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Further
Reading ...
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How to Grow Your Business using Nature's Secrets - Syd Stewart
Nature has no grand plan, no long-term plan, no vision statement, no foresight, no mission statement, no manifesto, and no long-term objectives. Yet, in nature, complex, powerful, elegant, awe-inspiring, incredibly capable organisms and species...
Starting a New Business Online? - Jim Edwards
It seems everybody has a "can't miss" idea for starting a new web-based business, despite innumerable news accounts of most web businesses going belly-up in a short time. Most folks still think, mistakenly of course, that a website alone somehow...
How A Change in Perspective Can Help You Make More Holiday Season Sales: Pt. One - Tinu AbayomiPaul
Some sites are perfect for the Christmas season - their products fit easily into the idea of gift-giving. But what if the products and services you offer are for small business owners? Or, as many of my clients ask, how do I survive the holiday...
Ancient Warrior Secrets For The Modern Entrepreneur - Hirini Reedy
The words you see onscreen trigger subconscious responses. Dark images penetrate your mind. Your heartbeat increases slightly. Your muscles tighten. Like a warrior advancing to combat, you prepare to engage with your market. Ready, aim, fire. You...
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All About Balance Transfers
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Written By:
Neil Brown
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What is a balance transfer ?
A balance transfer can be explained simply as a balance transfer! When a balance is transferred usually from a credit card, but possible from a bank account or loan to a credit card with a offer interest rate (usually 0%) for a set period. It does not have to be the entire amount. The card receiving the balance will an interest rate for a set term, normally 6 months, but can be 9 months or even a year. Take a look at the current balance transfer deals currently available at http://www.search4-credit-cards.co.uk/balance_transfers.html. This will give you a flavour of the typical kind of deal available.
Should I apply for a balance transfer ?
It is important to remember that a balance transfer does not mean that the debt has gone away. It just means you are not paying interest on it. You will still have to maintain payments.
This may seem obvious but many people do not get this straight in their mind.
The basic criteria for getting a balance transfer is when you regularly have an outstanding balance after making your monthly payments. This is the amount you should look to transfer to another card. This will mean that for the period of the offer you will pay no interest on the balance (provided you make the minimum payments).
You should be very wary of taking up a balance transfer, if your overall debt is increasing. A balance transfer is not a green light to spend more money. The money you save should be used to decrease your debt.
What should I look for in a balance transfer ?
You need to be aware of the following when looking for a balance transfer card
Good things
Length of offer period.
Offer Interest Rate.
The zero or low interest rate charged on the balance.
Possible transfers from loans and overdrafts.
On some cards you can transfer from existing loans and overdrafts and still get the offer.
Bad things
Cut-off period for the balance transfer offer.
Hidden Charges on transfers.
Some banks will charge a handling fee on the balance transfer.
How long the offer is valid for ?
There is usually a cut off point from the account opening when the offer is no longer valid. Be very aware of this otherwise you could end - continued below ...
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continued ...
up transferring a balance to a higher rate !!
What about new purchases ?
Unless there is also a 0% interest rate on new purchases then you should avoid making new purchases on a balance transfer card. This is because the banks will look to reduce the balance transfer debt quicker than the new debt. Provided your credit history is reasonable, there is nothing stopping you having several cards for different purposes. A good way is to have a card, which specialises in 0% on new purchases (see http://www.search4-credit-cards.co.uk/purchase_apr.html) and another card for balance transfers.
What happens when the balance transfer period finishes ?
When the balance transfer offer period finishes the debt will revert to the typical variable APR. The lenders hope at this point that the cardholder will retain the card and some of the debt, so they can then start charging interest and making some money! So take into consideration the low interest rate credit cards (http://www.search4-credit-cards.co.uk/low_apr.html). However, there is nothing stopping the disciplined credit card holder from switching to another balance transfer deal and closing the account. The cycle then starts again. Always allow 6 weeks to 8 weeks before the end of the offer period to apply for a new card. This means you can get the balance transferred to the new card before the lender can start charging the higher rate. You have to be organised to do this, but if you are it does work. People who regularly switch balances are know as card tarts.
The Golden Rules
There are three things to look out for with a balance transfer card
As mentioned previously, the unsuspecting can get caught out when spending on a balance transfer card.
Maintaining regular payments. If you miss a payment you incur some penalty, so be aware. To be safe set up a direct debit.
The interest rate applied when the offer period finishes.
Good luck with your choice.
Neil Brown is a freelance financial journalist who regularly contributes to http://www.search4-credit-cards and http://www.chooseacreditcard.co.uk.
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| _Additional Resources ... |
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The Newest Case for Human Capital - Eileen McDargh CSP CPAE
The United Kingdom-based Institute of Personnel and Development recently released a study showing that investing in people rather than technology makes a far greater contribution to an organization’s bottom line. The seven-year study of more than...
Book Summary: The E-Myth Revisited - Regine P Azurin
Ever wonder why most small businesses-- no matter how huge effort they put in their endeavor--still fail? Micheal Gerber reveals the answers in this book. Accordingly, the future of small businesses revolve in only three philosophies: the...
How Safe is Your Success? Part 3 of 8 - Bill Hely
"How Safe is Your Success" is a series of eight articles. Each article addresses a different aspect of a universal problem which is of particular importance to those who do business on-line. Most Internet users are at least aware there are dangers...
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