Rising Interest Rates Encourage Debt Consolidation
December 20, 2009 by Admin · Leave a Comment
With all the changes going on in the credit industry right now, it might be confusing what the best course of action is for those who have credit card debt. If you have many credit cards, you’ve probably already noticed that the interest rates on your balances are being bumped up by credit card companies that are taking advantage of the time they have left to raise rates. That’s because new legislation is coming out that will limit their ability to raise interest rates. This is where bad credit debt consolidation comes in.
Most American households have at least two credit cards, if not more. This is a challenge for more than one reason: first, you have to keep track of all the cards and make sure you’re keeping on top of payments, and second, it’s difficult to keep up with which credit cards have which interest rates. With high unemployment and a sour economy, consumers are getting more and more squeezed, so any way you can simplify your life and make payment just a little easier is a good plan.
What’s really sad is that even borrowers with a small balance and a low credit risk are seeing their rates jumping up dramatically. Higher interest rates make it even tougher to stay on top of the bills that come in. The issue, of course, is that you’ll have a high interest rate on more than one card, each with its own balance. Why not have a balance on the card with the lowest interest rate, instead of trying to keep up with more than one card and watching the different interest rates?
An excellent way to improve your financial situation is to consolidate all of your credit card debt into a lump sum on one card. Naturally, there are advantages and disadvantages to this, so you will want to review your own situation to see if this is a worthwhile option for you. However, when it comes to benefits, you should keep in mind that there are often incentives given to people who want to transfer their balances to one card. You are likely to see a lower interest rate on your existing balance than if you keep your debt spread out among several different credit cards.
With a better interest rate also comes a sense of control. Instead of scurrying around trying to figure out which payments go where, and which ones you can afford to delay payment on, and all of the hassle, you can focus on one card and one payment. Your monthly payment is going to be a bit larger, but it will be all on one card and it will be a lot easier to keep track of. The big downside is that debt consolidation isn’t free, so there is some upfront cost to moving all your debt onto one card.
While debt consolidation has always been a viable option, the disturbing trend in rising interest rates should be reason enough to take another look at getting all your debt consolidated in one place. At the very least, it will bring you the ability to better track your spending and know exactly what your existing balance is.