Should you Pay off credit card debt with a loan?
When your credit card balances are going through the roof, you may be wondering about how to pay off credit card debt with a loan, which is also known as debt consolidation. To pay off credit card debt with a loan, you would take out a new loan at a low interest rate in order to pay off balances on credit cards with higher interest rates. This helps you save money on interest each month and lets you simplify your finances.
But debt consolidation for credit cards isn’t always the best way out of debt, especially if you owe a lot of money or have poor credit. Debt consolidation loans for bad credit typically don’t offer the low interest rates that make debt consolidation worthwhile. And often, consumers who pay off credit card debt with a loan find themselves with just as much debt or even more debt a year or two later, because they haven’t figured out a way to manage their money more effectively.
For help with debt problems and guidance about whether to pay off credit card debt with a loan, consult the professional credit counselors at American Consumer Credit Counseling (ACCC). At ACCC you’ll find free credit counseling and objective advice about the best strategies for how to pay off credit card debt most effectively.
Get advice from ACCC on whether to pay off credit card debt with a loan.
As a nonprofit organization, ACCC is dedicated to providing free resources and low-cost services to consumers ready to admit “I need help with my debt.” At your first free credit counseling session —conducted over the phone or in person — we’ll help you take stock of your finances and review all the potential ways to get out of debt. We can discuss whether it makes the most sense to pay off credit card debt with a loan or to look at debt settlement, or whether a debt management plan would be more effective.
Pay off credit card debt with a loan vs. a debt management plan
Rather than trying to pay off credit card debt with a loan, your ACCC counselor may recommend a debt management plan that lets you work with a budget to pay down debt over time. Under a debt management plan, you make a single payment each month to ACCC and we will pay your creditors on your behalf. This approach can help simplify your finances, and help you manage money more effectively. ACCC will work with your creditors for a possible reduction in interest rates, finance charges and other fees in order to help you pay off your debt more quickly.
Learn more about how to pay off credit card debt with a loan at ACCC, and get answers to questions like “How much credit card debt is okay?”