Credit Card Balance Transfer Tips
by pilkster on 2007-09-23
So, you acquired a credit card and maybe spent a little too much and now find yourself barely being able to pay back the interest let alone the principle? Most peoples stories are somewhere along these lines, and it can be extremely worrying, particularly for people who are paying as much as they can already and who's wages aren't subject to any further earnings from overtime and so-forth, because this affords you very little chance of making any headway in paying the debt back.
Banks purposely give people credit cards because they know people will eventually incur interest, maybe default on a payment or two incurring fines for none or late payments. All of this is music to the banks ear; this is exactly what they want you to do. In fact, credit cards are known to be perhaps the highest interest money-borrowing schemes in the world, and they can sometimes leave you paying out more money than you would to a mafia loan shark.
I have been in this situation myself before, where I was paying as much as I could afford per month, but I was barely touching the principle debt and only just covering the interest. I knew I couldn't get out of this situation so began researching into ways to try and get a grip on my debt. At first I considered asking the bank for a lower interest loan and paying off my credit card. This may have worked, but I would still have being paying off interest every month and I simply couldn't afford it, and for the little less-interest I would have being paying, it wasn't worth it.
Then, I found just what I had been looking for - an ideal solution provided by the bank which would help me get out of this cycle of debt. By going to another bank and getting a credit card with 0% interest for the first 6 months, I did a credit card balance transfer from my old interest-incurring credit card onto my new one. This way, I would still have to pay back the few grand I owed, but for 6 months I would be paying zero interest. And just before this credit cards offer of 0% interest elapsed, I obtained another credit card elsewhere and did the same, another balance transfer. By the time the year was out I had managed to pay back the bulk of my debt and my life became infinitely less stressful.
Many people aren't aware that a credit card balance transfer exists, but they do, and the debt-receiving banks will gladly allow you to transfer you're balance to them because don't forget - banks want you to be in debt to them, and this is one way in which they are sure they are liable to make a few bob off you. The trick is to not give them chance and continue transferring the balance between banks until it is paid off.
Banks purposely give people credit cards because they know people will eventually incur interest, maybe default on a payment or two incurring fines for none or late payments. All of this is music to the banks ear; this is exactly what they want you to do. In fact, credit cards are known to be perhaps the highest interest money-borrowing schemes in the world, and they can sometimes leave you paying out more money than you would to a mafia loan shark.
I have been in this situation myself before, where I was paying as much as I could afford per month, but I was barely touching the principle debt and only just covering the interest. I knew I couldn't get out of this situation so began researching into ways to try and get a grip on my debt. At first I considered asking the bank for a lower interest loan and paying off my credit card. This may have worked, but I would still have being paying off interest every month and I simply couldn't afford it, and for the little less-interest I would have being paying, it wasn't worth it.
Then, I found just what I had been looking for - an ideal solution provided by the bank which would help me get out of this cycle of debt. By going to another bank and getting a credit card with 0% interest for the first 6 months, I did a credit card balance transfer from my old interest-incurring credit card onto my new one. This way, I would still have to pay back the few grand I owed, but for 6 months I would be paying zero interest. And just before this credit cards offer of 0% interest elapsed, I obtained another credit card elsewhere and did the same, another balance transfer. By the time the year was out I had managed to pay back the bulk of my debt and my life became infinitely less stressful.
Many people aren't aware that a credit card balance transfer exists, but they do, and the debt-receiving banks will gladly allow you to transfer you're balance to them because don't forget - banks want you to be in debt to them, and this is one way in which they are sure they are liable to make a few bob off you. The trick is to not give them chance and continue transferring the balance between banks until it is paid off.
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