All of us will agree that at one point or another, we all have needed to borrow for either purchasing a house, funding college education or buying a car. While borrowing, on the one hand, is a necessity for most of the people, and on the other hand, lenders have made funds widely available making borrowing easy for everyone. The truism to this fact is another side where getting lost in needlessly complicated loan terms and subsequently racking up huge, insolvable debt is also natural. Now, this is just as applicable to credit card debt, as well as to take a loan from a bank or even one’s “kind” and “egalitarian” neighbor, aunt, uncle, grandma or an old friend from college.
There are so many different types of credit cards and loans available on the market, and finding the cheapest option is always difficult. If you can avoid the obvious and common pitfalls and learn to manage your credit card or debt effectively, you can derive the benefits needed from this money. Proper credit and debt management can save you from stress and lifelong struggle.
Although a credit card debt has many elements to observe still I would recommend you to keep an eye on the two most essential components, and that is:
- a) The interest rate, and
- b) Minimum monthly payments.
Typically, these two parameters determine overall whether the credit card debt or loan is viable for you. Interest rate determines the cost of the taking credit card debt, while minimum monthly payments define minimal pace for the credit card debt repayment. High-interest rate means that the debt is too costly for you and you would end up paying the hefty amount in return. If the minimum monthly payments are high, it means that the pace at which you need to repay the loan is too fast for you. All your monthly expense would either need to be squeezed or avoided. Hence it very crucial for you to determine the right cost and the speed of repayment for successful borrowing.
Monitoring your debts is vital to control them. To do this, you would need to know your financial data first which you can get from your bank statements, easily. You can then get this credit card pay off calculator along with debt reduction manager to do wonders for you. You can use it to determine how long it will take to pay off the balance borrowed from credit cards or loans. You can strategically start by paying off the lowest balance first and organize others by custom priority. Both of this calculators include a debt reduction chart that will let you visibly see how your debt is reducing over time.
Credit card debts overhangs can add to your stress, and this can get more intense if you don’t manage them wisely. Here you will find some quick credit card pay-off tips you could use:
1. Know your interest rate – this will help you in understanding the overall cost of your debt from a credit card.
2. Pay attention to the minimum monthly payment – Ask yourself if this particular pace of repayment suitable for you?
3. Never borrow more than you can afford or repay easily.
4 Too much is too much: Don’t get aggressive if you are willing to borrow again from ANY-where and at ANY-terms to cover the old loans – that would be too much!
5 Try to find a better deal – Explore the options of transferring balances of high-interest rate credit cards to the one that offers the lowest interest rate.
6 Bank interest rates are historically at the lowest level – CONSOLIDATE! – Borrow a lump-loan from a bank, pay off and get rid of all the credit cards, then work your way through paying off one, low-interest, easy to manage bank loan.
7. Switch – many credit card companies offer exceedingly good deals to new customers. It is not uncommon to find a firm credit offer at 0% interest rate, no annual fee, little-to-no late fees, and unlimited balance transfers – retain this one and pay off all the others – it is that simple.
Remember, a loan should not become your impairment or detriment. Instead, it should serve and accommodate your best interests and, at the end of the “day” (or rather the term of the loan), you should be able to derive some benefit from it.
In the end, we would like to conclude with the three keys to successful borrowing:
- Know your financial needs
- Learn about the available credit lines
- Align 1 and 2 to assure your long-term success
