Is this a lot of credit card debt for me to have? I'm trying but self-conscious of it?

I%26#039;m 25 yrs old, college graduate, I make approx. $45K gross income between 2 jobs(full-time job and part-time waitressing gig). I always pay my bills on time and I try to keep my Fico score up, but I%26#039;m self-conscious of some credit card debt I have.

I owe a total of about $7,000 between two Visa cards(I also have store cards, but they%26#039;re paid off). It was originally $10,000 a few months ago. The one card has a balance of $3300 and a $11,000 limit. The other card has a balance of $3800 and a $4300 limit. I pay bigger payments on the 1st card because the interest rate is literally 4X higher than the other one. I pay $1300/mo towards these debts %26amp; I want to be debt free by next summer.

This debt was racked up during a long period that I was drastically unemployed and not making enough money to cover costs of living(I%26#039;m not allowed to live at home). I%26#039;ve never been late w/ the payments though.

Do I owe more debt than the average person? :( Am I in %26quot;financial distress%26quot;?

Is this a lot of credit card debt for me to have? I%26#039;m trying but self-conscious of it?

I would say you are paying alot towards your debt and that if you keep up the pace you may actually be able to pay off by next summer. I do have some advice though since you have been paying these without any problems for so long you may want to talk to the card company and ask them to lower your interest rate. Also if the other card has a lower rate why not use it to pay off the first one.. Also there are cards out there that give you 0% financing for the first year if you transfer the debt. You may want to look into them if you are planning on paying off the debt anyway. This would give you extra time with no interest and the amount you are paying would increase tyhe chances of being debt free. yes it is a lot of debt but many americans are alot more in debt than you are.. Good luck.

Here are a couple of links that will give you more information.

http://www.creditcards.com/low-interest....

http://www.creditcardguide.com/balance-t...

Is this a lot of credit card debt for me to have? I%26#039;m trying but self-conscious of it?

If your paying your bills and paying back the credit cards, I would not say your in financial distress. It sounds as if you are working the balences down in the correct direction.

Great Job.

A couple of options to consider.

Go Credit Card Hunting on the Web and find a better credit card rate. Often if you don%26#039;t need all the fancy paybacks or airline points and such you can get much much lower rates.

Then pay off the old High interest card with the new card AND CUT THAT SUCKER UP.

If you are feeling in worse shape than that then you can call the card companies and work out some form of a payment plan on the cards at a lower interest rate. But be ready to have to live without the cards then... but this way they get there money without loosing all of it to a bankrupcy. They may lower your interest rate Talk to a credit councelor about this...

If it%26#039;s not that bad then just call them and tell them that you are thinking about paying off your account and closing it to go to a lower interest card but that you wanted to see if they could do anything to help you stay with them before you make the change. Most card companies will jump at the chance to prevent a paying customer from leaving. They make more money if you stay and don%26#039;t fully pay off your card even if it is at a lower interest rate.

But in general, no your not alone. Many people owe thousands of dollars to credit card companies. But the good news is that it already sounds like you are making progress in the right direction. You may have the chance to lower your payments right now by either switching cards and transfering the ballances or just calling them to treaten to leave.

But again if your paying all your bills and you are catching up on your debt, I would not say your in financial distress and actually since you are already working to lower your debet you are on the right track.