Consolidate Credit Card Debt
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We know that it’s good to consolidate credit card
debt (at least that is what we keep hearing from
everyone). In fact, the first step towards
addressing the problem of credit card debt is to
consolidate credit card debt. Now, what do you
do to consolidate credit card debt? Should you
just go with that attractive ad in the newspaper
that says ‘...the lowest APR in the town is
available here’?
The first thing, really, is to keep your eyes and
ears open. There are always a number of offers
available for you to choose from. The credit card
suppliers keep coming with new and more
attractive offers asking you to consolidate credit
card debt with them. However, you must note
that the APR quoted in bold, e.g. 0% APR, is
applicable only for a short term (3-9 months).
The long term (or the standard) APR is different.
So, when you go looking for a credit card to
consolidate credit card debt, you must be keenly
looking for these 3 things (in terms of APR) –
introductory APR, introductory APR period and
the standard APR. Let’s see how each one is
important.
Introductory APR is probably the most attractive
thing to look for when you are looking to
consolidate credit card debt. If you consolidate
credit card debt to a card that has a low
introductory APR e.g. 0%, the first thing you get
is a breather/relief in terms of the rate at which
your credit card debt has been growing. Based on
how long that 0% APR period is (generally you
will look to consolidate credit card debt with a
credit card supplier who offers 0% initial APR),
you will at least be able to temporarily break the
growth rate of your credit card debt. More the
introductory period, the better it is. However, you
should not ignore the standard APR when you
consolidate credit card debt. This is the interest
rate that will be applied to your balance after the
expiry of the introductory low APR period that
was given to lure you to consolidate credit card
debt with that credit card