Vent: My uncle told me to just pay minimums and I'm screwed now

My uncle Gary said paying the minimum on my credit card was fine because it builds payment history. I trusted him because he's older and seemed to know money. After 18 months of only paying the minimum on a $4,200 balance, I now owe over $5,600 thanks to 23% interest. My credit score actually dropped because my utilization hit 85%. Anyone else have a relative give them garbage advice that cost them big?

4 comments

4 Comments

nguyen.blake12d ago

$1,400 in interest on $4,200? That is absolutely insane.

ivan_murphy8014d ago

Min payments are a trap, do the math and it hurts every time.

shane_hayes14d ago

My buddy @ivan_murphy80 learned that the hard way on a used car loan back in 2019.

karenb9712d agoTop Commenter

Holy cow! I can't believe that interest rate did that much damage. 23% is absolutely brutal, I've never seen anything like that on a card before. @shane_hayes is right, min payments really are a trap and it hurts when you actually see the numbers. Your uncle Gary probably meant well but that advice is just plain wrong for most people these days. My own dad told me something similar years ago about paying the minimum and my balance grew by like $800 before I figured out what was happening. It's crazy how fast that interest adds up when you're not paying attention to it.