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NerdWallet's Smart Money Podcast

Options for Paying Off Credit Card Debt: Hardship Programs, Balance Transfer Cards, Loans and More

NerdWallet's Smart Money Podcast

NerdWallet Personal Finance

Business, Education, Investing, How To

4.2 • 665 Ratings

🗓️ 28 October 2023

⏱️ 31 minutes

🧾️ Download transcript

Summary

Hear Nerds’ “financial horror stories” and explore solutions for paying credit card debt, from 401k loans to bankruptcy. 01:20 This Week in Your Money: Hosts Sean Pyles and Sara Rathner share their personal “financial horror” stories, including Sean’s rejected credit card application and what happened to some of Sara’s retirement account funds. They’re cautionary tales that will help you make sure you’re getting the most out of your money. 09:46 Today’s Money Question: Sean welcomes Nerd Liz Weston and Tommy Tindall to help answer a question about whether a listener should consider taking out a 401k loan to pay off credit card debt. Tommy explains how calculating your debt-to-income ratio can help you understand your options. He also shares the pros and cons of various methods for paying off credit card debt, including credit card hardship programs, balance transfer cards, personal loans and filing for bankruptcy. He also shares his personal experience of taking out a $15,000 loan from his 401k to make a down payment on a house, breaking down both the benefits and opportunity costs associated with the decision.  28:05 Final Thoughts. In their conversation, the Nerds discuss: financial horror stories, credit card debt, debt-to-income ratio, investment journeys, 401k loans, debt-to-income ratio (DTI), credit card hardship programs, balance transfer cards, personal loans, missed payments, bankruptcy, high credit scores, retirement money, debt solutions, paying off debt, financial tools, compound returns, cashflow challenges, opportunity costs, credit counseling agencies, and debt management plans. To send the Nerds your money questions, call or text the Nerd hotline at 901-730-6373 or email [email protected]. Like what you hear? Please leave us a review and tell a friend. If you’re looking for an app to track all your money in one place, then check out the free NerdWallet app: https://nerdwallet.com/app  Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Transcript

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0:00.0

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0:23.3

like you sign up for your one dollar a month trial at shopify dot com slash set up hey sarah

0:30.7

when was the last time your finances gave you a fright well since having my son six months ago

0:37.3

i've probably spent about a million

0:38.8

dollars on the resulting hospital bills, which is a little scary. Not literally a million

0:42.4

dollars, but it felt like it. Yeah, that sounds terrifying. I'm sure. Well, this episode, we're going

0:48.9

to exercise some of our financial demons, or at least, you know, like chat about them a little bit.

0:55.2

Ooh.

0:57.1

Cute spooky noises.

0:59.6

Welcome to Nerd Wallet's Smart Money Podcast, where you send us your money questions and we answer them with the help of our genius nerds.

1:17.1

I'm Sean Piles.

1:18.0

And I'm Sarah Rathner.

1:19.3

So listeners, you know the deal.

1:21.1

You've got questions about money, like how to budget for the holidays or what you should know about buying a house in this spooky market.

1:28.1

So send your questions our way.

1:31.0

You can email a voice memo of your money question to podcast at nerdwollot.com or leave a voicemail

1:36.6

on the nerd hotline at 901-730-6373.

1:40.8

That's 901-730 N-E-R-D.

1:44.1

You can also text your questions to the nerd hotline or write an email to podcast at nerdwollet.com.

1:50.0

This episode, Liz Weston and I answer a listener's question about pulling money from a 401k to pay off credit card debt.

1:56.5

But first, in the spirit of Halloween, Sarah and I are going to share some financial horror stories.

2:06.2

All right, Sean.

...

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