I just married and my wife has some credit card debt.HELP?

Question

we are not really getting ready to fall behind or anything but it seems like it would make sence to consolidate rather than paying them all off sepratly with high interest rates.will this hurt our credit .what should we do

Answer 1

Here is a personal finance course that is free and will help:

http://www.financialfreedomtrail.com/money_management_advice.html

Here's some helpful debt reduction information:

http://www.financialfreedomtrail.com/money-management-advice.html

Answer 2

I don't suggest consolidation. Best advice is to work on the cards with the highest interest rate first and work your way down.

I see so many people that get easy consolidation Lone to lower there payments and after about 6 months they maxed there cards out again and have the consolidation loan.

The only way you will learn from your mistakes is if you make some sacrifices. I know this is your wife's debt but your a team now and you need to work together and pay this off.

You can do it.

GOOD LUCK

Answer 3

Taking out a loan at lower interest to pay them all off might work IF you don't use the cards anymore and IF you make the loan relatively short term.

A much better way to deal with credit card debt is to take every penny you can squeeze out of your budget and throw it on the highest interest rate card, while making minimum payments on the rest. When the highest card is paid off, move to the next till they are all paid.

Paying off the credit cards will improve your wife's credit score as it will improve her ratio of revolving credit debt to credit limit. Anything more than 30% hurts your score.

Answer 4

You can use the credit counseling agencies to consolidate and they will give you 1 monthly payment that's usually reasonable. They will also get the credit cards paid off sooner. Most credit card companies will agree to lower the interest and waive finance charges once you join one of these programs. It don't recall it showing up on my credit report when we did this. I would rather nip it in the bud now rather than find myself in a mess later. It's really helpful if you stick with it.

Answer 5

If you have any equity in your home consider either refinancing or taking out a home equily line of credit. This way you can write the interest off on your taxes. If you don't have any equity in your home consider using the equity in your vehicles to get a cash out loan. This will get you a lower rate and a fixed monthly payment which will probably have your credit cards payed off in five years tops.

Answer 6

This is one of those "It depends" questions. How many different accounts are there, what are the rates on each, what other assets do you have to use for tis purpose and what are the balances on each?

And the above answer is incorrect.

Answer 7

I was told that when you use one of those places that consolidate your bills it shows up on your credit report like a bankruptcy. Stays on there 7 or more years. Haven't checked into it, so I might be wrong.