Are you currently paying over 15% interest on an existing credit card balance? Have you considered rebuilding your poor credit? Then it’s time to find out how millions of Canadians are breaking free from this burden. By taking advantage of new credit cards with balance transfer offers and zero annual fees, it’s possible to never pay high interest on existing credit cards again!
Note: many banks use various tricks and sales tactics to keep people from transferring to better cards. After all, the banks are making a hefty profit when you’re paying them high variable interest rates. They want to keep those fat interest payments going for as long as possible. Don’t fall for any of the tactics they may try to pull to keep you from transferring. Your wallet will thank you for it!
You’re Likely Paying Too Much
It’s a simple truth. If you’re paying high interest on a credit card, you’re paying more than you should be. Interest rates on credit cards can be as high as 19%. This is a ton of cash being given away every month, and adds up massively over time.
Unfortunately. it gets even worse. Whenever you are late with a payment for whatever reason, the card company tacks on another fee. Many cards also have expensive annual fees that are completely unavoidable. Ouch!
Let’s illustrate this with an example. Pretend you’ve got a $5,000 credit card balance and you’re making payments of $200 per month, with a 15% interest rate. In this scenario, it would take over two and a half years to pay off the card! This also assumes you always pay on time and have no annual fee. Overall, you’d be paying paying a little over $1,000 in interest on a $5,000 balance. Very expensive.
It’s Time To Wisen Up
It’s easy to see how debt can rapidly lead to a situation that is highly undesirable. Things might not look too bad month to month, but over time, high interest payments can lead to a huge amount of money being thrown away. This is money that could have been used for so many more useful things.
The first step towards fixing things is to take control of your spending. Commit to not letting your debt continue to pile up excessively. Financial experts like Dave Ramsey can help with this. Once you’ve got that sorted, it’s time to make a plan to get out of debt. A lot of banks will suggest getting a debt consolidation loan. However, this fails to address the root cause of the problem and carries substantial credit risk. You could also try negotiating a lower interest rate with the card issuer, but this usually doesn’t work. After all, why would they want to make less money?
Perhaps the easiest solution to get out of debt is to eliminate or reduce interest rates while you’re paying down the debt. It’s easier than you think.
How Is It Possible?
The simplest way is to apply for a new credit card with 0% interest. You can then transfer over your existing balance to the new card. If you’re afraid applying for a new credit card could hurt your credit even further, don’t be. Here’s why:
– One very important factor in determining credit score is total credit utilization. This means the less credit you use compared to the total credit you have available, the better. When you get a new card, your total credit will go up so your total credit utilization will drop. This is a good thing and helps with credit score.
– In addition, when you get a new card with 0% interest, you’ll be able to pay off your debt faster, as there will be less of an interest burden. This will reduce your total credit utilization even more. The important thing is that to continue to pay down the debt at regular intervals instead of continuing to rack up more! That said, with an 0% interest credit card, it’ll be easier than ever to clear up your debt, giving you a much better chance at becoming debt free as soon as possible!
Quality Cards To Look For
- MBNA True Line® Mastercard®:¹
- 0% interest for 10 months
- 12.99% Purchase APR
- $0 Annual Fee
2. MBNA True Line® Gold Mastercard®:²
- 0% interest for 6 months
- 8.99% Purchase APR
- $39 Annual Fee
3. Scotiabank Value Visa Card:²
- 0.99% interest for 6 months
- 12.99% Purchase APR
- $29 Annual Fee
4. Tangerine Money-Back Credit Card:²
- 1.95% interest for 6 months
- 19.95% Purchase APR
- $0 Annual Fee
- Get 2% cash back on purchases in three categories of your choice, 0.5% cash back on all other purchases
5. American Express Essential Credit Card:²
- 1.99% interest for 6 months
- 12.99% Purchase APR
- $0 Annual Fee.
- Note: This card requires a minimum income of $15,000 per year.
[1] https://www.greedyrates.ca/blog/best-0-balance-transfer-credit-card-offers-canada/
[2] https://www.ratehub.ca/blog/best-balance-transfer-credit-cards-in-canada-2/
