Struggling to manage credit card payments?
Trying to help someone who’s swimming in credit card debt?
Let Tally do the work.
“Compound interest is the 8th wonder of the world. He who understands it, earns it; he who doesn’t, pays it.”
Albert Einstein
In This Article
Big Picture
If you’ve got any credit card debt, it needs to be addressed. Tally can help. It’s a financial application that consolidates your credit card debts and enables you to pay them off efficiently. In fact, Tally pays your bills on your behalf in the most efficient way possible using a revolving line of credit and a series of algorithms designed to help climb out of credit card debt quick.
Who's it For?
Truth be told, we heard about this service for the first time a few years ago, but thought it was too good to be true. Since then, it has gained credibility and popularity to the point that it has been featured by the New York Times, Business Insider, and Forbes. After looking into it again, hearing success stories from a few friends and coworkers, and giving the app a test-drive, we realized that there are a quite a few service members who might benefit from Tally. If any of the following describe you or someone you know, Tally might be a great option.
- In credit card debt, and wants to get out
- Struggles to manage multiple credit cards
- Has credit cards with high APRs
- Surprised by payments, late fees, or due dates
How it Works
Based on your quick credit check and credit card information, Tally will offer you two separate lines of credit, called “Tally +” and “Basic”. The Tally + offer involves a $300 annual fee ($25/month), which is paid from your line of credit, not out of pocket. In other words, Tally takes $25/month off the top of your savings… savings that you likely would not be making if you weren’t using Tally. The second is the “Basic Offer”, which comes with a higher APR and a lower line of credit, but no monthly charge.
Which one is right for me?
The benefits of Tally + are that it allows you to pay more towards the balance of your high interest credit card debt right away, and the payments you make toward the line of credit incur less interest. However, if you don’t save at least $25 more per month by using Tally + than you would with Basic, Basic is the better choice.
If your goal is to get out of credit card debt quickly, it’s much more important that you simply choose one and move on than it is to spend a lot of time making sure you pick the right one. If you go with Tally +, there’s a good chance it could save you more than $25 more per month. If you don’t, you avoid the $25 monthly fee and still are able to harness all of the tools Tally has to offer.
Once you’ve chosen your line of credit, Tally uses it to pay off your credit card debt instantly. If your line of credit doesn’t cover the entirety of your debt, Tally still pays off as much as possible off the bat. Then, it uses the room you free up in your (revolving) line of credit each month to keep paying off your debt and manage monthly minimums (See FAQ 1 below for more detail). Either way, you make one simple payment each month to your Tally line of credit.
Features and Details
With Tally, you no longer have to track different payment deadlines, compare APRs, or scramble to meet monthly minimum payments. Also, you can easily avoid late fees by setting Tally up to pay at least the minimum on your cards every month.
Extra payments help a lot. Whether you want to do a one-time extra payment of $5 or automate a few hundred extra every month, Tally enables you to do it in seconds. It even shows you how much you’ll save by doing so and how much quicker you can climb out of credit card debt.
Both on the app and online, Tally is generally easier to navigate and understand than many credit card and banking apps. While this has no direct affect on your finances, it certainly makes it easier to take control of your debt without a sloppy interface getting in the way.
What's the Catch?
The only real catch here is that the Tally+ line of credit incurs a $25 monthly charge. However, the fee is taken out of your line of credit (which is higher than it is for the Basic offer, and comes at a lower APR) instead of out of pocket, and it could pay for itself by saving you over $25 more per month than the Basic Option. If not, then you can simply use the Basic line of credit and still have access to all the great features Tally has to offer.
Again, which one you choose depends on your specific situation, and in our opinion, $25 per month to get out of credit card debt is money well spent (reference the Einstein quote at the top of this page).
Getting Started
When you create an account, you’ll answer a few basic questions and Tally will run a quick credit check on you. This process occurs nearly instantly, doesn’t impact your score (known as a soft check), and allows Tally to offer you a line of credit. A score of 580 or higher is usually required (If you don’t qualify, here are some resources to help you understand and improve your credit score).
Next, you’ll link your credit cards and banking information with your account. Like Robinhood, Venmo, and Mint, Tally uses a financial technology company called Plaid to link bank account information. As long as you know your login information (or can quickly retrieve or reset it), it’s quick, easy, and secure.
Based on the credit check and credit card information, Tally gives you the choice between the Tally+ and Basic Offers, and you’re off to the races.
FAQs
The line of credit offered by Tally is revolving. Each month, as you make a payment towards your Tally line of credit, you free up a bit of room for Tally to apply toward your credit card debts. As long as you stick with it, sooner or later your credit card debts will be paid off, and the only balance you’ll have is toward your Tally line of credit.
Tally can’t fix spending habits. People, especially service members, typically end up in credit card debt for one of two reasons (or both):
- They don’t understand how credit or credit cards work
- They consistently spend more than they make
Tally can help get you out of debt quick, but it can’t keep you from going back into debt. Once you’ve paid off your credit card debt with Tally, pay off your balance in full every month!
Nope! The credit check performed by Tally is a “soft” check, meaning that it has no impact on your credit score.
Disclaimer
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“Tally Technologies, Inc. (NMLS # 1492782 nmlsconsumeraccess.org). Lines of credit issued by Cross River Bank, Member FDIC, or Tally Technologies, Inc. (“Tally”), as noted in your line of credit agreement. Lines of credit not available in all states.
To get the benefits of a Tally line of credit, you must qualify for and accept a Tally line of credit. Based on your credit history, the APR (which is the same as your interest rate) will be between 7.90% – 29.99% per year. The APR will vary with the market based on the Prime Rate. Annual fees range from $0 – $300.
Want to Learn More About Credit?
If you’re realizing you might not know as much about credit cards, credit scores, and credit checks as you’d like, you can learn more here.