Tag Archives: cards

Consolidate Maxed Out Credit Cards Using Your Home – Post-Holiday Spending Tips

During the holiday season many families will turn to credit cards to finance Christmas expenses. This makes it less stressful to make ends meet, especially during the holidays. Sometimes we don’t even realize how much damage is done until the credit card bills start to arrive in January.

Credit cards are very convenient but have their pitfalls. Credit cards bear very high interest rates, often more than 20% interest and in the case of department store cards up to 30%. Interest is calculated monthly so if you get caught up in a pattern of only making minimum monthly payments, they can take years to pay off. Credit cards that have balances more than 75% of their limits will damage your credit rating/credit score.

The last thing you want to do is go into the next holiday season with credit cards that have balances from the spending you did the past holiday season. The best thing to do if you have accumulated balances on credit cards from holiday spending is to consolidate maxed out credit cards using your home.

There are many reasons why it is a great idea to consolidate maxed out credit cards using your home. Here are just a few:

1. Using your home to consolidate maxed out credit cards will enable you to start the New Year on a fresh foot and with a single monthly payment.

2. Using your home to consolidate maxed out credit cards will increase cash flow because a home equity loan or line of credit will bear a much lesser payment than what you are paying to your credit cards on a monthly basis.

3. Using your home to consolidate maxed out credit cards will reduce the overall interest that you are paying to loans and credit cards. Home equity loan and home equity line of credit interest rates are much less than what you are paying to your individual credit cards.

4. Using your home to consolidate debt will improve your credit because all of your credit card balances will be reduced to zero and the less debt reporting to your credit report, the higher your credit score will be. Also, as we mentioned when credit card balances exceed 75% of your limits, it reduces your credit score and will trigger a message to appear on your credit report that indicates that your credit card balances are too high in proportion to your credit limits.

It is important that if you consolidate your maxed out credit cards using your home equity that you don’t continue to use your credit cards. Put them away and only use a single card and make sure to use the card in denominations that you can afford to pay off in full each month. This will ensure that you don’t find yourself in the future with a new payment on a consolidation loan and paying credit card balances.

Start your New Year off with your finances in order and without the stress of having to pay a windfall of credit bills.

Get a Rewards or Low Interest Credit Card that is Right for You

Obtaining a credit card with the kind of interest rate and rewards scheme you would like is never easy. Being there are many types of low interest credit cards from the likes of Visa, MasterCard, and American Express to select from. It only makes sense to stick with card that you can benefit from. Either being from a set rewards scheme or from a really great low interest rate. For example, say you are a Major League Baseball fan and would like to earn rewards and/or save money while participating in your favorite pastime. In this instance, the Major League Baseball™ Extra Bases™ Credit Card might be the best selection for you. With this credit card, The only credit card on the planet that earns you points towards autographed memorabilia by past and current players, VIP access, field-level game tickets, travel rewards and even cash rewards; you might be satisfied.

Remember, there are also a number of low interest and rewards credit cards to serve a number of folks interested in other sports as well. Take a look at the NFL Extra Points™ Visa® Card for example. With this credit card you can perhaps earn a NFL Shield Short Sleeve Gray T-Shirt, or receive a Autographed Authentic Jersey – signed by a Former Player! The many types of rewards you can get with all the wonderful possibilities out there are seemingly endless. For just about every major sport there is a credit card rewards program out there.

I have often told many people that credit card rewards are living proof that you are already being charged to much interest. This stands to reason just as much as rewards are what you get for paying to much interest. Money saved is truly money earned as well. It makes perfect sense for one to reflect of the value of potential savings made from the reaping of rewards from credit cards. Many people however seem to forget that the credit card they select should bear them some sort of reward in the end. For example, if you applied for and received a Subaru® Platinum MasterCard® from Chase, but did not follow through with your planned Subaru Outback purchase, it is a safe bet to say you selected the wrong credit card as you will likely not come across any meaningful reward scheme. Not that the card of your selection was bad at the time. Now for a person about to actually own or lease a Subaru this card is a very good card to have. It is just a simple fact that the cards we carry must fit a real world scheme in order to be useful, rewarding, and save us money.

It is also wise to be aware of the disclosures for the low interest rate credit cards you select. Back in 1988, new requirements were implemented for credit card disclosures that were intended to help consumers better compare pricing information on low interest credit cards (and all other types of credit cards for that matter). These new requirements mandated that credit card issuers use a tabular format to provide information to consumers about interest rates and fees on solicitations and applications mailed to consumers. It is very easy to find these tables rather quickly on just about any credit card offer you can come across on the internet. This format, which is known as the Schumer box is claimed by issuers, consumer groups, and others; to helped increase consumer awareness of credit card costs. With this information in hand, it is much easier to make informed decisions concerning finding the best low interest rate credit cards before completing the credit card application.