i owe about 18,000...should i just doa balance transfer to another card or get a loan with lower rates and pay like 400 a month for like 4 years. This is all obviously to avoid interest.
2007-09-11 05:30:31 · 5 answers · asked by Greg 1 in Business & Finance ➔ Personal Finance
Anytime you can transfer a balance to a lower interest rate its a good thing to do. This allows more of your monthly payments to get applied to the principle allowing you to pay off the debt quicker.
One thing to watch out for ... low introductory rates are a killer. If you switch debt to a lower interest rate that is an "introductory rate", be sure you're going to be able to pay it off before the rate increases or that the "normal" rates are still lower than what you're already paying. You don't want to hurt yourself trying to do a good thing.
2007-09-11 05:40:12 · answer #1 · answered by rose1077 4 · 0⤊ 0⤋
Right now for you it is all about paying less interest and more principle. Do anything you can to get those minimum interest payments down however do not decrease the amount of your payment. You could do a personal loan or get a new card, but be careful to see that rates don't rise after a set period. The rate you get will largely depend on your credit. You can have high debt and very good credit if you have been up to date on payments for a while.
2007-09-11 05:54:13 · answer #2 · answered by Jay P 7 · 0⤊ 0⤋
Instead of shifting you debt to another loan, why not work on paying it off. If you shift the debt, you could end up with those credit cards charged back up and still have the loan to pay.
Make a strict budget. Eliminate all the extras -- cell phone, eating out, new clothes, etc. Put every penny you squeeze out of that budget on the highest interest rate credit card, while paying minimum on the rest. When the highest card is paid off, move to the next till they are all paid.
It will take you about 2 or 3 years.
2007-09-11 06:02:39 · answer #3 · answered by bdancer222 7 · 0⤊ 0⤋
Balance transfers can work, but only if you have a long enough term on the rate. Many offers are promotional, meaning that the rates increase after less than a year.
Also, keep in mind that when you do a balance transfer, the fees (which have gone up tremendously) will be added into your minimum payment the following month. This could double your minimum payment for one month. Make sure you can pay it!
2007-09-11 06:35:25 · answer #4 · answered by Anonymous · 0⤊ 0⤋
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2007-09-11 05:39:00 · answer #5 · answered by Very c 1 · 0⤊ 2⤋