credit card apr average
Credit counseling vs Debt settlement programs which is better for your financial predicament?
Most folks are aware that we here in the United States are trapped in the middle of a horrible economic collapse. Needless to say this is causing severe loss to many families. There are an almost a never ending number of foreclosures in addition to elevated levels of job loss. To add insult to injury credit card debt is reaching record levels. This is leaving behind millions of people in situations with their debt that is very compromising. Somewhere along the line people start thinkning about reaching out and getting some assistance with their debt situations when they realize that there aren’t very many options available to them. The two most common of debt relief plans are credit card counseling programs sometimes known as a debt consolidation plan and credit card debt settlement occasionally known as credit card debt negotiation.
Both of these plans do have the capability to get people out of debt much sooner than if they were to just remain on the credit treadmill and continue to make monthly minimum payments. However these programs are very different.
A credit counseling program has very enticing benefits; one being they can usually get the APR decreased. Another extremely nice benefit of this plan is that you will make merely one monthly payment to the credit counseling agency in which they disperse to your creditors for you; thus making your life much more simple with paying your bills. On average a consumer credit card debt counseling program will take anywhere from 5-8 years to realize debt freedom.
Credit card debt settlement is a much different type of a program. For one you actually lower your balances not your APR. So you wind up saving a lot more money, in most cases the debtor will see a savings of fifty percent or more of what they owe. Another stark difference from a consumer credit card counseling plan is that you will become out of debt much more rapidly with credit card debt settlement, in most cases no more than four years. But there is one downfall, in order for the creditors to be in position to work out a debt settlement the credit card accounts must go behind; the credit card companies will never negotiate when you’re up to date with the payments. So this does have a adverse effect on the credit history.
The negatives put to the credit history will not remain there forever and it will rebound towards the end of the debt settlement program. But for most people in credit card debt one of the two programs reviewd above will be of assistance. Those folks who have no problem paying their minimum payments on time should look into credit counseling; but those who have a large sum of credit card debt and have a difficult time managing to stay current then credit card debt negotiation would be a better option.
Excel Debt Management – Calculate Weighted Average Interest Rate
what is an average and a low standard APR on credit cards?
9-11 = average
6 is low