Off Topic: I updated the Bluebird Bill Pay post and the Bluebird Add Funds post to reflect Bluebird’s new website layout.
Helping a Friend get out of Credit Card Debt (Part 2)
Warning: I am not a financial planner/adviser/consultant, so please proceed at your own risk.
Please read part 1 before reading this post. The first thing you need to do is assess the current situation without judging or asking “what did you buy at XYZ for $430??” There are a few key pieces of financial information that you will need to find out. Such as:
- Current balance plus all pending charges
- Current interest rate
- Total credit limit
After determining those figures for all of your friend’s credit cards, you can see the big picture.
| Card Name | Date Opened | Balance | Credit Line | Interest Rate |
| Store-branded credit card | Jan 2011 | $2,800.00 | $3,000.00 | 20% |
| Capital One credit card | May 2012 | $650.00 | $1,500.00 | 18% |
| Chase Freedom credit card | Nov 2013 | $2,800.00 | $3,000.00 | 0% |
| Bank Americard credit card | Nov 2013 | $2,200.00 | $5,000.00 | 0% |
The last 2 cards have 0% interest through December 2014, so he/she has more than 10 months of no interest on those balances. Continue reading