When you find yourself in the midst of credit card debt, you may wonder if there is any way to pay off your balances without accruing so much interest and becoming trapped in what seems an inescapable cycle. If you can go online, visit the America Express website at http://www.americanexpress.com to see what they have to say about credit card debt consolidation. The American Express credit card offers a six month period without credit card interest. This means that if you transfer your balances from your Visa, MasterCard, or Discover cards, you will not accrue any interest on these balances. You only receive one statement and deal with one company for all your cards.
Benefits
Credit card debt consolidation lowers your monthly payments, which means that you will be paying out less each month than you have been. This is great news for those people with high monthly bills. You will have more access to cash and be able to apply that money either to the principle of our debt or to other needs.
The American Express credit card would be the only card you carry. So you would receive only one statement each month. If you are paying forty dollars on three credit cards right now, then you pay a total of one hundred and twenty dollars each month. A lot of that money goes to pay off the interest you are accruing on each card. So the principle balance keeps growing. When you transfer your balances to American Express, you are only responsible for the one payment each month. If this payment were forty dollars, for example, you would have freed up eighty dollars. Using this eighty dollars to pay on the American Express bill and therefore on the principle balances of your other cards is advisable, but not necessary.
Your credit card debt will disappear a lot faster if it is not accruing interest and growing in size each month. With the American Express card, the credit card interest is suspended for six months, offering you a grace period in which to catch up with your bills. You will also receive no interest on any other credit card purchases you make in the initial interest free time period.
In addition, by transferring your debt to an American Express credit card, you will get a better interest rate. The basic American Express credit card offers an interest rate of 4.99% on your balance transfers. This low rate takes effect after the six month trial period ends. It also lasts for the life of the card, meaning that it is a fixed credit card interest rate.
Drawbacks
There are some drawbacks to transferring credit card debt onto one card with an interest free trial period. You must remember that the interest will go up after the trial period is up. Be prepared to pay on the interest you accrue and have your debt disappear at a slower rate once the interest sets in. For purchases, your interest rate will continue to climb if you are late with payments or go over your credit limit.
Credit Card And Debt
People who have fallen into debts need to be very careful with regards to paying them off soon. If they do not manage their finances effectively the debts can go on accumulating until they become too much to handle. One of the most common debts is due to credit cards. Some of the common reasons people get into credit card or personal debts are as follows:
Divorce: Divorce not only hits people emotionally but also financially. A couple plan their lives and expenses with respect to their income. Their house, lifestyle, etc is based on their joint earnings. However, when they get divorced, there is a sudden need for two houses. Earlier, both were sharing the burden of paying the mortgage on one house, but now each will have to solely pay for individual houses. Also one partner may not be earning that well. This sudden increase in expenditure puts an enormous pressure on ones financial condition. There is a considerable increase in expenditure while the income remains stable. Thus resulting in heavy debt.
Medical Expenses: A recent trend seen in people is that they rarely have health insurance. Jobs which previously provided health insurance have also given up the policy. Jobs that yet offer the insurance make it difficult for the employees to avail of them. They may make it very difficult for the employees to accumulate enough working hours to be eligible for the insurance. Now, in the absence of such insurance, in times of health crisis, the employees are forced to pay with their own credit cards. Also generally, health problems may not permit the employee to work at that time. This situation coupled with the rising interest rates cause people to fall into debts.
Living extravagantly: People should effectively manage their finances. They should make a note of their expenses and sources of income. They should ensure that the income always exceed the expenditure. Only this will ensure a considerable saving that can then be used to pay off the debts or can be invested. For this people should keep a check on their expenses, the goods they buy and their lifestyle in general. They should avoid purchasing luxury items. They should stick to their budget and purchase only the items that are absolutely essential .
These are the three most prominent reasons leading people into debts. We should try to avoid them to live a debt free life.
Both Thomas Ohlum & Jay Moncliff are contributors for EditorialToday. The above articles have been edited for relevancy and timeliness. All write-ups, reviews, tips and guides published by EditorialToday.com and its partners or affiliates are for informational purposes only. They should not be used for any legal or any other type of advice. We do not endorse any author, contributor, writer or article posted by our team.
Thomas Ohlum has sinced written about articles on various topics from Credit Cards, Credit Card Companies. Thomas Ohlum is the owner of http://www.find-solid-credit.com a website providing information about credit card offers and finance aspects to consider when applying for a credit card.. Thomas Ohlum's top article generates over 9900 views. to your Favourites.
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