Dear Cheapskate: I have three credit cards with interest rates upward of 30 percent, the result of late payments in the past. With my limited budget, I can only manage the minimum monthly payment on each, which is more than $200 per account.
Despite paying on time for many months now, huge finance (interest) charges have pushed me over the limit on more than one occasion in the past year. It is because of this over-limit issue and the high balances that the creditors won’t lower my interest rates. I can’t keep paying over $600 a month, and I can’t pay more to make a bigger dent in my debt. What else can I say to get them to lower my interest rates?—Jen, Texas
