When things get tough and the budget is under stress because of rising prices and high credit card costs, the first thing most people do is look for extra work to help pay the bills. However, this is a solution that only puts more pressure on a family that is finding it hard to keep things together. If your monthly credit card payments are a significant component of your monthly expenses, the answer may lie in the many credit card offers currently on the market.
If you transfer your high interest credit card balances to low or zero interest credit cards with a decent introductory period, you will immediately gain financial relief. Instead of spending an excessive amount of your earnings on credit card debt, you will be able to spend more on living expenses while still paying down your credit card balance.
These introductory credit card offers provide a low or zero interest rate for a specific time period. Most offers range between three to fifteen months before reverting to standard interest rates. These offers are designed to gain new customers who are attracted by the low rate offer and who will pay normal fees and charges at the end of the introductory period.
This marketing strategy has been highly successful because most people who accept these credit card offers keep their cards after the introductory period and pay normal rates. However, you do not necessarily have to do this. You have to option of transferring your balance yet again to another special offer card at the end of the introductory period.
If you still have a significant credit card balance, this option may well be worth considering. The longer you do not have to pay much, if any, interest the more money you will be able to pay off your credit card debt without hardship.
There is no reason you can’t continue to take advantage of new credit card offers. There is certainly no law against it. However, it is probably not worth doing if you choose offers with short introductory periods. Aim for introductory periods of at least twelve months if possible to give you a decent period of time before you have to reapply.
Nevertheless, the best plans can be made in vain if you forget that your introductory period is coming to an end. You may find yourself with an unexpected bill and scrambling madly for the money to pay it. However, if you choose an online credit card provider who offers a reminder service you will be in a good position to reapply with enough time to spare.
There is a real benefit in using an online credit card service. Firstly, the best sites have already done the research for you and can offer you information on the best credit card deals. They often provide detailed comparisons so you can clearly see the differences between the cards and usually they provide an online application facility to make things even easier.
