Why would you do that? Combining them will do nothing to get them paid off quicker. It will open them all up so you can charge them up again.

Follow Dave Ramsey’s debt snowball. Pay the minimums on all of them. On the one with the lowest balance, put ALL your extra money toward it. When it is paid off, take that minimum payment, plus the extra you were paying and apply it to the next smallest debt. Keep rolling this until you are paid off.

MATHEMATICALLY it would make more sense to pay the one with the highest interest rate first. BUT, you don’t have a math problem here, you have a behavior problem. Paying the smallest one down will give you a quick reward and will encourage you to stay on the plan. Yes, you may end up paying an extra $30 or $40 in interest over the course of the plan, but you are already paying double or triple on that latte you charged a year ago.

In the future, only charge what you can afford to PAY IN FULL as soon as the bill arrives.

Also, get together a cash emergency fund so this won’t happen again.

We are debt-free except our house and have about 6-month’s worth of expenses in the bank. We drive two paid in full cars that are only a few years old and we pay for everything in cash.Credit cards can actually be consolidated using other credit cards instead of a separate loan. Instead of having debt on several different cards, you can combine all your separate debts onto one card. This can work only if you are a responsible person, who will not again charge the paid off accounts back up.

If you hear about a ‘balance transfer’, this is what the credit card companies will be talking about. Basically, you can take the balance from several different credit cards and transfer them to a single card. You probably get ‘balance transfer’ offers once in a while from competing credit card companies if you already have one or more cards.

If you’re considering a balance transfer, be sure to know what you’re getting by reading the small print. Usually these offers will come with a very low introductory interest rate, which is probably a lot lower than what you’re paying on cards you’ve had for a while. Usually this interest rate will only hold for a certain number of months, and after that, the credit card company can raise the rate as much as they please.

If you can pay off the balances that you transfer before the rates go up, then a balance transfer is a great way to consolidate your credit card debt. However, if you are unable to pay it off completely the higher interest rate will kick in.You have a couple of options if your credit is indeed great. The first would be a bank or better than that a credit union asking for just that… a bill consolidation loan. Anything short of that is going to hurt your credit. You will probably have a higher interest rate (than a mortgage, car loan or other secured loan) but still less than you are paying now in interest. The good news is that it will be for a fixed period of time. To determine the time you need, make sure to amortize the loan so you don’t end up paying more than you’re able. You won’t want a 10 year loan just to keep your payments the same. While I understand your desire to just have one monthly payment, does it matter if you are paying one, two or fifty creditors??? Why not just look at creating a repayment plan of your own to tackle each card until they are paid in full? That could be your Plan B if you don’t qualify for a debt consolidation. Just because your intention is to pay off all credit cards and never use them again doesn’t mean the bank will see that. They will see how much credit you are looking for and your ability to pay it. You may be looking to go from $10,000 to $20,000 worth of a debt load and then defaulting on it. People do that, you know. It’s great that you are fired up to get out of debt but that fire could backfire on you and your creditors. Look at increasing your credit lines, transferring debt without penalties or whatever it takes to get out, and stay out, of consumer debt. Start with a workable budget to get yourself out of debt in 3-5 years with the debts and income you already have. The more you use credit cards, the less you are able to do on your own. You already know the costs of credit and what you get (or don’t get) for that cost. Rebel. Start living on cash and save your need for credit when you are ready for a house, car or other major purchase.

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