This is how we did it, oh something like 10 or 15 years ago. With all the changes credit card companies are making these days, I’m not sure this is doable now (we have one credit card which we pay off monthly so I don’t pay attention to the promos we get in the mail.)
The way to do it is to take advantage of the credit card promotions for no-interest for XX months on transfers. Transfer the debt on your credit card(s) to the new promotional card. For XX months you can pay the minimum balance without accruing interest. Then right before the promo ends, transfer the remaining balance to a new no-interest for X months card. When I was doing it, we were getting promotionals like this every other week, so it was no problem to find a new card to transfer to … that is the part I’m not sure about today.
The only reason this is somewhat risky is you really have to pay attention and a) pay *at least* the minimum promptly every month and b) do the switch to a new card at the right time or they hit you with *all* the interest, not just one month’s worth. But the benefit is that while you are working hard to pay down debt, at least you are not accruing additional interest on what you aren’t able to pay yet.
Another thing is to always call in and see if you can get late fees dismissed. I have never been turned down and in fact it is so easy that I am starting to wonder whether late fees aren’t in fact an illegal fee which they tack on hoping we’ll just pay without questioning. Of course, it is a rare thing … I am usually prompt and up-to-date on our bills, so I’m not exactly sure they would ok that if I was chronically late and requesting dismissals.
~ s
