Transferring High Interest Loan Balances

By: Rebecca Spitzer

For many people, qualifying for a loan is difficult. It seems to take nearly perfect credit in order to get an interest rate that is tolerable. The rest of the world is stuck paying exorbitant rates to borrow money, making the cost of that car or home much more that it was originally. If you have a loan that is stretched out over a period of years at a very high interest rate, you might want to consider your options for lowering that interest.

While you may be able to refinance once or twice, this can sometimes end up hurting you rather than helping you. Your interest rate may go down a bit, but the length of your loan period may be extended. This could mean you end up paying as much or even more than the original amount. So you need to look into alternate ways to ease that credit burden.

A 0 APR credit card is very appealing in these cases. You see them offered all the time, but what's the catch? Well, there is one. The 0 APR is only a temporary situation. You usually get 0 percent interest charged to your account for a set period of time, such as six months or a year. So if you decide to transfer your loan balance to this type of card, keep in mind that after the initial period of 0 interest ends, you will be paying interest of up to twenty-one percent. So read the fine print.

Another hidden aspect of these cards is that they can end the 0 APR deal if you are late with even one payment. So if your job is not stable or you think you may need some sort of medical treatment in the future that will strain your monthly budget, think twice before signing up for 0 APR. Again, read the fine print for this information.

But if you can handle these limitations, a 0 APR credit card could save you hundreds of dollars in interest. Talk to your bank about transferring the loan balance to the card and then pay off as much per month as you can while you have the 0 percent interest deal.

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