Low Apr Remedy For High Credit Card Bills
What Can I Do My Bills Are Out Of Control
Consolidation is getting a loan from one place; be it another credit card, bank or other outside organizations to use against your current debt. Afterwards you owe money to the lender and the lender alone.
Home Equity Lines of Credit or HELOC has helped people consolidate debt for some time now but recently the market has been changing and it's been harder than ever to get a refinance or normal loan through HELOC. An Equity line of credit may have seemed plausible before but has now become unreliable.
You need to shop around. What may seem like small numbers can have big consequences in your finances. If loans are not an option start looking for other credit cards that offer better service than the ones you have now.
I'll Just Transfer To The Lowest APR
It isn't always about APR (annual percentage rate). Low Apr is a lure some companies use, what you need to know is the other costs associated with the card. Most cards will charge to transfer your balance, an example is 2% of the amount transferred up until a certain amount, a cap. Although recently issuers have been eliminating that cap so when transferring balances this is a must know.
Fees are everywhere, they stalk you as late fees, over-the-limit fees, annual fees and balance transfer fees to name a few. We need to pay to use money, and you need to be informed into how much you pay in order to do so. Reading the fine print will give you a good idea of what you are getting into and what you can do and for what charge.
Almost Out Of Debt
Asses your money habits. If you are the type of person what normally zeroes their balance each and every month, than APR isn't too important. And the fees associated with the card are. Vice versa is applied when that balance stays on and rolls over month after month. Remember that it costs money to transfer your balance so choose correctly for how to get out of your situation, but also for how you realistically manage your money in the future.
One thing to keep in mind is if you are having problems paying the minimum payments on your multiple cards, be it 2 or 10, then debt consolidation may not be able to help you and you need to speak with an expert because your problem may be too far gone.
But how many cards should I keep after it's all sorted out? 1, 2, 30? Experts agree that 2 is the magic number. Keep it simple and allows you to have the best of both worlds, low APR for keeping balances and another card with low operating costs to use in the day to day. Knowledge is key, and with all the information available now, there is no reason to be ignorant.