Cons Of Credit Card Refinancing
- Offer terms that expire: if you do not pay off the balance before the introductory period ends you face typical APR interest, which can place you back into a cycle of credit card debt.
- Penalty APRs: if you make a late payment or go over your credit limit, you could be subjected to penalty APRs which can be significantly more than a typical APR. You may also lose your 0% introductory offer.
- Fees: in the case of a 0% introductory offer, there is usually a fee of three to five percent of the total amount transferred, called a balance transfer fee. There could also be a minimum fee to transfer a balance.
- Variable interest rates: credit card companies can change your interest rates which puts you at risk for having to pay a higher interest rate in the future.
- Continued debt: a credit card allows your monthly payment to be reduced as you pay off the loan. Therefore, if you only pay the minimum payment each month, you may never pay off your debt.
How To Choose Between Many Options To Pay Down Your Plastic
by Tamara E. Holmes, AARP, April 3, 2020
En español | Nothing can sink a financial plan faster than debt, and seniors already weighed down by credit card debt may find themselves even further in debt because of the coronavirus.
More senior households were in the red before the coronavirus hit, says Brandy Bauer, a spokesperson for the National Council on Aging . In 2016, 60 percent of households headed by someone 65 and older had debt, up from 51.9 percent in 2010. The median amount of debt they carried was a little over $31,000.
A number of factors have contributed to the problem, Bauer says. Some were near retirement age when the Great Recession hit and saw a lot of their resources liquidated, or significantly decreased, she says. Others struggle with medical debt and may find themselves reaching for credit cards to pay their bills. As unemployment mounts during the state-ordered shelter-in-place orders, many older workers will wind up paying bills with plastic until they can get unemployment or other government relief.
“Debt can be paralyzing, says Randall T. Lehman, a wealth management advisor at Northwestern Mutual, based in Fort Wayne, Indiana. So an opportunity to refinance it to make payments more manageable may be tempting to those trying to dig themselves out. There are a number of debt consolidation options. Experts chime in on the pros and cons of each.
Can Refinancing Help Your Credit Score
In some cases, refinancing your mortgage might actually help your credit score.
If youre stuck with an unaffordable home loan, and high mortgage payments are preventing you from paying down other debts, refinancing into a lower monthly payment could do you a world of good.
Imagine you can lower your monthly mortgage payment by a few hundred dollars by refinancing. Now, you can stop making minimum credit card payments and actually start paying down your debt.
Some homeowners even use a cashout refinance for debt consolidation.
This involves using home equity to pay off highinterest debts, thus consolidating them into a single, lowerinterest loan payment to save money on interest.
If done right, the positive impact these strategies could have on your score would be much larger than any negative impact from refinancing.
Also Check: Does Venmo Allow Credit Cards
Does Refinancing Your Car Hurt Your Credit
If you’ve started thinking about refinancing your car, you might be concerned about what it can do to your credit.
It’s true that refinancing your car loan can cause a temporary dip in your credit score.
But in most cases, this isn’t that big of a deal. For one, after the new loan comes into effect, it usually doesnt take too long for your credit score to get back to normal.
For many people, this small dip in their credit score is well worth the financial savings in the long run, such as lower interest rates or lower monthly payments.
You Must Pay Your Debt For A Longer Time Period
Unfortunately, it will likely take you much longer to repay your mortgage and credit card debt if you add to your mortgage balance. Mortgage loans are normally repaid over a period of 15 to 30 years, depending on your mortgage terms. When you refinance and lump your credit card debt with your mortgage, you are essentially paying your credit card bill for the entire duration of your mortgage. Do you want to still be paying for the clothes or vacations you charged 30 years from now? Because of the extra time it takes to pay off a mortgage, you may even end up paying more in interest on the debt over the life of the mortgage loan than if you simply commit to paying off the credit card debt as quickly as possible.
Recommended Reading: Best Buy Credit Card Apple Pay
What Are The Risks Of Turning Credit Card Debt Into Mortgage Debt
First you need to consider secured vs. unsecured debt. Your credit card is unsecured debt, which means that theres no collateral attached to the debt. When you default on a car loan, for example, the lender may choose to repossess the car in order to recoup some portion of whats owed. The car loan is secured by the car itself . When you default on a credit card, however, your credit card company cant repossess and resell your prior purchases to satisfy your debt. If you fall on hard times and cant make your payments anymore, it will take a toll on your credit and youll start receiving calls from debt collectors, but no one will show up at your door threatening to take your stuff.
This is why its risky to convert unsecured debt into secured debt. By rolling the unsecured debt into a secured loan you run the risk of making it more difficult to manage that secured loan. And if you use a mortgage refinance to pay off credit card debt, then you start missing mortgage payments, you could potentially lose your house.
Using A Personal Loan To Consolidate Credit Card Debt
Taking out a new loan may seem daunting, but, in reality, using a credit card is essentially the equivalent of taking out a series of high-interest loans with every swipe.
While a personal loan doesnt make sense for everyday purchases, it can be a great option for a financially responsible person with a chunk of credit card debt that was taken out for a specific purpose.
Taking the above example a step further, lets say you refinance that $5,000 in credit card debt by taking out a personal loan. If youre constrained to lower monthly payments, youd be looking at a three-year repayment plan.
Those with a great credit profile will be able to snag a rate as low as 6% for a three-year loan, which would put total interest costs at $463 over the life of the loanremember, this is compared to nearly $2,000 in interest for the same balance on a credit card. Even with Earnests highest rate for a three-year loan of 12%, interest would total under $1,000 .
If youve got more budget flexibility and monthly payments closer to $500 make sense for your situation, youll be able to take out a one-year loan. In this case, youd pay around $150 in interest on the lower end and closer to $300 for a higher interest rate.
You May Like: My Best Buy Credit Card App
It Damages Your Credit Score
When you take on a new mortgage loan to pay off your debt, you shorten the average age of your accounts, and a new inquiry is made on your . Both factors can cause significant damage to your credit score. While the impact may be short-term , you still must realize that refinancing your house does impact your credit. Additionally, a larger mortgage will show up on your credit report, which can make some lenders nervous, depending on your level of income.
Can Debt Refinancing Hurt Your Credit Score
At its best, debt refinancing can boost your credit score by making your monthly payments more affordable and motivating you to pay off your balances. But they aren’t entirely risk-free. Personal loan applications require a credit check, so you’ll want to make sure you know your before you apply. There’s no direct penalty for getting denied a loan, but having too many applications on your could be a red flag to future lenders.
For debt refinancing to work, you have to “plan your work and work your plan,” so to speak. It helps to be honest about your money habits and the overall state of your personal finances before taking on any loan. Personal loans deliver cash directly to your bank account, making it easy to stay in debt if you’re not careful. If you have concerns, opt for a loan that pays your creditors directly so that there’s no opportunity for you to overspend. And before you agree to a new loan, make sure you have room in your budget to pay it back on time and in full according to the terms. A late payment on your personal loan can hurt your credit score just like if you miss a credit card bill.
Don’t Miss: Chase Southwest Referral
How To Consolidate Credit Card Debt
Refinancing is a great option when you only have one or two credit cards to worry about, but what happens when half a dozen of them are out of control? Thats a situation that calls for debt consolidation. To sum it up in simple terms, add up all the outstanding balances and apply for a consolidation loan to pay them off. There are several advantages to doing this.
First on the list is the interest rates. As stated above, the average interest rate for credit cards in the U.S. is 19.49%. According to , the average interest rate for a personal loan is 9.34%. Thats dependent upon credit score, but the loan option is still a significantly better deal if you want to save money on your .
Another advantage to debt consolidation is that personal loans can be taken out with multiple-year payment terms. That lowers your monthly payments due and frees up extra cash to cover essential expenses or even splurge a little on yourself. Of course, youll need to stop using your credit cards to make this work. Paying them off is no good if you run up the balances again.
Start Fresh Debt Free
+ How does it work? At Bromwich+Smith we offer a powerful debt relief solution called a Consumer Proposal, which usually reduces debt to only a percentage of original amount owed. The rest is forgiven.
+ Eliminating debt shouldn’t cost you more money! Only a Licensed Insolvency Trustee like Bromwich+Smith has the legal authority to administer a Consumer Proposal for you. In fact, if an online or offline debt relief service offers a Consumer Proposal, ask if they are Licensed Insolvency Trustees. If they are not, they will by law be required to engage an external Trustee, which could add their unnecessary fees to the process.
+ Legally binding on all creditors, including CRA Taxes, Credit Cards, Payday Loans, Bills and all other unsecured debt.
+ Up to 5 years to pay, interest free! Get off the interest treadmill. There are absolutely no interest charges with a Consumer Proposal, and a Proposal can be paid over 5 years, with all debt combined into a single monthly payment.
+ Immediately stops all creditor calls and actions. All creditor collections and legal actions must stop. No more bothersome calls or stressful letters. If wages are being garnisheed, this too is stopped.
+ Does not involve your assets. Your home, car and other possessions are not touched by a Consumer Proposal.
+ No Hidden Fees. We are paid out of the settlement to your creditors.
Read Also: 8008508402
Refinancing A Personal Loan
You might consider refinancing a personal loan if your credit score has improved or interest rates have dropped since you first got the loan. You might also want to refinance to consolidate several personal loans into one, larger personal loan.
Like any other type of refinancing, refinancing a personal loan will cause a temporary dip in your credit scores due to the hard inquiries on your credit report. However, if you’re using a new personal loan to refinance more than one existing personal loan, you’ll have fewer open accounts with outstanding balances, which can help boost your credit score.
Why You Can Trust Bankrate
Founded in 1976, Bankrate has a long track record of helping people make smart financial choices. Weve maintained this reputation for over four decades by demystifying the financial decision-making process and giving people confidence in which actions to take next.
Bankrate follows a strict editorial policy, so you can trust that were putting your interests first. All of our content is authored by highly qualified professionals and edited by subject matter experts, who ensure everything we publish is objective, accurate and trustworthy.
Our mortgage reporters and editors focus on the points consumers care about most the latest rates, the best lenders, navigating the homebuying process, refinancing your mortgage and more so you can feel confident when you make decisions as a homebuyer and a homeowner.
Also Check: Gettington Paybill
When To Refinance An Auto Loan
Refinancing an auto loan may make sense if you have the opportunity to access lower interest rates than were available when you originally financed the vehicle. This may be the case if interest rates have fallen or if you financed the car through a dealership where the most competitive rates werent offered. Likewise, if your credit score has increased since you bought the carand you have an established record of consistent, on-time paymentsyou may simply qualify for a better rate than you did originally.
Beyond accessing a better interest rate, refinancing can lower your monthly auto payment by spreading out repayment over a longer amount of time. However, as with refinancing other types of loans, this approach can increase what you pay in interest over the life of the loan. Also, keep in mind that your current auto loan may impose a prepayment penalty that can increase the overall cost of refinancing.
In general, refinancing an auto loan is best if your car is still worth more than the outstanding balance of your current loan. Lenders are more likely to extend refinancing under these circumstances, but its not always the caseespecially given how quickly cars depreciate in value.
Refinancing Credit Card Debt Through Debt Consolidation
Debt consolidation can slash your APR, while also providing the convenience of a single, easy to manage monthly payment.
There are two paths for refinancing credit card debt through debt consolidation. One is nonprofit debt consolidation, and the other is a debt consolidation loan. The best option depends largely on your credit score.
A debt consolidation loan with bad credit wont make sense if the interest rate rivals or exceeds the rates on your credit cards. And thats if youre able to qualify for the loan in the first place.
The good news is anybody can qualify for nonprofit debt consolidation.
You May Like: Google Svcapps
Pros Of A Balance Transfer Credit Card
- Pay down debt with no interest for a limited time.
- With no interest accruing, every dollar you pay goes directly toward the principal of your balance.
- Some balance transfer cards come with benefits such as consumer protections or rewards on spending.
- Most credit cards with 0 percent APR balance transfer offers dont charge an annual fee.
What Is A Good Interest Rate On A Personal Loan
Most personal loans come with fixed-rate APRs, so your monthly payment stays the same for the loan’s lifetime. In a few cases, you can take out a variable-rate personal loan. If you go that route, make sure you’re comfortable with your monthly payments changing if rates go up or down.
Personal loan APRs average 9.65%, according to the Fed’s most recent data. Meanwhile, the average credit card interest rate is around 16.28%. When considering whether to invest or pay off debt, consider that the average rate of return in the stock market tends to be above 5% when adjusted for inflation. So if you can find a personal loan with interest rates would be below 5%, you can slowly pay off your debt while also investing because you know your investments could still earn more than you’re paying in interest.
However, it’s not always easy to qualify for personal loans with interest rates lower than 5% APR. Your interest rate will be decided based on your credit score, credit history and income, as well as other factors like the loan’s size and term.
Don’t Miss: Southwest Referral Rapid Rewards
You Have To Pay Refinancing Fees
Exactly how much youll have to pay in fees when refinancing your car will vary. But youll definitely have to end up paying something.
From early termination fees to title transfer fees, application fees, and more, this can all quickly add up. And it may affect how much you hope to be saving in the long run from refinancing.
Refinancing Pros And Cons
The main reason to go through with cash-out refinancing to pay off your credit card debts involves interest rates. The interest rates for credit cards can approach 30 percent. By contrast, mortgage interest rates today are generally much lower.
Paying off all of your credit card debt might also help your credit scores. However, some lenders might require that you close your credit card accounts after paying them off, which could harm your credit scores, particularly in the case of longstanding accounts that add to your credit history.
Consumers who refinance their mortgages to pay off credit cards can run into several potential pitfalls. For example, if you fail to change your spending habits, you might rack up more credit card debt on top of your new mortgage payments. Additionally, you will end up paying for the purchases that got you into trouble over a much longer period of time since they’re now part of your mortgage. Further, cash-out refinancing leaves you with less equity, meaning you own less of your home.
You May Like: Prepaid2cash Alternative