Friday, December 11, 2009

The Juggling Act

Today I am going to learn how to juggle. Actually, I have been juggling for years. Delaying one payment for another, taking money from one place to pay a more important bill somewhere else. It really wears me out to keep all those balls in the air. So far, it's been working, very few late payments, no collections. But if I let just one ball fall, I'm afraid everything will come crashing down. I need to find a better way. So, I guess I know how to juggle, but I want to be a pro juggler.
Today's plan is to add up all the payments I am making, and see which ones are more than the minimum.
Once again, here is my list of debts. I have not included regular bills, like utilities and insurance, just my debt.
Line of Credit $30,016 bal $545 a mo 9% int
Visa one 8,119 bal 275 a mo 26% int (WOW, I know)
Visa two 11,000 bal 205 a mo 11% int
Personal Loan 5,463 bal 205 a mo 8.25% int
Medical Credit Card 6,664 bal 165 a mo 11.9% int
Master Card one 9,165 bal 165 a mo 9%
Credit Card one 7,695 bal 160 a mo 4.9%
Veterinary Credit Card 2,070 bal 135 a mo 23%
Master Card one 1,009 bal 50 a mo 12%
Visa three 853 bal 19 a mo 9%
Furniture 1,600 bal 109 a mo 0% (I did buy some furniture)
Car Repair Card 1,565 bal 89 a mo 22%
Auto Loan 1,891 bal 350 a mo 5.75%
Office Store Card 261 bal 50 a mo 24%
The monthly payments add up to $2,522.00 a month. I already know that. But the point is to see if there are any that are more than the minumum. I use online bill pay from my bank to make the payments automatically. The same amount each month. So, I am assuming some of the minimum payments have gone down as the balances have declined. I just figured I would let the little bit of extra go to paying down the balance a little faster. But I want to see if there is a better way.
So, I need to drag out all my bills, and take a look at the current payment due. This will take a while.
Are you a juggler too? What do you do to keep all the balls in the air?

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