I have 3 credit cards totaling around $15k. One is open($3400 balance), and two are closed. One of the closed ones has a $8000 balance, but I'm on a $240/month payment plan, and the other has a $4500 balance. I just sold a vehicle for $4500, so I want to pay down or off my debt, but not sure which card(s) to pay down or off. Do I pay off the closed account(s) first or should I pay off the open account first? Does it really matter?

I don't know if I would consider putting all $4,500 into one card, but I would start with the card that is costing you the most in fees and interest

My reasoning for putting it all towards one card is so I can pay that particular card off and no longer have to pay 3 monthly payments. If one is paid off I can then try and use the snowball method to focus on the next card.

Sounds like you got this under control. Also try not to use your credit card untill you have paid everything off. I know people get carried away these days with material things, but now your priorities should be to adjust your expenses to pay off debt. Also a good way to save money is not to dine out so often, I mean still do it (keeps the economy going)

why not make a deal with one of the closed credit cards, like the 4500$ one, give them max 1000 and have them satisfied, repay the active one with the rest and keep the payment plan wit the 8000 if it makes sense, if the interest is to high try to settle that as well. Remember any dime they waive is taxable income for you

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I talked to them about arranging some type of settlement and they insisted they wont do anything like that, which I find hard to believe. I would love to get them to settle.

Are the accounts that are closed still with the original creditor (less than 180 behind)? If not, then they have either been sold or assigned to a debt collector. Once your accounts have gone to collection there are a number of consumer protection laws (most notably the FCDPA) that can protect you from collection efforts. Since your credit is already ruined on those 2 closed accounts my advice would be to pay down your open account and keep it open and let the other delinquent accounts go into default. The chances that you will be sued on your 2 delinquent accounts is small and your open account will help mediate the damage to your credit score.

My "closed" accounts are still in good standing, I pay them every month. The cards are inactive and still with the original creditor, so my credit is actually ok. I made an executive decision and paid of the open account, and now I'll focus on the inactive accounts.

Pay the one with the highest interest rate! Simple.

its more helpful to your mind to pay the smallest card off even though it doesnt make sense mathematically. the one nice thing about paying off the smallest balance is you get rid of a payment you dont need quicker and you free up money to tackle the other cards.

I think that there is one another method you can do is that transfer all your balance from one or more credit cards to a new credit cards. There are many 0 apr balance transfer credit card which means that you can transfer your balance from one or more cards onto the new cards without paying for fee. Then you have more times to take a breath for your high debt(as for me, it is too high).

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Just be careful with balance transfers, almost all transfers charge 3-4%. If you do decide to take advantage of a "balance transfer" on $3,500 it will cost $104 or $140 up front. Then, you have to make sure the lower interest you save in doing it exceeds the initial cost.

Typically, if you have a low interest rate card OR pay a high dollar amount back each month the balance transfer costing 3% or 4% can work against you.

I'll reverberate the easiest answer pay off the one that's costing you the most per month.

Pay the one with the highest interest and close the account.