How hard is it to have a good strategy for paying off credit cards? You just use one until you can't use it anymore, then get another one with a special rate on balance transfers and a slightly higher credit line and transfer everything over to it. Keep repeating as necessary. If you run out of credit, that's what Payday and Title Loans are for.

Pocket Ninja: How hard is it to have a good strategy for paying off credit cards?

Self evident stuff like what you noted, and "Consumer Reports Money Adviser says once you've prioritized your debt, make the bulk of your payments to the one that's costing you the most."

Plug the biggest hole?! That's genius!

Diogenes: Plug the biggest hole?! That's genius!

So you're saying fist it instead of finger it.

Gotcha.

Resounding? I heard the smack all the way in Boston.

The Icelander: Diogenes: Plug the biggest hole?! That's genius!

So you're saying fist it instead of finger it.

Gotcha.

And that's why my bank is UFIA

Diogenes: Plug the biggest hole?!

That's what she said.

Ask for demand a federal bailout.

You know this guy has to absolutely hate Fark

I will be credit card debt free by the end of 2009.

/student loans I will be paying forever : (

Nah, just do what an aquaintance of mine does. Every year or so, she stops paying all her bills and changes her name. Harder for the creditors to find her that way.

God I hate her.

Well, he IS right.

Good to see Ric's still on his game.

Better yet, find any small violations your bank has made against you (and there will be many) and sue the bank. Or just settle to wipe your bill.

Ta-DA!

I'm waiting for Romero to figure out that "moustaches went out of style in the 1970's for everyone who isn't a porn star or child molestor".

vernonFL: I will be credit card debt free by the end of 2009.

/student loans I will be paying forever : (

Tell me about it. I'm almost 10 years out and still in hock. I cry each time I write that check and realize a journalism degree isn't paying the bills.

Don't be fooled by the imitators. There is only one real Ric Romero

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But how can I afford to pay off credit card debt and maintain my extravagant lifestyle?

labman: You know this guy has to absolutely hate Fark

Are you kidding? He writes well worn common sense stories for morons. Then Fark links to it and his articles get massive hits. His editors probably love him for it.

Here's a novel plan for dealing with debt. Don't have any. Live within your means. Duh.

Shut_up_and_fark_me: I'm waiting for Romero to figure out that "moustaches went out of style in the 1970's for everyone who isn't a porn star or child molestor".

Actually, among the college crowd here a little west of Boston, I've seen a growing number of staches emerging on the lips of young men. There's a range, too: pushbrooms, molesters, pencil-thins, and your basic pornstar. It may be to early to call, but staches might be the new thing for the Twenty Teens.

labman: You know this guy has to absolutely hate Fark

I don't think Fark would have singled him out if it wasn't for the porn 'stache.

There aren't many advantages to the economic downturn. But its it's forcing many people to focus on saving money and paying off their debt.



Check your grammar there, Ric.

Shut_up_and_fark_me: I'm waiting for Romero to figure out that "moustaches went out of style in the 1970's for everyone who isn't a porn star or child molestor".

I think cops can still have mustaches.
Oh wait..

Pocket Ninja: How hard is it to have a good strategy for paying off credit cards?

You kids today with your World of Starcraft and the Napster and all that hooey, all you do is think about strategy, like the world is one big game of Strateegi.

Pocket Ninja: How hard is it to have a good strategy for paying off credit cards? You just use one until you can't use it anymore, then get another one with a special rate on balance transfers and a slightly higher credit line and transfer everything over to it. Keep repeating as necessary. If you run out of credit, that's what Payday and Title Loans are for.

Then file bankruptcy ... ta da!

Is that Ric's awesome voice in the video?

BTW, I got the bank routing number, and checking account of Consumer Reports Money Adviser Amanda Walker is using in the video. Now I can finally get that big screen TV for the bathroom I always wanted.

Diogenes: Pocket Ninja: How hard is it to have a good strategy for paying off credit cards?

Self evident stuff like what you noted, and "Consumer Reports Money Adviser says once you've prioritized your debt, make the bulk of your payments to the one that's costing you the most."

Plug the biggest hole?! That's genius!

Actually there's another strategy called a debt snowball, where you make minimum payments on everything except the card with the lowest balance. When that's paid off, add the money you were paying on that to pay off your next lowest balance and so on until all your cards are paid off.

In the end, interest payments turn out to be about a wash. But with the snowball you get the feeling that you're accomplishing something by paying off the cards as opposed to taking a long time to pay down the one with the most debt.

Obama is gonna bail me out.....woot free money....

Ric is ABC7's Consumer Specialist....

BWAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA!!!

vernonFL: I will be credit card debt free by the end of 2009.

Consider this a heartfelt and non-snarky HUZZAH for your efforts. Keep it up!

Lt. Cheese Weasel: Here's a novel plan for dealing with debt. Don't have any. Live within your means. Duh.

A-farking-men

/It's trite, but Ramsey's right : Live like nobody else so you can live like nobody else.

facepalm is way overused. you may not use Ric Romero and facepalm together if he states obviousness. That is who he is!

Lt. Cheese Weasel: Here's a novel plan for dealing with debt. Don't have any. Live within your means. Duh.

Why do you hate America?

New headshot?

Shut_up_and_fark_me: I'm waiting for Romero to figure out that "moustaches went out of style in the 1970's for everyone who isn't a porn star or child molestor".

Or a cop or firefighter....



/ How the mustache was invented (NSFW) (new window)

William H. Macy was the voice that I have traditionally read Ric Romero articles in. Watching this video and hearing his real voice for the first time kinda killed some of the entertainment value in reading his texts for me. The artificial gravitas he spoke with brought a sorrow upon my office and cast my walls in a darker grey than usual.

Sell extra body parts. Really, who needs BOTH lungs or a coccyx or the part of the brain that gives empathy.

/Shameless plagiarism from Scott Adams
//Double slashie

Sadly enough, many people don't have strategies & some end up giving up on paying what they owe & try to pretend it never existed. Well, that is until comes back to bite them later on. (I know more than one person who had this way of thinking.)

I agree with SurfaceTension, the snowball strategy is one of the best to follow IMHO.

/It's trite, but Ramsey's right : Live like nobody else so you can live like nobody else.

Who is Ramsey?

Is he the crueller guy??

hockeychick: Nah, just do what an aquaintance of mine does. Every year or so, she stops paying all her bills and changes her name. Harder for the creditors to find her that way.

God I hate her.

I'm sure the IRS knows where and who she is. She only thinks she's hiding.

Story taken from a chapter of a book, found in the Department of the Painfully Obvious.

Pay off credit cards? Who'da thunk it?

/And you wonder why everyone wants a bailout.
/Ric should get a bailout to get his 'stache shaved off.
/Just sayin'.

Lt. Cheese Weasel: Here's a novel plan for dealing with debt. Don't have any. Live within your means. Duh.

Nah, get debt and then pay it off immediately. If you ever actually need a loan for something, you need to have an established credit history or you'll get denied immediately. If you really feel like cheating the system, take ten or twenty thousand in loans and use the loan money to pay off the loan in six months (before interest starts kicking in in many cases. Free boost to the credit rating, eh.

//Also, math says pay the one with the highest interest rate first, not the largest debt. Credit card before mortgage and such (assuming youre not a moron and your mortgage is fixed rate).

fanbladesaresharp: hockeychick: Nah, just do what an aquaintance of mine does. Every year or so, she stops paying all her bills and changes her name. Harder for the creditors to find her that way.

God I hate her.

I'm sure the IRS knows where and who she is. She only thinks she's hiding.

I hope so. She's a farkwad. I'd love to see her go to prison and be some inmate's buttery cornhole.

fanbladesaresharp: hockeychick: Nah, just do what an aquaintance of mine does. Every year or so, she stops paying all her bills and changes her name. Harder for the creditors to find her that way.

God I hate her.

I'm sure the IRS knows where and who she is. She only thinks she's hiding.

Not to mention the companies could show a pattern and have her possibly charged with fraud.

tokyogirl79: Sadly enough, many people don't have strategies & some end up giving up on paying what they owe & try to pretend it never existed.

This appears to be how the company I work for does it.

Lt. Cheese Weasel: Here's a novel plan for dealing with debt. Don't have any. Live within your means. Duh.

Well yeah sure, but what about emergencies? If I really needed $5000 right now I wouldn't have it.

Yes, the plan to get out of debt is so freakin' "obvious" that no one is in debt.

RickRomerowned!

vernonFL: Lt. Cheese Weasel: Here's a novel plan for dealing with debt. Don't have any. Live within your means. Duh.

Well yeah sure, but what about emergencies? If I really needed $5000 right now I wouldn't have it.

Keep your credit lines open... don't use them unless you REALLY need them.

What about that guy on the radio with the plan to turn your debt into wealth? I'm sure he's legit.

vernonFL: Lt. Cheese Weasel: Here's a novel plan for dealing with debt. Don't have any. Live within your means. Duh.

Well yeah sure, but what about emergencies? If I really needed $5000 right now I wouldn't have it.

Living within ones means should include a decent rainy day savings amount. I realize there is always the unknown emergency. But for alot of people, their next unknown emergency becomes a 53" Plasma TeeVee and a 5 day cruise to Aruba.