously only a I bond issue, taxes on cds come along quite regularly.

I still prefer rebates vs. 0% deals. Been there with large sum (0% deal) when the saving interest rate is high. Now I prefer taking money (rebate) in rather than owing people money.

Managing MBNA HGW1/HGW4 is now a piece of cake for me, once I get used to it. I am conservative and just do not like being in debt. Mortgage is a good debt.

So if one has large sum of 0% deal, one may not get the rebate deals at the same time due to high debt-to-income ratios. To have both may be a good balance but with today's interest rate, it is just not tempting for me to have any 0% deal.

Just checked, the rating to your thread is "-0". Didn't know such a thing existed .

Wrong forum, mod should move this to HOT DEALS forum. Great job op!