Debt is sometimes more frustrating than being unable to buy something with a credit card. Getting that brand new TV sounds great at first, until the credit card minimum payments go up, and remind you of exactly how much you spent. There is of course, those of us that can focus on those small monthly payments and forget the large looming total on our cards, but even we manage to look at total amount due at times. Don’t we?
When you look at your total amount due, are you paying close attention to the account balance or are you paying closer attention to the APR and doing the math in your head? If you’ve done the later, you may just realize what exactly you paid for that new TV, which was on sale, but which you’ll pay more than the retail amount, eventually. The problem with putting things on a credit card is the interest rate will apply to that item, possibly making it cost more than a new car (ok I exaggerate, but you get the point).
Before deciding to put anything more onto you current card, you may want to rummage through your mail and see if you’ve received any good balance transfer credit card offers. I use the term “good” because there are many “bad” offers which can land you in more trouble than they’re worth. Some credit card balance transfers offers can include fine print that creates a higher APR, more fees and more problems than they’re worth. These problems extend to 0 balance transfer credit card offer. The best balance transfer credit card offers are those which carry the 0 % rate for the entire term of the loan. If you’re asking how a card company gets paid for the transfer, the answer is through the onetime fee you pay upfront for the transfer itself.
An APR is an annual percentage rate, while some people confuse this with an interest rate in general, what needs to be clarified is that the APR is the total interest rate you pay over the course of a year. 12 months of interest added together, in other words. Cards can have varying rates depending on balance and other factors, and some cards can change the APR if they have reason to believe your credit rating has lowered. These factors are often overlooked by people trying to transfer a high APR card to a 0% APR balance transfer card. It’s very important to read all the fine print on your card. It’s also important to factor in the fee you’ll pay for the transfer. Would that fee cost you more than say, asking your current lender to lower the interest rate on your card? Would it surprise you to know that your current lender would rather lower the interest on your card than see you go elsewhere?
There are a lot of options for anyone with a high interest rate on a credit card. It’s not always best to assume any 0% interest balance credit card offers are going to be in your best “interest” (sorry for the pun!).
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One Response
Balance Transfer Credit Card
March 3rd, 2010 at 4:51 pm
1At last… an article that talks about the essence of credit card debt problems. Normally everything is blamed on high APR’s and greedy lenders, but its brought about by people spending (someone elses money) without really considering if they can afford to pay it back.
As for credit balance transfers – yes they can be excellent for getting some breathing space to pay off the capital. However, you have to ask the question – how many people use it as an opportunity to load more debt onto a freshly cleared credit card? Amen.
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