Debt Consolidation to Rid Yourself of High Interest Credit Card Debt

The average American carries at least three credit cards. Our society fully believes in charging what they need and paying for it later. It is when later arrives, however, that many people find themselves short on the money needed to make their minimum monthly payments. If you are among those who have found themselves buried beneath a mountainous stack of credit card bills, then you are certainly not alone. One of the fastest ways to get rid of high interest credit card debt is to take out a debt consolidation loan.One Loan for Many DebtsDebt consolidation loans are loans that are written to cover the bulk of your outstanding debts. A single debt consolidation loan will cover multiple lenders, banks, credit card companies, and other lending institutions, allowing you to make one payment to one lender for everything that you owe. One of the most obvious advantages of debt consolidation loans is that your new loan can be written at a much lower rate of interest than the rates you were paying for your credit cards and other loans, which can save you thousands of dollars over the life of repayment of these loans and debts.Additionally, because you are taking out a new loan with one payment, the payment that you make each month is usually much less than the combined payments of all of your debts, which allows you to keep more money in your pocket. Because of this, debt consolidation allows you to avoid using credit cards or borrowing money in the manner that you had before, because you will have more money left in your paycheck after paying your debt consolidation loan payment.Why Credit Cards Should be ConsolidatedOne reason that credit card debt is the most expensive debt that is carried by debtors is that many credit card companies are simply scandalous. An initial credit card offer may seem appealing but it is only when the card holder reads the fine print and the terms and conditions of the offer that they see where the real trouble with the card may lie.For example, many cards are initially offered at low, low interest rates that may be as low as zero percent. But that is usually for a limited amount of time, typically several months. After that initial time period, the interest rate will raise to a higher rate, often as high as 19.99%. Or the terms and conditions may state that the interest rate will be adjusted to the default rate if a late payment is received; the default rate can be as high as 19.99% or more as well.With these types of stipulations, it is easy to see why so many borrowers have fallen into the credit card trap and have literally become enslaved by credit card debt. By paying the credit card companies off in full with a debt consolidation loan, you can avoid this harsh interest rate and keep more money in your pocket. Debt consolidation can be a great way to vote with your feet by paying off your credit cards and not doing business with companies of this nature again.