I’m thinking that by paying the cards off with the 401k they will get a fresh start and I can also get them started on paying their cards off monthly. I agree with you guys that the key thing here is that they don’t continue to rack up balances. What sense does it make to pay the cards off only to charge them back up again, right? They are my parents, so I have alot of leeway with regard to following up with them on this and making sure they are indeed paying these cards off monthly, in a respectful way of course:) The HELOCs and paying via the former mortgage payment next year are great ideas I will look into. For some reason, though, I really want them to see that zero balance, feel good about it, and then focus on keeping it that way at the end of every month. Do American Express cards have to be paid back every month? How do they differ from Visa cards?
