For example, the cards I have that currently have the highest APR’s are Orbitz (23.9%), Hooters (21.45%), Target (25.24%) and Best Buy (22.99%).

First of all, I have to admit that I wasn’t completely aware that these particular cards had such outlandish interest rates. Which is a grave mistake to make if you’re trying to clean up your credit. You have to know what you’re paying. I knew that Hooters was pretty high and Target, just because it’s Target. I did not really know Orbitz and Best Buy were though, which is another reason to keep a spreadsheet of your credit cards.

The good news is that the Target card and Best Buy card have the two lowest balances, so essentially the Snowball Method would work. I could pay those off and then “snowball” those monthly payments onto the next lowest balance. BUT, the next lowest balances, are the lowest APR’s on my list of credit cards which are Capital One Platinum (13.99%) and Juniper (15.99%). So paying in order by highest APR is not always going to work with the Snowball Method.

I think instead, I’ll go to the next credit card with the highest APR as these are not only ridiculous but a large chunk of money. The two very lowest APRs are the Chase cards that I’m on the Hardship Program with. Part of the agreement with them is that my APR would be lowered to 6.00%, but the cards are closed. I’m not even fiddling with those at the moment because the payments are taken directly from my bank account and aren’t costing me as much in interest as a couple of the other cards. I also have to keep in mind that my debt to credit ratio has to lower to increase my credit score, which means I need to pay down the cards with the high balances.

Something else I’ve realized is that after bankruptcy, you may be stuck with some pretty crappy cards that require a lot of fees and are at the bottom of the credit card food chain. Even though I waited and avoided those cards, I still ended up with a lot of cards that are not much better than the bottom ones. Yes, they’re unsecured and no they don’t have additional fees or annual fees, but all in all, they’re still pretty crappy credit card deals. I would advise bankruptcy filers to hold out for the best cards with low APRs, which you can get…it  just takes a little time and patience. Once I get these paid down, I may try for some better credit cards but as far as bad deals and extreme interest rates go, I’m pretty much done with them.

Some Things in Life ARE Free…Really

First, I always use www.annualcreditreport.com because it is an automatic credit report from all three credit bureaus (TransUnion, Experian and Equifax) every year for free. Everyone is entitled to a free report once a year, no hassles, no hidden fees. Free.

There are other ways to receive a free credit report, for instance if you have recently been denied credit.  I also read an article at CNN Money today which mentions that companies that offer those other types of “free credit reports” have to disclose that it isn’t actually the annual free report that you are entitled to and that it may be a part of a promotion or marketing for a service or product that costs money. This part of the new CARD act of 2009 will hopefully save a lot of people from getting duped into buying extra credit monitoring services and products just to get a “free” credit report.

The Monster was Quite Friendly, Actually

Anyway, it was to my great surprise that my credit reports aren’t as dismal as I anticipated. There is one medical bill ding on there that I can take care of easily within the next couple months, and one error that I will dispute online immediately. (By the way, 4 out of 5 credit reports have errors which can include anything from accounts that aren’t yours to incorrect amounts owed.)

The only other big problem on my reports was the utilization ratio of my debts. I could see that I need to work harder at paying them down. It doesn’t help of course that Chase Bank dropped my limit on one card to the amount that was owed. Having maxed out cards, or a high utilization ratio (large debt to available credit) can harm your credit immensely. I have paid down 3 small store cards and will continue to pay down the rest using the snowball method.

Hope is Inspirational

These are the only things I need to fix on my credit report, which surprised me quite a bit. Setting up the payment arrangements and making payments is not only getting things paid off but keeping my credit reports a little cleaner than I thought. Well duh…I hear you all saying. But, until you actually take a look it’s difficult to actually see that your hard work is helping. Or in this case what I don’t see (negative items on my credit reports) that have given me hope.

Not perfect by a long shot, but will be soon. Thanks for reading and in a way keeping me focused and accountable.

Have a great weekend and a fantastic family filled Easter!

The weekend will be the true test as I’m sure I’ll be embarrassed to post what I’ve spent, but I’m guessing that having the blog in mind will also help me not to spend money on frivolous expenses.

I’ve also decided not to include the household bills that I have to pay because there isn’t anything I can do about those at this point. I will be including any money I spend on anything else though.

As far as the snowball method on the credit cards goes, I intend on just reporting on that once in a while since very little will change from month to month. I’ll only notice it working when the first card with the lowest balance is paid off and the payment is applied to the next card. Seems like an excruciatingly slow process but when it comes to the credit cards I don’t have many options and I desperately want to get those under control.

So far at the end of Day 3, it doesn’t look so bad. Obviously if I were only spending a dollar on a bag of chips and nothing else, I wouldn’t be in the situation I’m in financially so I’m sure my spending will pick up. Either way, wish me luck…

Some people make everything from scratch, from food to detergent and use the car only when they need to go to work, etc. The weird thing is, besides the making my own detergent part, I kind of feel like I already live like that. Okay, I do spend once in a while on things that I could probably make or do without (especially for a month) so there is room for the challenge in my life. I’m curious how much I would save but I guess I’d have to start with an idea of how much I spend. So, whether I try the challenge or not, I’ve decided to start keeping a tally of every penny I spend for a month so if I do try the 30 day challenge I’ll have a place to start. I’m considering finding a way to differentiate the unnecessary and necessary spending.

Day 1 of Operation Where in the Heck is My Money Going? (Or Operation WITHIMMG)

Paid an old bill for my daughter’s preschool (she’s in Kindergarten now) ($150.00)
Drank a protein shake for breakfast.
Ate a salad a friend bought me for lunch.
Paid for the last 2 weeks of my daughter’s after school program which covers from 3:00 til I pick her up after work after 5:00. ($35.20)
Mac and Cheese for dinner.
No extra coffee, treats, food or shopping today.

On some days I won’t spend or pay anything (hopefully) and I’ll just note that at the bottom of my regular posts. I’m also going to try the Snowball Method for my credit card payments which means that I’ll be paying the minimums until the lowest balance is paid and then I’ll take the payment from that card and add it to the minimum of the next balance.

I should be making a ton of payments on credit cards this week. Can’t hurt to try. Wish me luck…