Five Debt Free Bargains Seeking Alpha, NY - We have a long-standing successful company, industrial components with the biggest market being auto parts sold to the domestic manufacturers, whose revenue ... |
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Five Debt Free Bargains Seeking Alpha, NY - We have a long-standing successful company, industrial components with the biggest market being auto parts sold to the domestic manufacturers, whose revenue ... |
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Your best debt-consolidation moves:
If you own a home and have some equity in it, you have a couple of options that are relatively low in cost. These are pretty straightforward:
Take out a home equity loan. A home equity loan has the advantage of carrying a fairly low interest rate, currently in the high single digits, and what interest you do pay is tax-deductible, Kays points out. Most fixed-rate loans carry a 15-year term and require that borrowers pay an origination fee of $75 to several hundred dollars, plus the cost of an appraisal and title insurance.
Do a "cash-out" refinancing. Another option for those with home equity is refinancing your property for greater than the amount you owe and using the extra cash to pay off debt. You get very low interest rates this way, but you're stretching payments out over 15 or 30 years. The total interest cost over three decades can wind up being pretty huge, so think of this as a one-time-only (if ever) option.
Refinance your car. "Most people don't think of it, but it is a secured loan and you can borrow against it," Kays says. The danger there is that you may run out of car before you run out of debt. It's tough to buy a new car when you owe more than it's worth.
Get a personal loan. If you have reasonably undamaged credit, you may qualify for an unsecured loan. Credit unions (see link to the left) typically offer lower rates than banks, but even there you can expect a rate of 11% or more. Still, that may be a whole lot less than the 20%-plus you're now paying to the credit-card company.
Negotiate better terms. You can do this for yourself easily. Just call your credit-card company and ask them to do it (many customer service people are authorized to reduce rates right there on the phone).
Another alternative. Or you can get help from an organization like National Foundation for Credit Counseling. NFCC has branches throughout the country; they are a non-profit, community organization that provides free and confidential debt management advice to anyone who needs it. You can even consult with them over the phone, like I did. From www.chillmybills.com
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