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This is my plan to pay off $8,000 of debt in six months

cnbc.com
submitted
10 mos ago
bywildhorsestopersonalfinance

Summary

In January 2024, a woman opened a 0% APR card with dreams of financing a bathroom refresh. Instead, she put $8,000 on the card to make it through a muggy summer. By October 2024, she had six months left on the zero-interest intro period and owed $8,.200.

To pay off the debt in time, I sat down with my fiance to iron out a financial plan for the next six months. I used a budgeting app that connects to all of my and my fiance's accounts to analyze how much is going in and out each month.

With a few exceptions like taking care of our 16-year-old cat, Fudge, we aren't spending much at all. We're planning on cutting out a few items that should save us money.

The Fidelity® Rewards Visa Signature® Card earns 2% cash back on all eligible spending when you redeem the rewards as a direct deposit into a Fidelity IRA, HSA or 529 plan. Every time I use this card for expenses I know we can't avoid, 2% of the costs go into my retirement account.

You can't cut every bit of spending, but you can comparison shop for a better price. I settled on a few we could live without, and canceled them, which frees up $30 per month, or $180 over six months.

I plan to say that I'm considering switching providers. If it works, I'll put the difference each month towards our debt payoff. Even $20 off per month would equate to $100 over six months.

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6 Comments

3
boredgamer
10 mos ago
0% cards should be used as an interest free loan where you know you have made it to $0 by the end of the term
2
wildhorsesOP
10 mos ago
That would be the smartest easy to do it but these are definitely not aimed at you or me even though we can take advantage of it
2
getthatmoneyyo
10 mos ago
I know it happens all the time, it's how these banks make money, but I can't fathom how you'd see that huge bill and think "let's just not pay for a year"
2
boredgamer
9 mos ago
I normally feel these are predatory on the people that have no other choice
2
getthatmoneyyo
9 mos ago
They absolutely are. Just leeches.
2
coffeeislife
10 mos ago
Not a bad plan for someone almost underwater