[terry1156]

Originally Posted by infocus

My concern is, if there is an unexpected expense, I will have no savings and no available credit (since my highest interest card is a department store card). Would it make more sense to put that $800 towards my Visa, which is 20% interest, so I would at least have credit available if I absolutely need it?

I think you should put it toward the VISA rather than the store card. If you put it toward the store card, you will still have no savings in case of an emergency which could lead to a default since the VISA is already maxed out.

Originally Posted by infocus

Or, would it be best to put that $800 in savings for emergencies, even though I will pay more in interest to my credit cards?

This is a difficult balancing act. I know many will disagree with me, but I would pay down the VISA first - that is how I did it when I got myself out of debt.

Originally Posted by infocus

My concern is that my credit card limits might be reduced if my credit score goes down. Can this happen on regular credit cards like visa and mastercard?

If you're paying down the credit card debt, your score should increase, not decline.

Originally Posted by infocus

Last summer my $1,500 credit limit on my department store card was reduced to $800 due to my credit - I have a lot of credit card debt in my name from our marriage, even though my soon to be ex husband is supposed to be paying it off. The possibility exists that my credit could get worse before it gets better, since there is no way I can pay even a fraction of the minimum monthly payments on a $47,000 credit card balance that is solely in my name (he is only an authorized user). We get along well and he is willing to pay this, but he did get behind for a while due to temporary unemployment and the partial payments he made resulted in the interest rate jumping from 12% to 30% in a few months. So far nothing has gone past 30 days, but I am very vulnerable right now financially. I know if my credit drops it could increase my interest rate and minimum payments on my own credit cards, and my car insurance could go up too, and I sure can't afford that. So I really want to get rid of this credit card debt as quickly as possible, but I also am afraid of giving all that to the credit cards and continuing on with no extra money saved for emergencies. I just don't know which is the best thing to do right now.

Someone please correct me if I'm wrong (not my strongest area), but if the debt is solely in his name, it should not affect your credit rating (be happy it isn't a joint account).

Originally Posted by infocus

So, in light of that longwinded background, what would you recommend I do with the three extra amounts I expect to receive this year? I would really appreciate any advice you could offer. Thank you.

I think it's best to do what you're most comfortable with. I would pay of the VISA first, but that is my opinion. If you use the first one to have an emergency fund, I can see arguments to support that move too. Just be sure not to pay off the store card first.