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Should I secure a personal loan to pay off credit card debt?
Would it be a good decision to secure a personal loan at a rate lower than my credit cards and use the loan to pay off credit card debt?
Asked by
JDiGorio
2 years ago
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Absolutely, if you can obtain a personal unsecured loan at a lower rate than your credit cards, it definitely makes sense to consolidate your credit card bills to that loan. Just remember that personal loans have fixed rates are close ended meaning you have to pay them within a certain time frame. This means that your minimum month payments will often be higher than the minimum payments on your credit card. Make sure you plan for this increase in your budget.
If you do get the personal loan, be wary of overspending. Some people who consolidate their credit card debt then view it as a license to go further into debt because their credit card balances are low. We as consumers tend to compartmentalize debt and have comfort around a certain amount of debt. Remember you still have credit card debt it is now just in another financial instrument.
JRobertLaw 1 year ago
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Currently my ck score is 698, if I take out a personal loan and link it to one of my checking accounts and pay it off over 12 months, will this be a good idea?
stupiddog 2 years ago
Do you need the loan or are you trying to improve your score?
CK Moderator
Absolutely, if you can obtain a personal unsecured loan at a lower rate than your credit cards, it definitely makes sense to consolidate your credit card bills to that loan. Just remember that personal loans have fixed rates are close ended meaning you have to pay them within a certain time frame. This means that your minimum month payments will often be higher than the minimum payments on your credit card. Make sure you plan for this increase in your budget.
If you do get the personal loan, be wary of overspending. Some people who consolidate their credit card debt then view it as a license to go further into debt because their credit card balances are low. We as consumers tend to compartmentalize debt and have comfort around a certain amount of debt. Remember you still have credit card debt it is now just in another financial instrument.
JRobertLaw 1 year ago
If you have good credit, you can try Prosper.com or LendingClub.com. They are both P2P loan providers.
hardeight 1 year ago