How to Pay Down Credit Card Debt on Your Own
People struggle everyday with Credit Card debt in Canada. Jeff Schwartz, Executive Director Consolidated Credit gives you two options to tackle your credit card debt.
I lead one of Canada’s largest credit counselling non-profits and we’ve helped hundreds of thousands of people pay off their credit cards. But some Canadians want to do it on their own, and I applaud them for that. If you’re one of those DIY people, let’s talk about two tactics you can take by yourself. First, there’s a personal loan. That’s right, you’re taking out a loan to pay off your credit cards. The thing is, a personal loan’s interest rate is much lower than the sky high rates on your credit cards. So while you’re still paying off a loan, you’re actually saving money. You’re also paying off one loan instead of trying to juggle a bunch of credit card statements. Forget to pay one of them and you face steep finance charges.
The other tactic has a long name but a simple concept: introductory 0% balance transfer cards. These are credit cards that feed on other credit cards. They want you to transfer all your credit card balances to their card and while they often charge you a small fee to do so, they lure you in with an amazing offer. Pay no interest for 6, 12 or even 18 months. What’s the catch? Simple. Once that introductory period expires, you pay full interest once again. So if you can pay off your balance within those few 0 interest months, you save big. But if you don’t, well you might actually pay even more interest than you did before.
Even if you want to do it yourself, I urge you to call consolidated credit for a free debt analysis from one of our trained counsellors. It’ll help you figure out all your options, whether its DIY or with expert assistance, then you can choose. The call is free and unlike those 0% introductory offers, our help never expires.
