Debt is a struggle for most households, whether medical costs, car liens, education, high-interest credit cards, and on. Almost everyone is challenged in some way with their monthly obligations.
For anyone who believes expenses are consuming them, the indication is that a vast majority of this country is in the same situation, with many looking for a solution. Strategizing to break free takes a concerted effort and dedication, but it’s not impossible.
When deciding to refinance debt, the objective should be to work with the highest-interest debt first. Please go to the website here to learn more about refinancing debt. When these are paid, you can then work on refinancing the next most costly obligation.
Usually, credit cards create significant expenses and are the least easily managed among the monthly obligations. Refinancing is an option meant to decrease the interest total paid on the balance by transferring the balance on a card to a loan or card with a lesser rate. Let’s look at credit card debt refinancing more in-depth.
How Does Refinancing High-Interest Credit Card Debt Work
Strategizing to refinance high-interest credit card debt is an ideal first step in ridding yourself of overall debt. Starting with the bills that are most challenging to manage with the monthly obligations is a good plan.
Once that debt is better situated, you can then work to potentially refinance an auto or perhaps student loan to make these more reasonable.
Refinancing high-interest credit card debt is a matter of paying off cards with higher APRs with either a personal loan or another card with a lower rate. Go here for details on refinancing debt. When you have an APR of roughly 30 percent or higher, it can be challenging to pay down the debt.
When this is transferred to a lower interest product of roughly 12-16 percent, the debt is more manageable since a greater portion of the payment will go towards the principal instead of paying a majority in interest.
How Does Credit Card Debt Consolidation Differ From Debt Refinancing
Refinancing debt and debt consolidation are similar in many ways, but there are several differences. With consolidation, several credit cards are repaid with either a loan or a balance-transfer credit card leaving you with a single monthly payment.
With refinancing, the goal is to pay less interest on your debt by transferring it to a lower-interest option. Learn the difference between refinancing and consolidation at https://www.fool.com/the-ascent/credit-cards/articles/credit-card-refinancing-vs-debt-consolidation-whats-difference/.
How Can You Refinance Credit Card Debt
There are a range of options for refinancing credit card debt. Still, credit profile and score will be a determinant, in many cases, your employment and financial standing and the overall amount of money you owe out.
Another consideration is the time frame you need for repayment, whether you want to work with a smaller monthly installment or prefer a rapid payoff. The choices offer pros and cons, with the priority being that you select the one that works the best for your particular needs. Let’s look at each.
Usually, the 0 percent APR introductory credit cards are only issued to individuals with excellent credit. These are ideal since you can transfer a high-interest debt to this card and get it paid off interest-free within a designated period of time. But that’s also the downside.
You have a specific time frame to pay the balance in full before the promotional period reaches its deadline. This is usually roughly 18 months. If you go beyond that, a standard interest rate will incur.
Even if you don’t qualify for the no-interest introductory offer, some cards offer a lower interest rate allowing monthly savings compared to what you might have been spending. These will also save you considerable expenses in the long term.
One thing to weigh with this option is the balance transfer fee usually attached with these cards. You’ll need to ensure your savings will be worth the money you’re spending to transfer the balance.
Also, you can only transfer up to the amount of the credit limit you’re approved for. It might not allow your whole balance.
Taking a personal loan to handle credit card debt is more about consolidating than refinancing. You will borrow enough to repay the whole of your credit card balances, creating one fixed interest payment that should be lower than any of the interest you were paying for the individual cards.
In order to get the better rate, you’ll need to qualify, usually involving excellent credit. In some situations, lenders will also charge a fee on top of the interest, referred to as an origination fee.
Consolidating multiple debts into one manageable repayment if you have a lot of credit card debt makes sense since it allows a greater degree of organization and breathing room with monthly expenditures where you might have been struggling.
This method is best if you have many cards that you’re attempting to manage with varying interest rates and different repayment dates equating to a significant amount. If you want to pay off debt rapidly, a personal loan might not be ideal.
The balance transfer card might make more sense, or paying higher monthly installments on the credit card invoices each month.
The reason for that is due to the fact you may pay more if there’s an origination fee attached than what you’ll ultimately save, plus you’ll avoid a hard hit to your credit by paying higher amounts on your cards.
You can pay credit card debt off faster if you work diligently to establish a budget and negotiate with creditors to lower the interest rates. Not all issuers will be willing to negotiate but some will. The goal is to get the debt repaid. Many will see your attempt to do so and want to work with you in your effort.
You can increase what you pay each month or add payments throughout the year to plus stop using the cards to prevent higher balances. Establishing a budget is as simple as reviewing where you’re spending each month and deciding what you can cut out or reduce.
It’s also possible to add a side gig into your free time to bring more income into the household that can be dumped onto the repayments.
Ultimately the goal is to refinance debt, especially credit cards, to get the interest rates within a reasonable range. This allows a more manageable monthly repayment.
Many people struggle each month with expenditures being too high. It becomes necessary to prioritize establishing a budget, looking for ways to reduce costs.
You can do this either by refinancing to reduce interest on credit or loans or by consolidating debt to not only help with the rate but also allow a single payment and a fixed term.
The priority is to ensure you bring more into the household than the money that goes into expenses. When you accomplish that, you’ll have a better handle on your debt.