Credit Cards Can Save You Hundreds of Dollars - Here's How

Most of us have a number of credit cards in out wallets or purses - two or three is a reasonable number but most Americans have way more than that. When is the last time that you took a hard look at the credit cards that you have? Are they working for you as tools to ease your everyday life, or are they sapping hundreds of dollars needlessly from your budget? Here are a few credit facts that may startle you:

1) The average consumer today has thirteen credit obligations on file with the credit bureaus, and nine of them are credit cards of some kind: Visa, a department store card, a gas card. The other four are likely to be installment loans.

2) Fourteen hears is the average age of the oldest credit card obligation that average consumer holds. That's an indication of how long the average consumer has been paying interest on that debt, and also shows that the average consumer is pretty good at maintaining and managing credit over a long period of time.

3) Average credit card debt among indebted young adults increased by 55 percent between 1992 and 2001, to $4,088. This is an indication that the growth of debt among young Americans is currently experiencing explosive growth. The average credit card indebted young adult now spends nearly 24 percent of their income on debt payment. That's 4% more than the young adults did in 1992.

4) About 75% of families polled in 2004 owned credit cards. Of them, 58% carried balances on those cards, and the average person with a credit history on file has over sixteen thousand dollars in outstanding debt. And that doesn't include mortgages.

5) Of families with credit cards 1 in 6 of them only pays the minimum due every month. Twenty-eight percent of all families who were surveyed said that their ability to completely pay off their credit card balances has gotten more difficult.

Startling figures! Apparently many of us are carrying balances on our credit cards, which can be expensive. By the way, the sources of those numbers include The Federal Reserve Bulletin, US News and World Report and Experion (credit agency) - reputable sources. Americans in particular and most people in general continue to carry a good bit of debt. Chances are they are not taking advantage of opportunities to optimize that debt. This is a simple thing to do in many cases, and it can be done from the comfort of your home. If your situation is similar to the average, it could save you hundreds or even thousands of dollars!

By applying for a new credit card that offers 0% balance transfers you can take all of the outstanding credit card debt that you have and lump it into and interest-free loan. This is a great deal and can save you a ton of money over time: apply for the new card, move the interest-laden balance off of your old card or cards onto the new interest-free card and close the old account(s). Here's what you can save: for every hundred dollars that you move from a standard credit card at %14 (an estimate - many credit cards charge much higher interest) interest to a zero percent balance transfer card you save $14 per year. If you have $2000 dollars of debt that you move that's almost $300 per year! The financial climate today is tough and we all need to find ways to save the money we earn - zero percent balance transfer credit cards are a drop-dead simple one.

0% Balance transfer credit cards are easy to apply for and obtain. Application can be done on-line and the approval is simpler than first-time credit applicants. You can transfer all or a portion of an existing balance to the new card. A brilliant habit to establish is to shop 0% credit every twelve to fifteen months so that you can continually roll your outstanding balance to an interest free position. In today's financial climate we all are looking for ways to save money - 0% credit cards and balance transfer offer a free and easy way to do just that.

Article Source: http://www.articlegoldmine.com

Shopping for zero percent balance transfer credit cards is a snap on our site. You might also want to brows some of the other credit card offers there, including amazing low interest, cash back and rewards credit cards.

Please Rate this Article

5 out of 54 out of 53 out of 52 out of 51 out of 5 

Not yet Rated