Help me figure out the costs
By dreamy1
@dreamy1 (3811)
United States
January 29, 2008 12:11pm CST
Math was not my best subject in school.
I have two balance transfer options.
1. 0% APR on balances until August 1, 2008 or
2. 6.99% until May 1, 2009
For either option I choose the APR after the promo will be 12.9%
My current balance is 7,936.59 at 9.49 %
There's no way I can pay it off before August but by that time I'm hoping to get a new balance transfer option.
If I transfer the balance it will cost me $238, there's a 3% transfer fee.
What I need to know is is it worth paying an extra $238 to get the 0% since it ends in August? Will I pay more than $238 in interest if I keep it the way it is?
The only thing that I charge to the card for the last several months is just a $29.99 subscription fee.
1 person likes this
2 responses
@kykidd (6812)
• United States
29 Jan 08
There is a bit more to consider for this calculation. One question would be how much you normally pay on a monthly basis for this account?
One thing I can tell you is if the balance remains the same all year, you would end up paying about $750 in interest at your current rate.
Good thing you looked at the balance transfer fee, some people miss this.
In my opinion, your best bet is to wait until you get another offer, a lot of times they get better with time, say maybe 18 months 0 interest. Then just rolling part of the balance over instead of the full amount. And paying that balance in full before you the 18 months is over. This could help you get that card paid off without paying interest on the full balance.
@Ldyjarhead (10233)
• United States
2 Mar 08
There are free debt calculators online that could help you with this.
You fill in the total amount owed, interest rate, and what you're paying each month. It will tell you how long it will take to pay it off and your total amount paid.
You could do that for both options and see which would be better for you.
Do a search for 'debt calculator'. I'm sure you'll come up with several.
