Thursday, November 21, 2024

Scott,

I have been reading the articles on your website for a few months and find the information very interesting and helpful.

My husband and I have a running argument regarding credit card debt.

We are just starting to get our credit report back into order and I am starting to look for ways to save money regarding interest payments.

He gets very upset when I look at the offers we receive in the mail to see if the APR is lower than any of the cards we currently have and even think about transferring the balance. I am always interested in the 0% offers, but he says that creditors don't like to see you transfer balances over and over to 0% because it shows that you can't handle the balance "load".

Any ideas on how I can show him that it makes sense to move balances to 0% or lower interest rates to save money?

Tracy

Tracy,

Thank you for your kind words about my website and articles!

You're very smart, I like to say "DebtSmart," for keeping your mind on the task of saving money on your debts!

This argument should end because you are absolutely correct!

I know many people that don't want to transfer their balances for various reasons. I realize that it's a lot of work to stay on top of tracking the details of the offer. However, if they calculate how much they will save by transferring, I'm sure they'll decide it's worth the effort. 

Also, some that believe that the banks will be "mad" if you're transferring your balances. They are not your friends, they are a business and need to be competitive. Call your existing credit card bank, and give them a chance to keep you as a customer by lowering your rate.

If they cannot accommodate you, transfer your balance. Undoubtedly, they will miss your business and will soon send you new offers for lower rates than they had been giving you. The new bank will hope that you stay with them even after the low introductory rate ends, but of course you, being Debtsmart, wouldn't do that.

Remember that a loan is a product. Why would you shop at the more expensive store (bank with the higher rate)? It just doesn't make sense. 

Transferring your balances to low rate cards shouldn't affect your credit score, but it will affect the amount of interest you are giving to the banks.

You can check out my list of feature cards for low rate offers here.

Hope that helps!

Talk to you later.

Scott

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