Free Credit Cards and Balance Transfers Allow You to Manage Your
Debt Wisely
If you're being squeezed by the high interest rates and fees
charged by your credit companies, it might be time to rethink
your financial strategy. In today's marketplace, credit card
companies compete for your business. You can take advantage of
free credit cards and balance transfer options to make
purchases, manage your credit card debt, and avoid paying high
interest rates and fees.
The first key to taking charge of your credit card debt is to
understand the options available to you. Free credit cards not
only offer you a cushion of financial security, but when used
wisely, they can also help you lower or erase the interest rates
you're currently paying. In effect, the money you spend each
month on interest charges becomes money you can use to pay down
your debt or to spend as you see fit.
As an example, if you have a $7,000 balance on a credit card
that charges 18 percent APR, and you're paying $210 (3 percent)
per month, it will take you over 18 years to pay off the debt.
In the process, you will have paid $6,698 in interest!
If, however, you took advantage of the balance transfer option
on free credit cards with a 2.99 percent APR, your $7,000 debt
will be paid off in a little under 11 years, with a total of
$611 paid in interest charges. That's a savings of $6,087!
When you receive offers of free credit cards and balance
transfer offers, it's important to read the fine print.
Sometimes, the initial low interest rate will jump to a high
interest rate after six months. Other times, though, the low
interest rate will be maintained throughout the life of the loan.
Increasingly, consumers are seeing the wisdom in using free
credit cards and balance transfer to manage their debt. While it
takes some time and diligence to keep track of the various
offers and to use balance transfers to your advantage, the
benefits are well worth it.
Balance transfer is also a good tool to use if you've gone over
your credit limit on one of your credit cards. Many credit card
companies charge outlandish monthly fees when the cardholder
exceeds his or her credit limit. By anticipating this problem
and having free credit cards available that offer balance
transfers, you can easily transfer a portion of your initial
credit card debt to a second card, thereby avoiding penalty fees.
Free credit cards and balance transfer options are important
components of financial health, and can allow you to manage your
debt painlessly.