If youre like most North American people today, you go through life carrying a fair amount of credit card debt. And if youre like most North American people, youre okay with that. $100 per month in repayments is fine, even if youre paying that much on three different cards. Its doable you can afford it, if you have to. But heres the thing if you consolidate your credit card debt, you dont have to.
Do the math with me here: You have a Mastercard, a Visa, a Discover card and an American Express. Lets say with each of them youre supposed to pay 12% interest per year, (which would be generous many cards charge as high as 29% these days!) and the monthly minimum us roughly 2% of your balance that has to be paid back each month. Assuming you owe $2000 on each card, thats a $40 minimum payment on each card, or $120 per month before interest is even factored into your repayment equation. But if youre paying back $40 per month on a card that you owe $2000 on which charges 12% interest per year, youre paying $280 or over half your repayments in nothing more than interest!
Now consider the options when you consolidate your credit card. First of all, you could take out...