Debt Service Uk

Posts Tagged ‘Amount Of Time’

When you decide to consolidate your debt, the obvious first question is “how?” – and that’s a question that isn’t easy to answer right off the bat.

Sure, you can go to your bank and ask them to consolidate all of your debts. You could get a new credit card with a 0% interest rate on debt transfers. You could call a credit-counseling bureau, many of which were recently taken off ‘tax exempt’ status by the IRS, because rather than working to help you, they work to earn a huge profit off you…

Every option has a downside, and there are more options besides. But let’s go through these three possibilities and break down the advantages and disadvantages.

1.GETA BANK CONSOLIDATION LOAN
Banks love it when their customers decide to get smart with their debt burden, and they love it even more when they do so with that bank. When you transfer £10,000 of credit card debt (at 19% interest), a car loan (at 15% interest), and a retail charge account (at 18% interest) into a single bank loan at 9% interest, both you and the banks win. The downside of this is that banks can be tougher to get credit from than other lending institutions, and that means if you’re in real debt trouble, they might not view you as a good bet.

2.CREDIT CARD WITH 0% ON DEBT TRASFERS
Some credit card companies send out special offers to try to entice you to bring your business to them. For example, one is the offer where they’ll give you a new credit card with a sweetheart rate, and any debt you transfer from an existing credit card, they’ll let you pay zero percent interest on. That’s not a bad deal, but the devils in the details – after a certain amount of time, your account reverts to above-standard interest rates, sometimes as high as 29%. In this instance, using a credit card to consolidate debt may actually see you with more debt burden in six months time.

3.CREDIT COUNSELING BUREAUS
These outfits claim to be non-profits that are only there to help you get out of debt, but the reality is the industry has been taken over by people who earn big money from your creditors by getting you to pay them back in a prompt fashion. For example, let’s say your best option is bankruptcy – hey, sometimes you just need to start over. A credit-counseling bureau, which gets paid, based on how much you pay back, will be much more inclined to tell you to NOT go for bankruptcy, because they make more if you spend three years eating noodles and sending all your money to Visa. Avoid.

In the end, your best bet, if you can manage it, is to have your bank set you up with a debt consolidation loan. The rate will be better, the payment structure easier, and you can cut those credit cards into pieces at last!

Need to consolidate debt? Chances are, you’re doing what you can to pay it off, as quickly as possible.  You want to be debt-free.

• A worthy goal, to be sure.
• But what do you do in the meantime?

Having a debt management plan is just as important as having a debt reduction plan.  It can save you hundreds or thousands of dollars in interest, and maybe even reduce the total amount of time it takes for you to be come debt-free.

Here’s how to do it right, without going to pricey or questionable debt consolidation firms.  And forget about those debt consolidation loans!  You have most of the tools you need to do it yourself.

First, promise yourself you won’t take on any more debt.  Put all your credit cards somewhere besides your wallet.  One of my favorite spots is the freezer; by the time you thaw the cards to use them, you’ve probably changed your mind about your purchase.  Why so drastic?  Because you can’t manage your debt if you keep adding to it.

Now, you need to make a list of all the debts you have.  Creating a chart or spreadsheet is probably the easiest way to sort all the vital information.

List the following:

1. Creditor’s name
2. Principal currently owed
3. Minimum payment
4. Interest rate
5. Contact phone number
6. Website address with login information

Next, add any credit lines you may have open but with zero balances to the above list.  (I’ll explain why later.)  Fill in all the above information, except principal and minimum payment, of course.

Take your list and start calling each of your current credit card companies. Ask what their current offers are for balance transfers.  Mention that you’d be willing to move your balance to another bank’s card if a better offer comes along.

Take notes on your chart or spreadsheet for each offer.  Watch the fine print:  ask if there are balance transfer fees, how long the lower rate period lasts, what happens to the transferred balance if you make a late payment, etc.

Be aware that a common gimmick now is to offer a very low rate for transferred balances with no fees, as long as you charge a certain amount each billing period, say £25, which is billed at a higher interest rate than your transferred balance.  Since the credit card companies apply your payment to the lowest-rate balance first, you’ll accrue the higher interest rate on the monthly charges until your transferred balance is paid off.

For example, say you transfer £5000 at 1.9%.  The rate goes up in 6 months unless you charge at least £25 a month by the close of the billing period.  Purchases are charged at 11.9%.  If you pay £200 a month on the card, it’ll take you 25 months to pay off the transferred balance (ignoring finance charges).  Meanwhile, for 25 months you’re charging £25, which grows to a balance of £625 plus interest of 11.9%.

This gimmick won’t hurt you if you can get a low interest rate for purchases (say, less than 9.9%) and you make sure you only charge the amount needed to maintain the low transfer rate.  When the transferred balance is paid off, have the cash on hand to pay off the purchases, too.

Okay, back to debt management.

After you’re done calling all your credit card companies, choose the one with the best offer.  Transfer as many of your balances as you can to that card.  If there’s not enough room, ask for a credit limit increase, or transfer the rest to the card with the second-best offer.

Note:  if you ask the best-offer card to increase your credit limit, it’ll show on your credit report, so unless your credit is sterling, be careful.

Figure out when any introductory rates expire and make a note on your calendar.  If you won’t have your balances paid off by then, back up about six weeks and make a note to search out a new lower rate.

When you’re done, you should have all your credit card balances on just one or two cards.  Maybe three.

At this point, most experts would recommend you close your other accounts.  I disagree, unless it would improve your credit, and you need to make a large purchase soon, such as a mortgage.  Put those cards in the freezer instead.

Why not close them?  Because if you need to transfer balances again, those credit card companies will be hungry to get your business back.  If you’ve faithfully paid your transferred balances on time, your credit will be in good shape (or at least better than it was) and they’ll fall all over themselves to get you to transfer balances back to them.

Another note here:  if you can’t control your credit card spending, then by all means close the accounts.  No debt management strategy is worthwhile if it means you’ll only put yourself deeper in debt!

Some folks often ask me if it makes sense to put their credit card debt on a home equity loan or line of credit, as they often have low introductory interest rates.  I hesitate to recommend this.  Home equity is secured by your primary residence.  If you can’t pay, the banks foreclose.  Why take the chance if there’s another way?

Get your debt to the lowest rate possible, keep track of when low rates expire, and pay as much as you can as fast as you can.

Don’t pay others to do it for you.  Do your own debt consolidation, and then make a plan to pay it off as quickly as possible.

I know you can do it!