Which debt reduction strategy are you using?

Phew, just took a look at my complete debt situation, something I do about once a quarter, and sheesh, is it ever depressing! Here’s my chart courtesy of the NCN Network:

Don’t let that 0% fool you though, it’s not like I haven’t paid anything down, in fact, I should amend my progress bar a bit because it’s not quite accurate. I know I previously said it wasn’t accurately reflecting my entire debt, but rather a portion I wanted to get rid of, using the other method of paying off certain debts, one at a time. But seeing this total is quite depressing. Lemme go adjust the progress right now, because staring at this pie chart is utterly throwing me off.

*adjusts the bar*

Okay, that’s much better. So, for a clearer picture of my current debt, I give you this list:

  1. LOC #1: 3,567.90 (10.25%) –> This is the debt I’m trying to clear first, simply because I want to ixnay this LOC from this bank because I don’t like this bank.
  2. Visa #1: $5,539.76 (3.9% – promo deal till end of the year)
  3. LOC #2: $8,473.83 (9.75%) –> This is my main bank’s LOC. I like this bank, but I’m not sure if I’ll be keeping the account once it’s cleared. Lines of credit are what have gotten me into trouble in the first place, so my deal was, once paid, it gets closed.
  4. Visa #2:$2,000.00 (2.97% – another promo deal till October 2007)

If we want to go in David Bach’s DOLP order, I should be paying this all off in the following order:

  1. LOC #1
  2. LOC #2
  3. Visa #2
  4. Visa #3

If we want to go with the other dude that I always think is Jim Cramer but isn’t ’s order :

  1. Visa #2
  2. LOC #1
  3. Visa #1
  4. LOC #2

I’m actually paying off the LOC #1 first, then closing that one. Then I’ll be concentrating on both Visa cards until their promo deals end, but also paying off as much as possible on my LOC #2, because once the promo deals end on the cards, I’ll be transferring the remaining balance of Visa #2 over. Visa #1 is actually a low interest rate card, with a rate pretty close to LOC #2’s rate, so once the promo rate is over, I’ll just leave the balance over there.

So, now that you know my plan, what’s yours? Care to share how you’re tackling your debt?

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