Hello my girlfriend has about 14,000 in credit card debt and she has been paying like 1,000 a month on these cards trying to get out of debt. She isn't making much headway. She is looking for the best way to handle this debt and get it paid off without hurting her credit much more than it already is or hurting it long term. Her score is low now around 550 but would be able to raise it after she gets out from under all this debt. What would be her best way to handle this and maybe save some money each month.
First of all, she needs to cut back on spending. Get rid of anything that isn't a necessity. Cancel the cable, newspapers, magazines. You can get news online or go to the library to read papers and magazines. Don't eat out, eat at home. Take lunch. Drive an old car. You get the picture for that. As far as the cards go, make a spreadsheet with all of the cards, interest rate, balance, and minimum payment. Sort by interest rate. The highest interest rate is the "target" card. Pay minimums on everything but the "target" card. Pay as much as you can over the minimum on the "target" card. When it gets paid off, take the amount that you had been paying on it, add it to the minimum on the next highest rate card, and pay that amount every month. It is your new "target" card. In other words, minimum on everything but the highest rate, and as much as you can on that. Then "snowball," adding the amount you had been paying to the next one. Update the list every month or so. Your "target" card can change as creditors change your rate, but always pay the most on the highest rate card.
