Looking at Credit Card Debt Differently
by Hope
I am so excited to being on my way to getting to really tear into my debt. But I do believe I need to prioritize paying back my personal loans first, then the credit cards. However, I’ve found a TikTok creator (not an affiliate link, just a link to the TikTok creator’s profile) that gave me a different way of looking at credit card debt. One that I enjoy.
And I thought I would try out her perspective on my existing credit card debt. Now she’s all about paying off the debt, but also takes into consideration the method and how it affects your credit score. (I used to be very concerned about my credit score, but since I have a house and a car and plenty of credit card debt, I don’t really think about it very often.)
I think her method fascinates me because it’s kind of like a game, and we all know I love money games and keeping this journey interesting.
Credit Card by Percentage
| Card | Limit | 89% | 69% | 49% | 29% | 9% | February, 2024 Total |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| CC – Wander | $1,650 | $1,451 | $1.139 | $809 | $473 | $149 | $1,735 |
| CC – USAA | $5,000 | $4,450 | $3,450 | $2,450 | $1,450 | $450 | $4,966 |
| CC – Amazon | $1,500 | $1,335 | $1,035 | $735 | $435 | $135 | $1,481 |
| CC – Sams | $1,000 | $890 | $690 | $490 | $290 | $90 | $1,133 |
| CC – Frontier | $3,700 | $3,293 | $2,553 | $1,813 | $1,073 | $333 | $3,676 |
| CC – Apple | $500 | Paid off every month | |||||
| Total CC Debt | $11,419 | $8,867 | $6,297 | $3,721 | $1,157 | $11,971 | |
Let’s Talk About It
My take away from this is that instead of focusing on paying off one card at a time. Perhaps I should focus on paying down every one of my credit cards to each percentage level. Focus on one, then another until they are all at the next lowest level, and then start the cycle again.
I guess the question I have to ask myself is would that be as motivating as just paying one off at a time? Seeing them all go down pretty steadily versus just one at a time? And does one way versus the other make much financial difference?
What are your thoughts?
Hope is a digital marketing manager and foster/adoptive single mom to five kids. She has run her own consulting company for over 15 years and took a leap of faith returning to the corporate world in 2021 to a job and team she loves! Hope began sharing her journey with the BAD community in the Spring of 2015 and feels like she has finally mastered the balance between family first and wise financial decisions.