subject: Saving Money With Balance Transfer Credit Cards [print this page] When you feel like there's no end in sight, as far as the debts you owe, there is a light at the end of the tunnel. You need to learn about some balance transfer credit cards that you can take advantage of and make work for you. You'll still be in debt, but there will be an end in sight.
The balance transfer cards offer you a way to transfer the balances of your credit cards to one card, for a much lower interest rate. Sometimes you can time it so that you actually don't make a payment at all that month.
But you need to read the small print on these offers, because nobody is doing you any favors. They will collect interest, and if you default, your interest rate could end up to be a lot worse than the card you just transferred from. Not only that, but the balance transfer is almost always going to cost you something like three percent. You really need to weigh it out in your own head, do the math, and realize whether the transfer is worth it for you to do, or not.
When you are offered a zero interest rate, this is pretty hard to pass up. But you need to do the math, once again, because if you're late on a payment, that zero interest rate disappears, and another takes its place. Further, the zero interest rate will not stay at zero indefinitely. You should expect it to change at some point, and finding out when and to what interest rate is key.
Balance transfer cards are really great, if you are not in any financial trouble. If you are, they may be just prolonging the inevitable.
When you do decide to use balance transfer credit cards, be sure to cancel out the credit card you transferred from immediately. While it has a zero balance, this will show on your credit report that your balance was paid off. Also, you cannot be tempted by that card anymore.
