Debt interest rate strategies from DebtGoal
Understand Your Current Balances, Interest Rates, and Credit Scores
Identifying priorities and choosing from amongst the various options is key for getting a better interest rate for debt. But doing this requires a handle on one’s current status, so first get the facts on your outstanding balances, the interest rates that your debt is held under, and your credit scores from the three ratings agencies. Identify all of your existing balances, the amounts on them, and the name of the company associated with each account. Write down the outstanding amounts for each and the interest rates on each account. Also, find out your credit score.
Get Your Negotiation Strategy in Order
The secret to successful negotiation is to research and understand your best alternative to your current situation. Knowing your best alternative allows you to quickly evaluate whether your current situation is optimal in the time between now and completing the pay off of your debt. Your current situation is holding your debt in accounts with particular amounts, interest rates, and companies. But you have the freedom to transfer the debt to another company, so research which companies will offer you a better interest rate on the debt. Balance transfer options can come with low or zero percent introductory rates. Identify ones that will take a balance transfer for you.
Make Your Call
The key to successfully making the phone call is two-fold: (1) being adequately prepared and (2) making sure to ask the right questions. Being prepared is a matter of having done the aforementioned research online and keeping a pen and paper handy for note taking during the call. Write down anything important that the company representative on the other end of the line tells you about getting your rates lowered. If they tell you that your interest rate is the lowest available, counter with a description of specific companies and the zero percent balance transfers that they are willing to offer to you. If this does not convince them to adjust your rates, then ask them what the base plus prime rate is for their variable rate cards and ask them to match that interest rate on your card, regardless of the type of card you hold. In short, getting a better interest rate for debt can be as straightforward as understanding your debt and interest rate options, and then setting priorities for your debt and interest rate strategy.
Raj Patel writes for DebtGoal.com, a do-it-yourself system for getting out of debt and lowering your interest costs. DebtGoal.com incorporates all of the techniques discussed in this post and can help users understand and get visibility to and manage their debt finances.
Learn More
Visit our website - DebtGoal.com
Learn about the DebtGoal management tool
