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No matter how well you plan, at times you can find yourself with financial problems. Whether it is the economy or some other unexpended financial trouble, at some point you may look for a way to ease your monthly payment load. You might think to yourself, should I try to consolidate my debt? And if I decide to consolidate my debt how can I do so in a way that is safe, affordable, and will help me long term? While the financial industry may appear to be confusing and complicated at first, the answers to your debt consolidation questions and concerns can be accomplished without to much difficulty.
When someone comes to me and says I need help to consolidate my debt. I ask them to fill out a financial profile that lists all of their monthly payments, the balances they owe, and the interest rates they’re paying on each loan or credit card. Because when they have got all the information laid out on paper, we can begin to prioritize their debt. We look for opportunities to quickly pay off small loans with high interest rates and to consolidate larger loans or cards into a single credit card or loan that offers a lower rate.
When you ask yourself, should I consolidate my debt? you should look at your credit cards first, since these usually carry the highest annual percentage rates. Determine whether or not you have the opportunity to reduce your APR by combining the balances of several higher-rate cards onto a single, lower-rate card. If you have three credit cards with a balance of $1,000 and rates of 17.5 percent, 18 percent and 20 percent, you might consider transferring those balances to a single card that has an interest rate of 14 percent. Then you will save a significant amount of money in annual interest payments by moving to the credit card with a lower rate. Provided that the 14 percent rate is not short-term and will expire in a few months and rise to a much higher rate before you can pay off the balances.
You may want a debt consolidation loan to pay off higher-interest debt. Some lenders may offer you a much lower rate based on your credit history, and if so you may consider taking one loan to pay off several other outstanding amounts that have a higher interest rate. Using the credit card examples, you may find that you can get a $3,000 unsecured personal loan at a rate of 11.5%. Securing that loan would allow you to payoff the high-interest credit cards and reduce your overall monthly payment.
A little known fact about the pitfalls of debt consolidation. When someone comes to me and asks please help me consolidate my debt and we are able to pay off those high-interest cards, I tell them to cut up all but one of those cards and to save it for emergency use only. Those credit cards with zero balances can be a big temptation that you just don’t want to fall victim to or you will end up in the same mess you had before and you surely do not want that.
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