When you’re looking at working out what new credit card to go for, there are a fair portion that make a point to offer a low rate balance transfer and low interest for the first however-many months if you switch to them. But what does that actually mean?
Ignoring any other little snazzy deals the creditors offer, if you have a fairly hefty credit card debt as it is then transferring the balance over could be a nice little way of getting the interest down for a few months.
Let’s say you’ve wound up with $1,000 on your credit card debt. The interest on that can quite happily cost you a fairly chunky amount as it is – let’s say $100. And that happens every month until you can get the amount owed down. If you’re struggling to pay the interest as it is, moving your balance to a different credit card (that offers free balance transfers) and a nice, low rate – potentially nothing – on the interest on that balance for the first few months means that instead of paying off the interest, you’re paying off your debt. After the first month with the new credit card you’ll have paid the $100 and now only have a $900...