Clear Your Debts with 0% Balance Transfers
Clearing debt is never easy however one solution is to use 0% credit card balance transfers. Most cards have an initial transfer rate of 0% that means that once you’ve paid the initial arrangement fee you incur no other debts providing you repay the debt or transfer the outstanding balance elsewhere before the end of the 0% period.
Another significant benefit of using this method is you can adjust the sum repaid each month to suit your budget. You should always try to repay the maximum you can afford to lower the balance as soon as possible however should you choose to pay less in certain months then you can do so. You may choose to reduce your payments if you need the money elsewhere for example.
The third major advantage of using a credit card balance transfer to repay debt is that you can prioritize your debts so more expensive debts can be repaid first. Most credit card companies offer a low introductory rate and even a 0% introductory rate so if you are not able to transfer your entire debt to the card you can concentrate on repaying the the more expensive debts first. This ensures your debt costs you less in the longer term.
There are a number of things to remember if you choose to repay debt using a credit card balance transfer. The most important rule is to remember to always pay at least the minimum payment on time to the credit card company. If you fail to do so you will most likely incur additional charges and possibly lose your introductory rate making this type of debt very expensive. Furthermore late payments may result in increased difficulty obtaining credit in the future. If a late payment cannot be avoided get in touch with your credit card company as quickly as possible and explain your reasons why.
Try to also remember to repay the most expensive debts first. Any additional forms of credit you have with higher interest rates will cost you more and you should concentrate your payments on these debts first to reduce your borrowing. After repaying higher interest debts you can then repay the next highest and so on.
Always repay as much as you possibly can from your debts. Any introductory rate on the credit card transfer will not last forever and the quicker you repay the balance the faster you can forget about it. If possible do not add additional spending to the balance transfer as this will incur higher interest charges than the original balance transfer and will not be repaid first.
Make a note of the length of the introductory period of the credit card balance transfer. As you get nearer to this expiry date search for new credit card deals and make plans to transfer the remaining balance. Don’t panic if a company turns you down as there are lots of credit card companies available offering introductory rates. Arrange to transfer the balance automatically to your new card and then destroy your old card. You’ll have to pay an arrangement fee for the transfer so the smaller the balance the better.
Define a budget and stay away from easy credit to purchase things. Any additional purchases made using credit cards will have to be paid for or difficult bankruptcy procedures will occur that will affect your finances for years. Using credit card balance transfers it is possible to remove your debts. If you set a budget and give yourself enough time without buying new items with credit cards you will eventually be debt free. I was burdened by debt for years before knuckling down and clearing them.
Tags: 0 balance transfer, balance transfer, clearing debt, credit card balance transfer, Credit Cards, Debt Management, managing debt
One Response to “Clear Your Debts with 0% Balance Transfers”
Finally got serious about paying off debt after Christmas. We’ve paid off 10 smallish debts (store cards, medical bills, personal loan) totaling $2500 so far. Sadly, we have about $22,000 more to go for the credit cards alone. Then there is a car, mortgage and massive student loans. Our first focus is to get rid of the credit cards, though. They are just eating away at our monthly budget.
By Huey Harpole on Apr 21, 2010