The question
Should I use my cash to wipe out this balance, or keep the cushion?
Almost never all of one. The question is how much, and which balance.
What we know
Pulled from My Stuff. Nothing is re-asked.
Nothing on file yet that bears on this decision. You can still work it through here — or add a few things in My Stuff so every future decision starts warmer.
What we still need
Only the things that genuinely move the answer. Approximate is fine — leave anything blank and it stays a stated assumption, never an invented number.
Stated assumptions
- Assuming cash you could use not provided.
- Assuming the debts in play not provided.
- Assuming your monthly must-pay total not provided.
- Assuming anything coming up not provided.
CredABLE won't turn these into an authoritative-looking figure. Where a number decides the answer, it will say so and ask.
Options
Real alternatives. Very few of these decisions are actually yes or no.
Pay one balance off entirely
Frees a minimum, removes one thing to track.
Pay each card under 50% of its limit
Buys score points per card, keeps cash back.
Keep the cash, pay minimums
Right when the cushion is thin or income is uneven.
Split it
Part to reserve, part to the balance doing the most damage.
Impact
What CredABLE will compare the options on.
What changes the answer
Assumptions that can flip the recommendation, stated up front.
- Whether you have any reserve at all. A cushion beats optimizing a balance.
- Whether you're applying for anything in the next six months.
- The rate on each balance, and whether one is a promotional rate about to end.
- Where each card sits against 50% of its limit.
CredABLE's take
A clear read on your version of this, plus the next move.
You'll get one interpretation, not a shrug — and every assumption behind a number will be written in front of it.
Save this scenario
Come back to it, or compare it against another.
Examples: “$650k house”, “Pay off cards”, “HELOC option”, “Investment property #1”.