Credit card debt consolidation: Get out of the multiple billing cycles

Credit cards can make you think that you can spend more money than you have. The more you spend, the more you'll end up with debts. Find out why increasing credit card debts can turn into a cause of constant stress, and how you can ease your way out of them with credit card consolidation.

• Why credit card debts are harmful for your finances?
• How does debt consolidation for credit cards work?
• What can be the benefits of this debt relief option?
• How can you consolidate your credit card bills?
• How does it affect your credit score?
• What should be considered when you consolidate?

Why credit card debts are harmful for your finances?

Credit cards are meant to help you with immediate financial backup when you need it the most. However, too much dependence on the credit cards often tend to bring in a lot of debts due to the following reasons:

1. Cash advances
2. High interests
3. Carrying balance
4. Multiple bills
5. Missed payments
6. Late fees
7. Damaging to credit score

Savings from creditors

Know how much clients have saved on their debts

Saved $487.5

X

Apr 16, 2014

Saved $172.5

X

Apr 25, 2014

Saved $225

X

Apr 2, 2014

Learn more »

If you're facing problems with your multiple credit card bills, you can choose consolidation to regain control over your finances.

How does debt consolidation for credit cards work?

Credit card consolidation can work as a useful debt-relief option when you fail to tackle your multiple credit card bills. It merges your credit card debts together to make debt repayment easy and relieves you of the stress. Along with that, you can also try to reduce your interest rates so that the consolidated payments become affordable.

What can be the benefits of this debt relief option?

1. Combines your multiple credit card payments into one
2. Can slash down the interest rates
3. Can reduce your payments, thereby making it affordable for you
4. Can waive off the late fees and over-limit charges
5. Helps you to avoid bankruptcy
6. Reduces the stress caused by collection calls
7. Leaves a positive affect on your credit score

How OVLG can help you with your credit card debts?

Learn more

How can you consolidate your credit card bills?

There are 3 distinct ways to combine multiple credit card bills together. If you are wondering how to consolidate your credit card debts, you can choose the one which suits you best.

1. Consolidation program – This works like most other consolidation programs or services as offered by the debt help companies. Once you enroll into a program, you have to go through a thorough financial analysis, and share details about your credit card accounts with the agency. The financial counselors negotiate with your creditors to waive off penalties, try to reduce the interest rates, modify the repayment terms and arrange an affordable payment plan for you. You can gradually pay off your outstanding credit card bills through the program and regain your peace of mind.
2. Balance transfer method – This method is often considered the best way to bring your multiple debts together, since it allows you to consolidate credit card bills on your own. You can take out a new credit card with zero or low interest rates and then shift your existing balances from other credit cards into the new one. This way, after your existing credit card dues get eliminated, you can continue with the single payment on your new card, but at reduced interest rate.
3. Consolidation loan – This works like a simple financial loan which you can take out to pay off your outstanding credit card debts. Once your dues get cleared, you can pay off the new loan over time. However, the loan has to come along with a lower interest rate than your credit card debts, so that you can pay it off comfortably. Unless the repayment plan is affordable, consolidation with a loan will lose its purpose.

How does it affect your credit score?

Merging your credit card debts together might actually prove healthy to your score, since you'll be paying off all your outstanding dues gradually. Once you successfully complete the program, your credit card accounts will be marked as 'paid off' on your report. Consolidation usually indicates that you're sincere about your financial obligations and have taken up the initiative to pay them off over time. However, to have a good score, you'll need to make sure that you don't miss payments, refrain from incurring new debts and add more positive information to your report. Sticking to the consolidation plan and making regular payments are must if you want to see your FICO score rise.

What should be considered when you consolidate credit card dues?

You need to keep certain pre-conditions in mind, when you choose to consolidate your credit card bills, as mentioned below:

1. Keep up with the regular payments: The main purpose of consolidation is to make debt repayments easy by merging debt accounts together. Single monthly payments are easier to keep track of instead of the multiple bills. The negotiation and combining debts will make no sense if you fail to pay the reduced amounts even. The creditors may cancel the allowed benefits, and default payments will push your credit score down.
2. Stop using your credit cards: If you're trying to eliminate your credit card dues with consolidation and incurring new debts at the same time, you'll be in the same credit situation as before. Only difference will be that old debts are going to be replaced by new ones. For this reason, you need to use cash instead of your credit card.
3. Control your spending habits: If you pick consolidation as your way out of credit card debts, you should save every single dollar to pay for that. It's because, though consolidation lowers your interest rates, you still have to pay interests for the program or loan. The more you stretch the repayment term to have affordable payments, the more you'll have to pay towards interest. Thus, it's sensible to cut down useless spending and allot a larger portion of your money towards the payments. Besides, if you don't control your spending, you'll still be struggling to pay off your debts and even increase your burden to some extent.
4. Do thorough research before you enroll: You need to be extra cautious with your financial details when you decide to go for a credit card consolidation program. Since you'll be disclosing your account details with the agency, you need to ensure first that they're authentic and trustworthy. Check for the license, accreditation and review customer feedbacks to avoid scams and ensure that you have the best credit consolidation company.

It's true that several credit card debts can be a cause of constant worry. Consolidation can act as an effective stress buster if you land up in such situations, if only you have patience and decide to stick to it. Your debts must have been built over time, and you can't expect all of it to disappear at once.