Saturday, August 8, 2009

Pay off car loan or credit card?

Just received my tax return and have a few extra thousand to either pay off my car loan or pay down my credit card. Seems like the easy answer would be to pay whichever has the highest interest rate - right? This would be the credit card in my situation. Well, I%26#039;ll be having a baby here shortly so finances will be a little tighter that usual. If I pay off the car that%26#039;s $400 per month I can wipe away clean and then pay as little or as much as I want on the credit card (as long as it%26#039;s above the minimum of about $150, of course). This will free up some of my monthly income once baby arrives.On the flip side, I know if I put it towards the credit card, I%26#039;ll be saving money in the long run. Any suggestions?



Pay off car loan or credit card?

Sounds as though you%26#039;ve already given it a lot of thought. Your best option may be to pay off your car. You%26#039;ll have one less bill to pay right off the bat and, as you mentioned, a few more dollars to apply towards your credit car payment.



I think you come out ahead either way, but with a baby on the way, having extra money now versus down the road may be of more importance to you.



Good luck with the new baby.



Pay off car loan or credit card?

Pay off the credit card, sell the car and buy a reliable used car with cash. put the extra money in a college fund for your child.



Pay off car loan or credit card?

You pretty well have it figured out, but the $400 monthly would be better because if you don%26#039;t use all of it each month you can send extra on your credit card and be ahead in the long run. May be better to eliminate one bill completely,



Pay off car loan or credit card?

Honestly? Take out a line of credit and get a better interest rate and pay off your credit card with that.. THEN put some of the money towards the credit card and some of the money towards the car. DEAL?



Pay off car loan or credit card?

Credit card or a little to both.



Pay off car loan or credit card?

Yeah, I%26#039;d get rid of the one with the highest interest rate... my opinion



Pay off car loan or credit card?

I would pay off the car loan, but then again it all depends on how much your credit card balance is.



Pay off car loan or credit card?

I would pay off the car, then the money you have been applying toward the car payment use that to pay off the credit card. That way you%26#039;ll own the car free and clear and pay off the credit card real quick.



Pay off car loan or credit card?

If it%26#039;s an either-or situation, you%26#039;ve pretty much summed it up.



What%26#039;s more valuable to you:



Better cash flow for a few months, or



Lower total interest costs with the flexibility of re-advancing on the credit card if you were in a pinch?



I%26#039;m sure you know your situation best. Personally, I%26#039;d opt for #2 with the baby in the equation.



Pay off car loan or credit card?

Based on your info, I would put it against the one with the highest interest... the credit card. That also has another plu: if you get in a cash crunch, you can take a cash advance. Can%26#039;t do that with an auto loan



Pay off car loan or credit card?

Credit card. People tend to not fully realize how much they are paying in interest each month and how much it adds up. While paying off you%26#039;re card may give you more %26quot;play money%26quot; each month, paying off your credit card is going to say you a whole lot more money in the long run. Paying the minimum every month will increase the amount of time you%26#039;re going to take to pay it back (for some people it doesn%26#039;t even cover the interest eventually.) Not only will you not be paying excess money in interest, but you%26#039;ll need the better credit score as time goes on.. even more so with a new child on the way. A better credit card score can help in many many ways, like insurance (which is other based on your credit score.)



Kill the credit card... best choice in the long run, and the future is what you really want to think about.



Pay off car loan or credit card?

First you need a emergency fund 3-6 months of expenses.



Secondly, pay off debt that is secured like the car loan.



Look at this way. If the recessions hits you hard and you miss a car payment they will repo. Miss a credit card payment and they just screw up credit report.



Pay off car loan or credit card?

Pay the car off first and then make credit payments it is very simple and would be only an expense of about $150-200 instead of $400 for car note and would help you up save for your new baby blessing CONGRATULATIONS



Pay off car loan or credit card?

Pay off the one with the highest interest rate.



Pay off car loan or credit card?

The deciding factor is not just the interest rate, it is the principal amount TIMES the interest rate



A $10,000 loan at 10% (typical auto loan) accrues interest at the exact same rate as a $5,000 loan at 20% (typical credit card) interest (10000 * .10 = 1000; 5000 * .20 = 1000)



You want to get loose of the one that is accruing interest at the faster rate.



Why not ditch them both for a lower rate personal loan? At http://www.prosper.com/join/loan/imxavie... you can get a personal loan at even 6% if you qualify, and pay off the other two. Then you%26#039;re paying far less interest.



Pay off car loan or credit card?

Probably best to have a rest.looks like you can get some ideas here.http://carloan.featured-resources.info/a...



Pay off car loan or credit card?

There is a bunch of useful information like articles,pictures,videos here to help answer your quetion.http://creditcard.expertips.info/card-ch...



Pay off car loan or credit card?

You have to clear credit card outstanding as long a as you are able to do so. Once you start doing the min. payment , then it will begin to accumulate with interest onwards and onwards.



I just have some articles on credit card debt : Consolidate Credit Card Debt To Solve Financial Problems? , Reducing Credit Card Debt - It%26#039;s Never Too Late To Start , Credit Card Balance Transfer, if you are interest, you can take a look at http://avoid-bankruptcy-get-debt-consoli...

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