Should I use a personal loan, HELOC, or debt consolidation to pay off $30k?

K

KittieSallis

New Member
Hey, so I've got this 30k debt to tackle... my credit's actually pretty decent at 720. What do you think I should go for?
  • a personal loan
  • a debt consolidation loan
  • a HELOC

I really want to keep my credit in good shape and just be done with this debt for good. Help! What ended up being the best mve for you?

Here's the breakdown:
  • Discover: 6k
  • Chase Visa: 3k
  • Chase Visa (the other one): 8k
  • JetBlue Mastercard: 6k
  • PayPal Credit: 6k
  • My car: still owe about 2k on it
 
Think twice about a debt consolidation loan. My experience was that it actually hurt my credit score.

It’s a common step, but it can sometimes backfire. Here’s a quick look at why it might happen:

  • It can lower the average age of your credit accounts.
  • Applying for the loan creates a hard inquiry on your report.
  • You mgiht close old accounts after consolidating, which can also impact your score.

Everyone's situation is different, but it's worth exploring all your options first.
 
Alright, now that I've got a good look at everything you owe, here’s what I’d do. I’d star with the snowball method tackle that car loan first to get a quick win. Once that’s done, we’d switch to the avalanche approach and really go after those credit cards. Oh, and here’s a tip: you can always call up the credit card companies and ask them to freeze your cards. That way, you won’t be tempted to use them while you’re paying them down.
 
Honestly, it might not be the perfect approach, but here’s what I did: I threw everything I could at the debt with the highest minimum payment first. Knocking that out freed up more cash each month.
 
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