Yes, this sounds like a great idea.
For the cc that has 16k balance, are you still using it for anything, or are your day to day purchases on another card that is paid off in full every month?
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I would absolutely prioritize e CC debt for extra payment.
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We offer two individual plans at my work which cost $16 and $20 per week. I would say that we’ve done our best to keep costs down and we hardly ever pass increases on to the employees, but we’re a small to medium sized company without the negotiating power of a large one. My husband’s company choices are $15 and $24 per week for additional data points. It sounds like you’re company benefits are indeed quite good!
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I also agree that high interest debt should be the priority. Do you have any other emergency fund outside of that money? If so, I would consider what you think is the amount you feel comfortable having in cash and try to throw most of the rest of that to eliminate the CC as soon as you can.
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I actually have a card that does give good balance transfer offers but the limit is only 10K and I can’t pay that amount off in the time they give. The interest would then go from 0 to 30%! I don’t wanna apply for any other cards right now as I don’t think I’ll actually get approved. Plus my credit score dropped to like 730 I don’t want it to drop more.
This is my daily use card. I wasn’t paying it off because I couldn’t afford to. Yes I was being dumb, but I just couldn’t afford it and meet the minimums on other debt. Things are slowly improving since Bro’s now full-time and the car is paid off.
My emergency fund only has about $2K in it. That’s like only half a month’s wages for me so I definitely don’t feel comfortable taking anything out of it.
I withdrew $5K so once that hits my account I might just put all of that to the cc. That would definitely help on the interest.
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Not sure how your family operates financially, but it sounds like part of the CC debt is from spending for the whole family (groceries, etc) during leaner times. Would they be willing to help you pay back some of the CC debt when there’s a larger familial cash flow?
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The kind that isn’t made to be replaced. Fixtures like that one are meant to be disposable in my experience.
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We watched the National Treasure movies while I was doing laundry last night and I kept being like NO NO NO while the museum conservator (or whoever she was) was putting lemon juice on the Declaration of Independence and all of them handling it with bare hands 
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if you think you could manage it, I’d strongly recommend getting a second card or just using a debit card for ongoing purchases, and stop using this card for that. That way you’d only be paying interest on the existing balance, and not any of the new purchases. When you aren’t carrying a balance from the prior month then the card gives you a free float until the balance is due. But if you have a balance, they’re charging you from the point you make the charge.
ie if I buy groceries on Aug 1, and my balance is due on Aug 20, then there is no interest charged if I’m not carrying a balance. If I’m carrying a balance, the interest on that charge starts Aug 1 (not Aug 20 when the card is due). So there is a real advantage to having a second card that is always paid off while you’re also working on the original debt.
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Noooo! Well, in your experience is it something that a person with some general competence but no electrical skill can DIY? (IE, is it comparable to replacing a simple ceiling light fixture?)
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Are all of the bulbs out? Assuming they’re LEDs, it would be really weird for all four to go at once so I’d be inclined to blame the circuit behind them and you might want to check that if you’ve got a multimeter somwhere. Having said that, it should be really easy to unscrew and replace the entire fixture if the fixture is what’s dead…LEDs like that can be replaced, but not without soldering gear and some experience with small electronics work.
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Conservators don’t wear gloves these days, so perhaps it was just visionary! Ahead of its time! Lol.
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They don’t?!?! I learned something today.
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The man bulk of that balance is me being stupid so I won’t do that. Also, my Dad pays the mortgage, all the utilities, insurance, etc He has literally nothing left for groceries. That’s why I buy them. Bro was helping but then they got a new store manager who was a dick and was always cutting his hours plus he has a hospital bill from his hernia surgery so he couldn’t help me for a long time. Now he can so it’s getting better.
I never use my debit card. My card got hacked and thankfully my bank froze it before they could steal all my money but that terrified me. My Uncle’s got hacked and he lost $1500 so I never use my debt card. At least if a credit card is hacked you aren’t liable for it.
Also in the last month I’ve been able to pay everything I charged on it plus extra so I don’t feel the need to stop using the card altogether. I just don’t wanna apply for another one. I have too many now.
I think I’ll take that $5K I withdrew once it hits the bank and pay it on the card. That should drop the interest considerably. I now have the money to pay off my Perkins student loan so that’s $167/month going forward that I can put towards it. I just have to chuck a bunch in sinking funds right now for my car taxes/tags in October and my half of the property taxes for the land my Bro and I inherited from Nanny.
I’m really hoping for a good raise in January. We’ll just have to see how the upcoming audit season is. Hopefully I kick ass and show that I can help pick up the slack from coworker leaving. Then I’ll be in a position to negotiate if I want to.
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I’ve replaced them with normal fixtures a few times with no problem.
They are marketed as lasting 25+ years with no bulb changing, but I’ve seen a lot of them die and I would never replace one with the same thing. A normal fixture that takes normal bulbs is the way to go imo.
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can you get one of the existing cards down to zero with this lump sum payment, and then just use it for the day to day spending? the point is to not be paying any interest on the new purchases, so your money will go further on paying down the existing debt, not the additional $10-15 that you picked up in interest because they aren’t giving you the month float.
It might be a complex calculation with the interest rates and amounts if you’re running multiple cards. idk.
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Well I could actually. It would only take like $3300 for that one. Then I’d have $1700 to put on the $16K balance one. I also could take the monthly minimum payment on that one if I paid it off and put it towards the other one. Something to think about anyways.
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Or I could use the minimum payment for the paid off one to fill up my sinking funds. 
Also, I have a small balance (a couple hundred each) on two other cards where I bought some new clothes to replace some worn out items. I could use the $5K to pay off three cards, put what’s left towards the $16K one, then use the minimums from all three to fill up the sinking funds and then start throwing it on the big balance.
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I had my debit card physically stolen and used, and I didn’t lose any $. I agree that the legal protections aren’t as robust, but the bank wants to cover it, IME. It does take a little longer to fix than a credit card, though.
I handle this by having multiple debit/checking accounts, one of which I don’t even remember the PIN for, though it’s written down somewhere.
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