Can anyone advise a way of moving all debts from credit cards to something else so that...?

Question

...you are not consistantly paying back the interest.
Whether this gives interest free or a lot lower rate.

I have a colleague at work I'd like to help get back on the financial track. I'm thinking if she could move her debt to something that doesn't accumilate she could then destroy her cards and start clearing her debt properly.

Answer 1

Check out Dave Ramsey at www.daveramsey.com. He can be very helpful in getting someone back on the right track financially.

Answer 2

Pretty much anything that she could use to consolotate her debts would help- a single personal loan from a bank for example would have lower interest, but if she's having financial problems, she may have trouble getting a loan.

There are debt counselling/consolodation companies out there- many can negotiate with credit cards to settle her debts for less than she owes and/or lower the interest provided she stops using them.

She may also be able to speak with the credit card companies herself- they may agree to lower the interest if she agrees to pay the lot off in a certain number of payments (i.e. rather than paying the minimum every month which can take 15 years to pay off, she pays x per month for the next 6 months paying it off completely) if they know that she is having financial difficulties, but it's important that she knows that she will have bad credit for some time and may not be able to get any credit for 5 years or so.

Answer 3

If she is a homeowner, she might be able to qualify for home equity loan, and use proceeds to pay off all credit cards. The equity loan is typically a lower rate, and as a consolidated loan with a long term may have lower payments.

As you say the trick is not to run up the credit cards again. Destroying them is a godd start.

Answer 4

The best way is to take out a personal loan at the lowest rate availlable to pay off the credit cards set up ddm to pay loan and cut up all cards - this is debt consolidation

Answer 5

ridiculous as it sounds it might be worth her applying for another card and transferring all her debts on to that one (0% transfer) this allows her a limited period without interest to bring her out of the red , and besides one monthly payment will definitely be easier to meet .
make sure though that all the other cards are destroyed and she only ever uses whatever amount the agreement on her new card demands to keep it active , otherwise she'll have one company chasing her to court for the entire amount she owes at the first sign of trouble , it's a long haul but it works .

Answer 6

It depends on if your friend has learned her lesson on debt. If she consolidates and then opens more accounts and accumulates more debt she has not benefited at all. It's a vicious cycle. I agree with the first response. Look up Dave Ramsey on line and listen to the radio show or pod cast. Great info to turn your debt around.

Answer 7

I know someone who has been in that situation a couple of times the first time it happened she organised witht the banks to cancel her cards and started a repayment plan the second time it happened she had to get a loan to consolidate her debt
I hope that has helped

Answer 8

If you're in the UK, go to moneysavingexpert.com. It's run by a genius called Martin Lewis and is full of useful advice, not only from Martin himself, but from other people who have been through or are going through financial difficulties.

It's absolutely brilliant, and should be obligatory reading for everybody trying to get by!

Answer 9

Transfer her balances to a card with 0% interest on balance transfers and pay them off that way. That was one of the best things I ever did financially.

Answer 10

Get a loan to consolidate your debts. And keep away from those credit cards.