What should I pay first?

If you have excellent credit, then perhaps you can still roll both over into a no interest for 6 months card and pay most of the balance off, leaving perhaps about a 1/3 of the original debt and then make 2-4x the minimum payment. Beware, though, alot of card companies are sticking it to even the best of debtors. They've introduced new fees and new rules and regulations on what gets a rate increase going. If you can't do this, then paying off one of the cards leaving only 100 on it (so it won't close the account, and it's mamagable to pay off each month then run up a couple of fill ups on the car, pay it off again). Make the highest payment you can afford on the other one whenever you can and don't use it unless you know that the thing you buy can be paid off in no time. This will keep you with an acceptable amount of revolving debt, and show that you are handling your finances well. This may be a better option than going into a no interest card, because it leaves you with two cards, not three. The usual acceptable credit for home loan pursuers is 1 major department store in good standing, 2 credit cards in good standing, and one auto loan that is paid or in good standing. These days, though, you might do some research. Things are changing drastically.

Truthfully, I would pay one off and get out from under that debt totally. Pay off what you can on the other and stick the rest in savings. If nothing else, use the balance of your return to help you make higher payments on the remaining one to get that one closer to being paid off.

There is no sense in paying any more interest on any of that than you have to. At 15-17% it adds up quickly. Especially with the way the credit card companies calculate interest so they can screw the consumer more!

There is no investment that has guaranteed payoff of 15-17% per annum. Paying of credit card debt means you are not paying 15-17% interest that you would have paid otherwise. Pay off your credit card debt before you think about any other investment.

Once you credit card debt is paid off and you are left with money to invest, you can invest in stocks or high yield mutual funds to make financial gains.

First off, only use your credit cards for absolute emergencies. And if you own more than one credit card it is time to question your charging habits and keep carying over balances month over month If, the balances seem only to keep getting higher, you are living above your means, and may need redo your budget if you have one.

If you have enough money from your return to pay off both then do so. Your just throwing money down the drain if you dont. Pay off as much as you can on the higher interest rate first.then on a montly basis, look at your budget and see how much you can afford to pay on all of your of your credit cards combined. Lets assume you cannot pay off the highest interest card in its entirety. lets say you can afford to pay 600 on all your credit cards combined. and you have 3 credit cards.

Card A 15% interest Min Paymt 100

Card B 18% interest Min Paymt 125

Card C 20% interest Min Paym 130

Pay the minimum on your lowest interest credit cards and the rest on your highest. So for your $600 dollars you can afford to pay monthly Pay the following break down

Card A Minimum Payment$100,

Card B Minimum Payment $125,

Card C Remaining From 600 Budget for credit cards = $375

once the highest is payed off, you keep the total amount you pay on credit cards the same 600

Card C = payed off

Card A = Minimum Payment $100

Card B = Remaining from 600 Budget for credit cards $500

Once you payed off card B you pay the entire Budgeted credit card amount of 600 to card A. Until that is payed off too.

This system will assure you paying your credit cards off in the least amount of time with the least amount of interest. Of course this system works best if you dont keep increasing the balance on your credit cards. NEVER EVER (Except in the most dire of emergencies) pay only minimum on ALL your credit cards. It will take you 30+ years to pay them off, and that is if you dont charge another thing!

If you have enough to pay off one, then I would pay on of them off, preferrably the higher balance one. If you have anything left over, pay that toward the other. Then work on paying as much as you can toward the remaining credit card until it's paid off. Just paying the minimum will most likely take DECADES, not years to pay off the balance. Always good to be debt free when you can be.

It's always a good idea to pay off debts that aren't contributing to your wealth.

However, before you start, make a plan on how you can pay off both as quickly as possible. That means having a budget and looking at how much effect paying off one or the other will have on your finances in, say, a year's time.

If I were you, I'd contact both of them and see if you can get a cash settlement for less than what you owe. The interest is killing you on these. Just a suggestion.