So, how much do you owe on credit cards?

In My Humble Opinion
1

Until yesterday I had no good idea of how much we owe on our credit cards. The darned things proliferate like rabbits and even if you have a relatively small balance on each one, it adds up.

I sat down and entered all of the balances in an Excel spreadsheet and watched in amazement as the total grew.

I felt that we owe more than my comfort level allows. As I considered this, I realized that my comfort level is based on a salary of many years ago, and came up with the following question:

How many months of your take-home pay would you need to pay off your credit card debt?

For example, if you take home $2,000 per month and you owe $4,000 then the answer would be “two months.” Of course, I am ignoring the fact that we all pay rent/mortgage and a few dozen other fixed costs.

I did a rough calculation and figured that we owe about one and a half months of our take-home pay. This puts things into perspective for me and shows me that we really don’t owe any more than we ever did in the past. Of course, I would prefer not to have any such debt since the interest is so high, but I lack such self control.

So, anybody else?

2

About 1 day of take-home pay, of just one of us. We don’t like to be in debt, can you tell?

3

Zero balance. We pay it off every month so we don’t accumulate interest. We only use one card. We used to have a few and ended up in financial trauma. We have a line of credit at a bank that can be used for big emergencies. The interest is only 5.25% or something like that.

4

Correction: none. I just paid it off. Thanks for the reminder.

5

about $2000 dollars.

Since I’m unemployed, it’ll be paid off indefinitely, though it’s priority #1 as soon as I get a job. I hate debt (it’s so high 'cause I paid for a bit of school tuition on it).

6

I pay mine off each month. Right now, it’s a bit high, but my next paycheck should cover it.

7

1.5 business days worth. And even that’s mostly work related and will be reimbursed.

I set up an automatic payment from my bank so the full balance is always paid up on the due date. In any case, Japanese rules make it impossible to carry a balance for more than two months

8

4.7 months. A good chunk of that was a rather large purchase I just recently made. Racing engines tend to be a tad expensive.

9

About a bit less than a week’s pay.

Zev Steinhardt

10

Just under 2 months. This is, in part, because I just ordered plane tickets to and from NYC and also a new iPod.

And as soon as it’s gone, it comes right back again! I’m going to buy a new guitar and get my clarinet overhauled.

Nursing a little bit of debt responsibly is healthful for you. At least, that’s what I keep telling myself.

11

Not one red cent. We don’t have a lot of cash to begin with, and we see no reason to screw with our already crappy credit.

We have no credit cards, and we have no debt.

12

You just reminded me to pay it off. Balance now zero.

13

I also pay mine off immediately, and only have one credit card. If I can’t afford it, I don’t buy it.

14

Maybe a week and a half. Most of our large purchases I roll into the home equity line so I can deduct the interest.

15

About two months worth of my net income. I just sent $1000 in from my tax refunds to knock off a good chunk of it, though.

16

Well, seeing as how I’m now unemployed, it may take me forever to pay them off…

regardless, I think I owe somewhere in the range of $15,000.

17

Balance zero. Never otherwise for more than a couple of days.

18

No credit cards (hate that interest rate), no debt.
If we cannot pay cash, we do not buy it (mortgages excepted)

19

I used internet banking to pay it off, but accidentally put in a little too much - so I actually have a surplus of $1. I always pay it off within a day of spending the money, and always within the week.

20

1 card. We have never carried any balance from one month to the next. If possible, I put every purchase on it. Why?

I could pay cash or check, but in paying by credit card, I automatically have an itemized list of what I am spending money on each month. That way, if I suddenly were to start spending more than I could afford I would immediately be able to recognize I was doing so rather than underestimating my spending through a combo of cash, card, and check.