It takes a lot of Control!
Oct 24 '00
I agree very strongly with the articles written on the subject of credit card promotional rates! These rates are gimmicks to get you in their clutches and then slap that high credit rating on your account. It takes someone who is determined to GET OUT OF DEBT the best way possible to make these promotional rates work!
Several years ago my husband and I made a commitment to pay off all our credit cards = which at that time were very very high. We, like so many others, had applied for several cards, all of which happily granted us credit - and then more credit - and more credit. We had fallen into the trap that we would make an extra payment to our monthly amount to pay off the new items we put on the card. Well, needless to say, most of the time that did not happen.
So, we took the bull by the horns. We took three of our large cards and got a consolidation loan as a second on our house. Yes, that is scary, but at this point we were determined to make this work. The next step was to start paying off the remaining three cards, working on the lowest one first, while continuing to make minimum payments on the others. The consolidated loan was paid off in three years with a fixed interest rate. Yes, it was a high payment, but now it is completely paid off.
We had begun to get these promotional credit card offers from one card we had paid off. We calculated the ramifications of switching all the cards to this one with the low rate for 6 months and switching over to another card with a lower rate around the 5 month time span. By that time we had begun to get promotional rates on the other cards too. So, began our very controlled process of using these low rates to our advantage, rather than to the advantage of the credit card companies. We went from one card to another, taking advantage of the low rates. And it worked! Now one of these cards did charge a processing fee when we paid off the account, but this still saved us a lot of money in interest. We have now paid off all of our cards with the exception of one that we use for shopping on the internet and charging our AOL monthly fee, and we pay all the balance monthly! There is NO interest when the balance is paid in full.
Now, please, please understand that what we did can just as easily turn into a nightmare unless you keep a very close watch on the time periods and which rates are to your advantage. And, you MUST MUST MUST be committed to getting out of debt! No credit card charges - pay in cash. If you can't afford it, don't buy it! It's that simple.
This will work, but you must make it work. Debt Free! What a great feeling!
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Epinions.com ID:
Gran4piano
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Member: Reba Harris
Location: Sun City Center, FL
Reviews written: 60
Trusted by: 95 members
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