These interest rates are killing me!
By maezee
@maezee (41988)
United States
January 3, 2013 7:52am CST
I have a little less than $3,000 in credit card debt that I am trying to get out of right now but the credit card interest is KILLING me - literally setting me back around $60 for every payment. It's disturbing. I don't know what percent I'm at with my APR, but it has to be high. What I have been trying to do is sending them $200, $300, $400 or even $500 a month just to get the balance down so the amount of interest goes down as well. Ugh. I feel like it's like fighting a losing battle, like trying to shovel in a snow storm.
Know what I mean?
I clearly need to have a $0 balance on this card, or if I can't pay it off, I need to do a balance transfer to another account with a lower balance.
Are you getting killed with interest rates on your cards as well?
2 people like this
8 responses
@animegirl334 (3263)
• United States
15 Jan 13
The interest rates on my credit cards are high too. My APR on each of my credit card is over twenty percent. I'm on a promotion though so I don't have to pay interest until sometime in August.
Sometimes it's hard for me to keep track of credit card loans. Besides moving the loan to another credit card there's also the option of transfering it to a collection agency that may charge a lower rate. Good luck.

@ARIES1973 (11966)
• Legaspi, Philippines
4 Jan 13
I was contemplating of starting a topic about how I hate my credit card or the situation I am presently into. It all started when I lend my credit card to an office mate 7 months ago because she promised to pay me the following day.
So my problem is that I m still paying the balance plus the interest. I don't want also to ruin my name because of this so I am trying my best to settle the whole balance. I am planning to surrender the card after I paid my balance and I don't want to get a new one.
Have nice day!
@lampar (7584)
• United States
3 Jan 13
Yes, i faced with the same problem with several of my credit cards too, but i learn a hard lesson, i get rid of most of them last couple of year, only retain one for my usage and always trying to pay off my balance end of the accounting period, there is too much rip off from credit cards company in all my previous credit purchased transaction; i am not going to take those abuses anymore, the interest rate the company charged is way too outrageous and ridiculously high. 

@bounce58 (17385)
• Canada
3 Jan 13
I've had to do some consolidation late last year on my credit card and mortgage debt so as to bring down my balance to literally 20% of what it used to be. Although the reduction has been great because it felt I won battle, I know what you mean about the interest rates on my balance, it still feels like a losing war.
Hang in there! You'll get to zero!
HNY!
@FrugalMommy (1438)
• United States
3 Jan 13
I think your APR on that card is somewhere around 24%. We have only one card that has a high interest rate like that. It's a store credit card, and thankfully it's never had a very high balance.
What I would do in your position is try to negotiate with the card issuer. Sometimes you can successfully talk them into giving you a better interest rate, especially if you have good payment history.
If that didn't work, I'd look into doing a balance transfer to another card with a lower interest rate. If you don't have one, you might be able to sign up for a new account with a promotional rate as low as 0%... but you need to be careful doing that, because if you don't pay off the full amount you transfer before the end of the promotional period you'll pay all the interest that's accrued since you did the balance transfer at whatever the account's normal percentage is.
@aseretdd (13730)
• Philippines
3 Jan 13
Welcome to the club... i am also experiencing this problem... i have 3 credit cards... 2 are almost maxed and the 3rd one i don't bring with me anymore... i don't use it for anything that we do not need... just groceries and bill payments... but since i do not have a job... i am only able to pay the minimum amount...
I hope that when i finally get work this year... i will be able to pay all my credit card debts and then finally cut the cards...
@mariaperalta (19073)
• Mexico
3 Jan 13
Here in mexico we have same problems, there are no real laws here so cc companies change rates all the time here. I have one cc from usa. It has never changed rates. Im glad for that.



