How debt consolidation help with credit card debts?
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While there are several ways to go about debt consolidation, if you are not quite in a position where you need a debt counselor and debt management plan and your credit is still in good shape, you may be able to consolidate your credit card debt with a bank loan or transfer your credit card debt to a lower interest credit card.
The benefit of both is that you only have one monthly payment to make and the interest rate is usually substantially lower. If you transfer your debt to a lower interest credit card, you need to exercise some caution, though. Some credit cards offer special interest rates when you do a balance transfer, but this lower interest rate may not always be fixed until you pay off the debt. It may only last a few months and then the rate goes right back up. If you go this route, managing your debt may be easier than if you have to pay to several lenders, but much more difficult than if you were to consolidate with a single loan because you need to continually calculate interest rates and how they will affect your credit card debt.
Hre's an example of how obtaining a lower interest consolidation loan or transferring to a lower interest credit card can affect your credit card debt:
Let's say you have $1000 in outstanding credit card debt with an average (APR) of 18 %. If the outstanding balance remains at $1000, over the course of a year you would pay approximately $180 in interest charges alone. If you consolidate your credit card debt into a single loan with a lower interest rate or if you do a balance transfer onto a credit card with a low interest rate you would save a significant amount of money.
If the new loan or credit card have a 9% APR, the amount you pay in interest charges would be half of the higher interest cards meaning you would save roughly $90 in interest charges over the course of that same year. If you save $90 for a debt of $1000, then think about a debt of $10,000. You will save about $900 just in interest alone and pay down the debt that much quicker.
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