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Is It Worth (& Smart) To Refinance Your Mortgage To Pay Off High Interest Credit Card Debt?
We all get that dreaded phone call during dinner at some time or another. It’s a mortgage company calling to see if we want to refinance our home and take out cash to pay off debt. If you are like the average American family, then no doubt you have a substantial amount of credit card debt. The average in this country is $8,500.00 however a large percentage of families carry substantially more. So the question comes to the fore, is it really worth it to allow someone to refinance your home in order to pay off all your credit card debt?
Well to begin you need to look at the interest you will pay on your mortgage versus your credit card. With many people paying upwards of 15% on their credit cards each month versus the 6-8% for a typical home loan, initially it seems that you would be better off going with the refinance option than sticking with the credit cards. But keep in mind that the money you take out of your home in the form of a cash equity to pay off your credit cards will be amortized or spread out over usually 30 years. That is a lot of compounded interest you will need to pay. Not to mention most people refinance their home several times, so that 30 year figure can be stretched out even farther making the overall interest you pay higher.
Therefore some basic questions should steer the average person in the right direction. Such as:
- How long do I plan to live in this house?
- Do I plan to pay it off and if so how long will it take me.
- What interest rate am I paying on my credit cards and again do I plan on paying them off anytime soon?
Once you have a clear answer to these questions, you can use readily available credit card and mortgage calculators to calculate how much interest you will pay over a certain amount of time. Then you can compare those amounts and also take into consideration the upfront costs on refinancing which are typically at least 2% of the loan amount. It’s only when you are armed with this information you can make a rational and informed decision.
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Sponsored by:
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By Steve Borrelli from Sterling Home Mortgage
Photo Credits: (Bill and Mavis) – B&M Photography (cc)
If You Have Excellent Credit Make Sure Your Credit Card Reflects It
For the seemingly fewer and fewer of us that strive to maintain excellent credit, it may seem that there are relatively few rewards when it comes to additional benefits from your credit card company. However, that is not always the case. It takes determination and organization to keep a solid credit score and rating and this is a fact that Capital One has not overlooked. They gear different credit cards they offer to specific credit categories. In fact they have four different ratings with excellent being the highest category they offer.
Now you might say with all the marketing Capital One does, can they really deliver on their promises? Well, you can be the judge because they lay everything out for you to review when it comes to their Capital One Platinum Prestige credit card. This is the card that corresponds to the excellent credit rating category and it has some excellent value-added benefits for individuals with high credit scores. It comes with a $0 transfer fee and annual fee as well as a credit limit of up to $20,000.00 to begin with. Here is the real kicker; there is a 7.9% fixed interest rate on all purchases and balance transfers. It really doesn’t get much better than that. We all have friends that have good credit but are paying upwards of 20% interest on their credit cards. Don’t make that same mistake; instead choose the credit card that rewards you for your great credit! The Capital One Platinum Prestige credit card could be just that card.
|| CLICK HERE TO APPLY ||
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Photo Credits: Law Keven (cc)
Credit Card Kiting
Taking advantage of the float on checks to obtain loans is illegal, it’d called Check Kiting.
But taking advantage of Credit Card float is perfectly legal. And with so many credit cards enticing good borrowers with alluring balance transfers offers, often times one full year at 0%, some people are taking advantage of this one full year float and switching from card to card, from issuer to issuer.
If you are thinking about engaging in this practice, there are a few issues that you need to consider:
- Monthly payments: you still need to make the monthly payments, a balance transfer offer enables you to transfer the balance from one card to another, but the obligation to a minimum monthly payment remains.
- Pay it off: if your goal is to eventually pay off our credit card debt – and it should be -, switching to a 0% card will accelerated the process only if your monthly payment is higher than the minimum payment indicated in the statement. A very simple rule is to take your current monthly payment and send the same amount every month regardless of the (lower) minimum payment required by the credit card company. See article How long will it take you to pay off your Credit Card?
- Read the fine print, part I: for each balance transfer offer you receive look for transfer fees, maintenance fees, and other fees associated with the transfer and the maintenance of the card and of the balance. If you are switching to a lower interest rate, is it worth it?
- Read the fine print, part II: are there any requirements to maintain the low introductory APR? Does it fit within your habits? Can you afford it? Is it worth it?
- 1, 2, or 3 cards? If you accepted a balance transfer offer and you’ll be using the same card to make regular purchases, beware that usually credit card companies will apply any and all payments to the balance with the lower APR first (the balance you transfer), so you might end up having to pay high interest rate on the balance that accumulates from your everyday purchases even if your monthly payment is greater than the new purchases. We strongly suggest that, you use two credit cards, one for your old debt that you are paying off regularly, and another one everyday purchases like gas, groceries, utilities and the like, and pay off this balance every month.
We also suggest you have another card, a third one, everyone should also have one additional credit card, with no balance on it, for emergencies.
If you don’t have the discipline of charging only what you can afford to pay off at the end of the month, don’t use a credit cards for your everyday purchases: pay cash! - Shop around for the lowest balance transfer offer, for the longest period, with no or low fees, and with the lest requirements. Experts suggest to switch only if you can get at least 6 months at 0% or 12 months at less than 4.99% APR. We can help with our articles and offers on balance transfer cards, and low interest credit cards.
- Maintain your good credit or improve your credit: ask around, people with good credit are inundated with balance transfer offers at 0% APR for one year or longer.
- How to transfer your balance: Experts suggest to always use the special checks that you receive in the mail from your existing credit card company, or ask the credit card company with the best balance transfer offer to send you some. Try to avoid using Customer Service Representatives to make the transaction, there might be some fees or terms that you won’t have time to evaluate. If you are doing the transfer online, read all the fine print before clicking and accepting terms and conditions.
- The Personal Finance 101 rule #1 still applies: if you don’t understand something, don’t do it.
- Rule #2 states: if it’s too good to be true, it probably is.
- Be on the lookout for a better deal: if you transfer your balance to a low APR card, be on the lookout for a 0% balance transfer offer.
- Relax: if you’ve transferred your balance to a 0% offer, mark your calendar, a couple of months before the expiration of the offer, be on the lookout for another 0% balance transfer. Till then, make your monthly payments on time, and relax.
- Give yourself some time: don’t wait until the last few days of your current balance transfer deal. Experts suggest to put things in motion for a new transfer at least 30 days before the current deal expires.
Use your credit wisely, it gives you, the borrower, great power, freedom and control when it comes to credit cards, personal loans, student loans, auto loans, mortgage, cell phones, utilities, it follows you in everything you want to do in your life.
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Sponsored by:
People want more. More cowbells, More out of life, more more more . . . it is the American way. Discover Card delivers it with the More Card and its Get More program
Why settle for less when you can have more?
Don’t you need more cowbells? And more bells and whistles from your credit card?
Imagine a card that constantly delivers more:
- Instant online approval.
- Low introductory APR on purchases.
- Low introductory APR on balance transfers.
- 5% to 20% Cashback Bonus at top online retailers in the ShopDiscover Network (*).
- 5% cashback Bonus in popular rotating categories like travel, home, apparel, gas, restaurants, movies and more.
- 1% Cashback Bonus on all other purchases.
- The Cashback bonus accrue automatically.
- No limit on the amount of Cashback bonus that you can earn.
- Double your Cashback bonus with gift cards offers from 100 Discover Cashback Bonus Partners (*).
- No Annual Fee.
- Easy online account access.
- Online bill payment.
Is that more to your liking? Get more, get the Discover Card. And now you can select the look of the card that you’ll be carrying in your wallet, Discover gives you 6 different and exciting designs to choose from:
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(*) See official Discover card web site for details.
When Miles Rewards from your Credit Card are not Enough
If you were to pick a credit card because of the Airline Miles rewards, would you settle for just miles or would you want something more?
Northwest Airlines (NWA) and USbank have two credit cards that offer more than just miles.
WorldPerks Visa Signature Card:
- One-time Enrollment Bonus
- Redeem up to two award tickets a year for as little as 19,000 miles each
- Double Miles for purchases direct from Northwest Airlines®
- No preset spending limit
- No cap on miles you earn
- Redeem 10,000 miles for $100 off a Northwest Airlines ticket — up to six times a year
- Get a Free Day on a 3-day weekend rental from National Car Rental®, plus up to 15% savings and a complimentary Emerald Club® membership
- Enjoy VIP perks at the world’s best hotels, resorts, villas and cruises with complimentary membership in the Hideaways AficionadoTM Club (a $135/year value)
WorldPerks Platinum Signature Card:
- One-time Enrollment Bonus
- Redeem up to two award tickets a year for as little as 21,000 miles each
- No preset spending Limit
- No cap on miles you earn
- Get up to a 15% savings from National Car Rental and a complimentary Emerald Club membership
- Enjoy VIP perks at the world’s best hotels, resorts, villas and cruises with discounted membership in the Hideaways Aficionado Club (save $45/year)
A rewarding Credit Card from our Pals at PayPal
A rewarding Credit Card from our pals from PayPal
We know the pals from PayPal, they power the payments on eBay, and then some. Secure, safe, protected, and they were born and make their living online, they understand the “wired” life.
What you might not know yet is that they also offer a very rewarding credit card.
Rewards + Security + Convenience it all adds up to PayPal Plus Credit Card by MasterCard:
Rewards:
- Earn Reward Points toward future purchases – everywhere, every time you shop
- Exclusive PayPal offers
- Extended payment plans and deferred interest offers on select purchases
Security:
- Platinum benefits for extra security. (*)
- Extended protection on purchases made via PayPal. (*)
- Zero liability for unauthorized purchases made with your card
Convenience:
- Use online, offline – everywhere MasterCard is accepted
- Online account management and payment options – view balance, activity, statements, and more
- 24/7 customer service you can count on – online or on the phone, with a live agent
- Instant credit availability with one simple application
- No annual fee
|| CLICK HERE TO APPLY ||
(*) See the official PayPal Plus Credit Card site for details.
As Seen on TV
We HAD to do it!
How many times do you remember a funny and entertaining commercial on TV, you remember what it was for (in this case – of course – credit cards) but you just can’t remember the name of the company or their web site. We understand. There are just too many credit card companies out there, and remembering a web site name? Forget about it, often there’s no MOJO in their name.
So a few people, very resourceful people, have emailed our webmaster asking “what was that credit card with the funny TV ads that lets you build your own card? You know, the one where you can put the photo of your cat and pick the interest rate and the rewards?”
It’s Capital One’s Card Lab. Capital One pairs great offerings on their credit cards with highly creative and entertaining TV ads.
|| CLICK HERE TO APPLY ||
The 3 keywords in Personal Finance: Credit, Credit, Credit
In Real Estate, it’s all about location, location, location; when it comes to your personal finance it’s all about credit, credit, credit; and not just about credit as a vague concept, we are talking here about good available credit.
Just like the Donald said “Credit is something you get when you don’t need it“, now it’s the time to secure some credit for those rainy days or unexpected emergencies. But first let’s clear up some of the confusion that we know is out there: what’s considered good credit to have?
Good credit to have is the credit for which you are approved for and it’s there available for you. Let’s make an example: Jim has one credit card with a $ 5,000 limit, he has it practically maxed out with a balance of $ 4,800. He makes the minimum payments every month, and every month he charges a little more on the card bringing the balance back to the $ 4,800-4,900 range. Melissa has the same income as Jim, and the same credit history, and like Jim she has only one credit card with a $ 5,000 limit. Melissa charges about $ 100-200 per month, and she often pays it off the balance in full at the end of the month, sometimes she lets it slide 2-3 months by making the minimum required payment.
Melissa has better credit than Jim, and everything else being equal, if they were to both apply for large amount of credit, Melissa would be approved for a higher amount because she has more good available credit, less financial commitments (the monthly payment) and she has borrowed and paid off her line multiple times.
Some people find that strange, since Melissa, after obtaining the new large credit could max out on the new credit and the existing credit card, effectively putting herself in a worse position than Jim. We at CreditCardsMojo don’t make the rules, we just report on them. Our understanding is that rules such as these are the results of statistical analysis and experience, the Melissa Types either won’t do that, or if they do they would make good to the new and old commitments in terms of periodic payments and eventually paying off the debt.
So, do you have enough good credit on you? Credit that is approved and available when you decide you need it? With so many credit cards with no annual fees it doesn’t cost anything to be prepared and to have some good credit on you. And many of these cards have low APR should you have to carry the balance over a period of time.
There’s a new credit card in town that caught the attention of our spotters, it’s the Citibank Citi PremierPass Card, with some outstanding benefits and rewards:
- No Pre-set Spending Limit;
- Personal Concierge Service;
- Travel & Emergency Assistance when you’re traveling in the U.S. and abroad. Lost Luggage assistance;
- Automatic Travel Accident Insurance;
- Auto Rental Insurance;
- Trip Cancellation / Interruption Coverage;
- Lost Luggage Coverage;
- Extended Warranty on the items you purchase;
- Retail Purchase Protection;
- Citi Photocard for added security;
- Citi MasterCard® Payment Tag with PayPassTM.
|| CLICK HERE TO APPLY ||
(*) See the official Citi PremierPass Card site for details.
The easiest way to have the most secure credit card would be if there was no name and no number on the credit card! Consider it DONE!
Life imitates art, or does art imitates life? You will not believe what I am going to tell you, but there’s a credit card that is so secure, that it doesn’t have any names or numbers on it.
I know, I didn’t believe it either, when Cindy pointed it out to us. Revolutionary is the appropriate word for the occasion, and appropriately so.
A revolutionary card that doesn’t have names or numbers on it, is it any good?
You decide, introducing the RevolutionCard with its excellent of benefits:
- PIN-based for greater control and security: If your card is lost or stolen, any unauthorized user must know your PIN to make purchases. And you can change your PIN as often as you like;
- Instant rewards through merchant partners;
- Competitive APRs;.
- RevolutionCard is not embossed. You won’t find your name or account number anywhere on it–and neither will anyone else;
- No physical data is stored on the card;
- Limits identity theft;
- Reduces fraudulent charges;
- Lowers risk if card is lost or stolen.
|| CLICK HERE TO APPLY ||
Would you believe it? A Prime Rate Credit Card?
You are used to hearing the word “Prime Rate” used in Mortgages, Home Equity Lines of Credit, Home Equity Loans, but would you believe that the folks at Wells Fargo have a Credit Card with an APR equal to the Prime Rate (5% as of this writing) for both purchases and balance transfers, keep in mind this is NOT an introductury rate, this is it!
With an offer so good you’d think that there’s a catch, but there isn’t! Here’s a quick rundown of the Wells Fargo Prime Rate Visa Card:
- Free online account access: View charges, transfer funds, make balance transfers, and more;
- My Spending Report: Track your expenses with this free online report that’s updated automatically;
- Payment options: You choose your monthly payment due date, and can also sign up for automatic or online payments.
- Alerts: Stay on top of your account activity with free email alerts when you approach your credit limit, a payment is due, and more;
- PayWave feature, you can speed through the checkout line faster than ever;
- Annual Fee: $ 19.
|| CLICK HERE TO APPLY ||
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