Comments on: How we used balance transfers (very carefully!) http://frugalbabe.com/2006/10/11/how-we-used-balance-transfers-very-carefully/ A rich life without a lot of money Fri, 10 Feb 2012 16:44:00 +0000 hourly 1 By: Rene Mathis http://frugalbabe.com/2006/10/11/how-we-used-balance-transfers-very-carefully/#comment-26436 Rene Mathis Thu, 13 Nov 2008 00:46:52 +0000 http://frugalbabe.com/2006/10/11/how-we-used-balance-transfers-very-carefully/#comment-26436 7638uf6pyebn5lqi 7638uf6pyebn5lqi

]]> By: Living Frugally Paid Off ,000 Worth of Debt in 2 Years | We Beat Debt! http://frugalbabe.com/2006/10/11/how-we-used-balance-transfers-very-carefully/#comment-5744 Living Frugally Paid Off ,000 Worth of Debt in 2 Years | We Beat Debt! Fri, 20 Jul 2007 14:41:00 +0000 http://frugalbabe.com/2006/10/11/how-we-used-balance-transfers-very-carefully/#comment-5744 [...] mastered the art of balance transfers by carefully pursuing good offers and negotiating down interest rates with the banks. By being [...] [...] mastered the art of balance transfers by carefully pursuing good offers and negotiating down interest rates with the banks. By being [...]

]]> By: Frugal Babe » Our Windfall http://frugalbabe.com/2006/10/11/how-we-used-balance-transfers-very-carefully/#comment-1581 Frugal Babe » Our Windfall Thu, 03 May 2007 01:49:03 +0000 http://frugalbabe.com/2006/10/11/how-we-used-balance-transfers-very-carefully/#comment-1581 [...] leaves $700, which we’re splitting between the Discover Card and our HELOC.  We feel good about our use of the money.  We’re putting it towards things [...] [...] leaves $700, which we’re splitting between the Discover Card and our HELOC.  We feel good about our use of the money.  We’re putting it towards things [...]

]]> By: Frugal Babe » What To Do With A Tax Refund? http://frugalbabe.com/2006/10/11/how-we-used-balance-transfers-very-carefully/#comment-1513 Frugal Babe » What To Do With A Tax Refund? Sat, 21 Apr 2007 18:30:23 +0000 http://frugalbabe.com/2006/10/11/how-we-used-balance-transfers-very-carefully/#comment-1513 [...] We got our tax refund this week - $615 was the grand total.  That’s good, because it means we were pretty darn close with our estimated payments last year.  Yeah for us.  Anyway, now we have to decide what to do with it.  We can put it towards our HELOC, we can put it in our IRAs, we can use it to pay down our Discover bill, or we can spend it (yeah, right).  Logically, it probably makes the most sense to put the money in the HELOC or into our IRAs, since the HELOC is at 8.35% right now, and our IRAs are invested in the stock market.  But psychologically, I think I want to put most of it towards the Discover bill.  Besides our mortgage, the Discover card is the only only debt we have anymore; we owe $2400 on it right now.  It’s from a balance transfer that we made in 2005, which was originally business start-up expenses.  We know now that credit cards are not a wise way to fund a new business, but that’s what we did, and thankfully it all worked out.  This month our interest charge was 78 cents on the Discover card - it’s zero percent interest on the balance transfer as long as we continue to make one purchase a month, which we have been doing for the last 18 months.  We only pay interest on the new purchases, which are always under $2.  So it’s virtually an interest free loan.  [...] [...] We got our tax refund this week - $615 was the grand total.  That’s good, because it means we were pretty darn close with our estimated payments last year.  Yeah for us.  Anyway, now we have to decide what to do with it.  We can put it towards our HELOC, we can put it in our IRAs, we can use it to pay down our Discover bill, or we can spend it (yeah, right).  Logically, it probably makes the most sense to put the money in the HELOC or into our IRAs, since the HELOC is at 8.35% right now, and our IRAs are invested in the stock market.  But psychologically, I think I want to put most of it towards the Discover bill.  Besides our mortgage, the Discover card is the only only debt we have anymore; we owe $2400 on it right now.  It’s from a balance transfer that we made in 2005, which was originally business start-up expenses.  We know now that credit cards are not a wise way to fund a new business, but that’s what we did, and thankfully it all worked out.  This month our interest charge was 78 cents on the Discover card – it’s zero percent interest on the balance transfer as long as we continue to make one purchase a month, which we have been doing for the last 18 months.  We only pay interest on the new purchases, which are always under $2.  So it’s virtually an interest free loan.  [...]

]]> By: Frugal Babe » My Thoughts On Goals http://frugalbabe.com/2006/10/11/how-we-used-balance-transfers-very-carefully/#comment-192 Frugal Babe » My Thoughts On Goals Sun, 24 Dec 2006 19:52:30 +0000 http://frugalbabe.com/2006/10/11/how-we-used-balance-transfers-very-carefully/#comment-192 [...] I’ve always been a goal setter. Be it school, work, or money, I set goals. I don’t normally write them down, but they’re always front and center in my head. I just read a post by Millionaire Artist about her new goal screensaver - very creative. It got me thinking - should I write down my goals? I am a chronic list-maker, and I still stick notes all over my desk (much to my husband’s chagrin, as he’s been trying for ages to get me to use electronic ‘post its’). Over the last few years, when we had lots of business start-up debt, I had a notebook where I kept track of exactly how much we owed to each creditor, and what the interest rate was. Each time I made a payment, I’d record the new debt amount, and each month I’d add up the current total. Even when the numbers were big, it made me feel better to be able to see them on paper and watch them slowly shrink. We currently have only one debt left besides our mortgage - we owe about $2800 to Discover Card. But we pay less than a dollar a month in interest on that debt (as long as we make one purchase a month, we only pay interest on the new purchases, not the original balance transfer. We spend between $1 and $2 each month for our required purchase). Since the HELOC portion of our mortgage is at 8.53% right now, we’d rather put extra money into that account, or into our ING account. So we only pay $100 or $200 a month on the Discover bill. [...] [...] I’ve always been a goal setter. Be it school, work, or money, I set goals. I don’t normally write them down, but they’re always front and center in my head. I just read a post by Millionaire Artist about her new goal screensaver – very creative. It got me thinking – should I write down my goals? I am a chronic list-maker, and I still stick notes all over my desk (much to my husband’s chagrin, as he’s been trying for ages to get me to use electronic ‘post its’). Over the last few years, when we had lots of business start-up debt, I had a notebook where I kept track of exactly how much we owed to each creditor, and what the interest rate was. Each time I made a payment, I’d record the new debt amount, and each month I’d add up the current total. Even when the numbers were big, it made me feel better to be able to see them on paper and watch them slowly shrink. We currently have only one debt left besides our mortgage – we owe about $2800 to Discover Card. But we pay less than a dollar a month in interest on that debt (as long as we make one purchase a month, we only pay interest on the new purchases, not the original balance transfer. We spend between $1 and $2 each month for our required purchase). Since the HELOC portion of our mortgage is at 8.53% right now, we’d rather put extra money into that account, or into our ING account. So we only pay $100 or $200 a month on the Discover bill. [...]

]]> By: Carnival of Debt Reduction » Archives » The 57th Carnival of Debt Reduction is up! http://frugalbabe.com/2006/10/11/how-we-used-balance-transfers-very-carefully/#comment-9 Carnival of Debt Reduction » Archives » The 57th Carnival of Debt Reduction is up! Tue, 17 Oct 2006 05:23:02 +0000 http://frugalbabe.com/2006/10/11/how-we-used-balance-transfers-very-carefully/#comment-9 [...] I always love to hear the personal stories.  Like Tricia’s conversation with her “pal” and Frugal Babe’s careful use of balance transfers. [...] [...] I always love to hear the personal stories.  Like Tricia’s conversation with her “pal” and Frugal Babe’s careful use of balance transfers. [...]

]]> By: My New Choice http://frugalbabe.com/2006/10/11/how-we-used-balance-transfers-very-carefully/#comment-7 My New Choice Mon, 16 Oct 2006 23:09:37 +0000 http://frugalbabe.com/2006/10/11/how-we-used-balance-transfers-very-carefully/#comment-7 FrugalBabe, nice post on how to use balance transfers to your advantage. A couple of months ago, I wrote a post that had some bullet points on things to consider when using <a href="http://www.mynewchoice.com/2006/08/12/use-low-rate-balance-transfers/" rel="nofollow">low-rate balance transfers</a>. Also, keep in mind that once the debt is gone, you can still take advantage of 0% offers but simply put the money in an online savings account like ING, Emigrant or HSBC. It can pay a decent amount assuming you stay on top of the details. FrugalBabe, nice post on how to use balance transfers to your advantage. A couple of months ago, I wrote a post that had some bullet points on things to consider when using low-rate balance transfers.

Also, keep in mind that once the debt is gone, you can still take advantage of 0% offers but simply put the money in an online savings account like ING, Emigrant or HSBC. It can pay a decent amount assuming you stay on top of the details.

]]> By: MakingOverMyMoney.com » Blog Archive » Carnival Posts http://frugalbabe.com/2006/10/11/how-we-used-balance-transfers-very-carefully/#comment-6 MakingOverMyMoney.com » Blog Archive » Carnival Posts Mon, 16 Oct 2006 22:17:19 +0000 http://frugalbabe.com/2006/10/11/how-we-used-balance-transfers-very-carefully/#comment-6 [...] How to use balance transfers. This post shows me how easy using balance transfers can be - once you are paying attention. I think DH and I got into the habit of not paying attention because we feel like we don’t owe that much money. That is a bad habit to be in - debt is debt, large or small, and it doesn’t feel good. [...] [...] How to use balance transfers. This post shows me how easy using balance transfers can be – once you are paying attention. I think DH and I got into the habit of not paying attention because we feel like we don’t owe that much money. That is a bad habit to be in – debt is debt, large or small, and it doesn’t feel good. [...]

]]> By: The Carnival of Debt Reduction #57 » My New Choice http://frugalbabe.com/2006/10/11/how-we-used-balance-transfers-very-carefully/#comment-5 The Carnival of Debt Reduction #57 » My New Choice Mon, 16 Oct 2006 12:00:15 +0000 http://frugalbabe.com/2006/10/11/how-we-used-balance-transfers-very-carefully/#comment-5 [...] How we used balance transfers (very carefully!) from Louise at FrugalBabe. [...] [...] How we used balance transfers (very carefully!) from Louise at FrugalBabe. [...]

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