Posted by QuickReadAbout.com Staff in When it comes to credit cards you’ve got to be very careful. Because credit cards are so convenient and so widely accepted, getting yourself into trouble and over your head can quickly become a problem, even for the most cautious consumers. In no time you can easily find yourself in need of credit card debt help. If that’s your situation there are a number of options available to you, so let’s take a few moments to get an idea of exactly what types of credit card debt help might be best for you.
Credit Card Balance Transfers
You may find that a credit card company offers you a credit card at a lower annual percentage rate than other cards you already have with existing balances. For example, you may have two cards with interest rates of 17.5 percent and 19 percent, and each may have a balance of $1,200. A new card offer might give you the considerably lower rate of 12 percent, so transferring your $2,400 in balances to the new, lower-rate card would make sense. However, you should make certain that the new rate is not only a short-term promotional rate. In many cases, these low rates have an expiration date at which time the rate will increase. If you seek credit card debt help through the balance transfer option, make certain you know when the promotional rate expires and what the subsequent long term rate will be.
Debt Consolidation Loans
Many people think that a debt consolidation loan is the best way to get long term credit card debt help, but that isn’t necessarily the case. There are a number of issues to be concerned about when considering a debt consolidation loan. In many cases a loan might significantly reduce your overall monthly payment, perhaps even to as little as half of what you’re currently paying, but this reduction in monthly payment can come at a price — a higher overall annual interest rate. How can a loan at a higher rate reduce your monthly payment? By stretching out the payments over a much longer period of time. In the end, you actually pay much more in total payments than if you’d have simply stuck with your credit cards.
Credit Counseling Agencies
If you seek credit card debt help through a credit counseling company, they will work directly with your creditors to reduce your interest rates and, in some cases, your actual principal balance. Rather than pay off your credit card companies completely, the agency will collect your payment and distribute the funds to the lenders under an agreement that they negotiate. For their service, the agency will receive a fee, either from the consumer or from the creditors. Either way, using credit counseling for credit card debt can keep your accounts in good standing with your credit card companies while reducing the total amount you have to pay each month.
If you’re in need of credit card debt help, consider the advantages of disadvantages of three common solutions: credit card balance transfers, debt consolidation loans, or credit counseling agencies.