U.S. households on average carry a total of $15,355 in credit card debt. Although there is not a universal approach for lowering your debt, there’s one simple strategy that is often overlooked: Renegotiating your interest rate.
You can renegotiate your interest rate by following these three simple steps:
- Find out your interest rate and current interest rates with other companies. You can locate your interest rate in the fine print on your credit card statement. If you cannot find it, call the company. When researching the rates of competitors, make sure you tell them you are planning to move your debt to the company that offers the lowest interest rate.
- Call your current company and explain that it is too high and request a lower rate. If they refuse, tell them you will be closing your account and transferring your balance to a company that offers better rates. Tell them the name of a competitor to prove you are serious. Your credit card company’s goal is to retain you as a customer and many debtors have their interest rates cut in half by simply asking. If the customer service representative does not seem willing to lower your rate, ask for a supervisor.
- Consolidate your debt onto one card. Once you find the company willing to offer the lowest interest rate possible, move all of your debt to that card.
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If you are in financial crisis and considering filing for bankruptcy, contact an experienced Miami bankruptcy attorney who can advise you of all of your options. As an experienced CPA as well as a proven bankruptcy lawyer, Timothy Kingcade knows how to help clients take full advantage of the bankruptcy laws to protect their assets and get successful results. Since 1996 Kingcade & Garcia, P.A. has been helping people from all walks of life build a better tomorrow. Our attorneys’ help thousands of people every year take advantage of their rights under bankruptcy protection to restart, rebuild and recover. The day you hire our firm, we will contact your creditors to stop the harassment. You can also find useful consumer information on the Kingcade & Garcia website at www.miamibankruptcy.com
