Last year, I had over 15K in credit card debt on one card. At my worst, I was almost maxed out at 19K. My APR kept climbing, and by December 2023, it was at 16%. My minimum payment was around $460 a month, and nearly half of that was going to interest. No matter how much I paid, it felt like I wasn’t getting anywhere.
I finally looked into balance transfers and got an offer from Discover. The transfer fee was a little over $400, and I was able to move 14K over to the new card with 0% interest for 18 months. I did the math and set a goal to pay about $750 a month to wipe it out within that time. Technically, I could’ve just paid that toward the original card, but seeing the balance actually drop instead of getting eaten up by interest made all the difference.
After the transfer, I focused on knocking out the leftover balance on the original card, which was way easier without interest adding up. A couple of times I had to pay less than $750 on the Discover card, but I adjusted my budget and I’m still on track to clear it before the promo period ends.
It’s been motivating to see the balance go down every month. I check my Credit Karma more than I’d like to admit. I know not everyone is in a position to do this, but if you can, it really helps. I’ve got about $5,000 left to go, and by the end of the year, I’ll be free of credit card debt.
Maybe next I’ll be smart and start throwing extra money at my car loan… we’ll see.
I take advantage of 0% offers whenever I can. Paying a one-time 3% transfer fee is way better than getting hit with interest every month. It really helps when you’re making payments that actually go toward the balance instead of just covering interest.
Frances said: @Nico
Where do you find a 3% transfer fee? Every offer I’ve seen lately is 4.99%. Still a good deal, but if I could get 3%, I’d do it in a heartbeat.
Balance transfers are a great tool, but the real trick is not running up the balance again. I’ve done it before and still ended up back in the same hole. This time, I’m making better choices and actually sticking to the plan.
@Zora
You’re right. It’s easy to swipe the card and harder to pay it off later. They raise your credit limit, and before you know it, you’re stuck making minimum payments again. The key is breaking the cycle.
@Teo
Even if you never pay late, they can still raise your interest rate. I learned that the hard way. Credit cards are designed to keep people in debt. I’m trying to teach my kids to avoid the trap altogether.
@Zora
That’s great. Credit card companies make it easy to spend and hard to get out. If more people avoided them, we’d all be better off. Hopefully, the economy improves so fewer people have to rely on credit just to get by.
Balance transfers work if you stick to the plan. I used them when I had 77K in credit card debt. My mistake was not changing my spending habits. I’d pay off a chunk, then start using the cards again. You have to stay disciplined. Sounds like you’re on track, so keep going and don’t let the balance creep back up!
Wait until you’re tracking savings instead of debt… way more fun. Three years ago, I started saving, and now I’m about to hit 100K in my account. Less than 1% of Americans have that. You got this!
I’ve been using this method for years to pay down divorce debt. A one-time $400 transfer fee is nothing compared to what you save in interest. I also used Discover’s 18-month offer and it worked great. Glad to see someone else using the same strategy. Keep going!