5 Credit Hacks to Lower Your Interest Rates
Are you having a hard time making headway on your principal and just paying interest? Here are 5 credit hack to lower your interest rates.
Are you having trouble with interest?
This might surprise you, but lowering interest rates is actually much easier than you think. While it takes some effort and a bit of persistence, you too can make your credit care interest much easier to manage.
If you’ve been struggling to pay your interest back, or if you need a break, here are five tips to help you lower your credit care interest.
Try a balance transfer.
This simple solution is an easy way to lower interest rates.
Basically, what you do is you take your balance from a high-interest credit card, and move it to a low-interest one. This will help you pay off the interest faster.
There are several 0% balance transfer options available for people looking to improve their interest rates.
Of course, there is sometimes some fine print when it comes to transfer fees. You will have to do your research when it comes to figuring out the transfer option that’s right for you.
In general, though, this is a great way to get a lower interest rate on your credit cards.
Obviously, this will involve switching companies, so if you’re looking to stay loyal to a certain bank for whatever reason, this probably isn’t the right option for you. Luckily, there are several more things you can do to improve your interest rates.
Improve your credit score.
A lot of banks will be willing to provide lower interest rates to you. But first, you need to improve your credit score.
This will help to make you eligible for lower interest rates because you’re seen as more responsible.
But you might be wondering how you can possibly fix your credit score when you can hardly keep up on your interest rates. It seems like a losing battle, doesn’t it?
Luckily, there are several simple steps you can take to lower your credit score, including:
- Keeping track of your charges
- Thinking long term
- Having a written budget to stick to
If you find that you have bad credit, there are probably some bad habits you need to break. We’ve talked more about that — and how you can follow the steps listed above and more to better credit — before.
If you want to take control of your credit, you can learn more here.
Apply for a new card between loans.
After a big purchase, like a house or a car, your credit score can suffer. And that means that you’ll wind up paying a higher interest rate if you get a new card in this time.
However, there is a way around this: apply for a new card right after the purchase.
This is because, after a purchase, there’s generally a bit of a lag between when you buy something and when the effects actually show up on your credit score report.
If you absolutely must get a new card, do it before the report is updated.
This will allow you to get the lowest interest rate possible because your credit score is much lower than it will be once it updates.
This is a great way to get the most out of new credit cards without having to worry about higher interest rates because of new purchases.
Ask what your friends are paying.
This is especially important if you have friends in the same bank.
A big part of getting lower interest rates is negotiating. And if you’re going to negotiate, you need the information to back it up.
Now, what do you think is more effective? “You should give me lower interest rates,” or, “Your client, who is roughly in my age bracket and has a similar credit score, has this much interest. I’d like to have a similar interest rate to them.”
We know which person we’d go with.
We know that it’s awkward to talk about money with friends. But this can ultimately be beneficial for everyone involved. Knowledge is power, so knowing how much your bank is charging other people can really help when it comes time to ask.
If you want lower interest rates, you should know what to reasonably expect from your bank, and this is a great way to get that information.
When in doubt: ask.
Lower interest rates aren’t just going to fall into your lap.
If you want your bank to give you a lower interest rate, you’re going to have to ask for it. Sometimes, you’re going to have to ask more than once.
You should be persistent, but also polite. Make sure that they know that you’d like to continue using their services … but that you’re also willing to go if they don’t make you an offer.
This type of negotiating will take time and effort. But in the end, it can really pay off.
You deserve to have an interest rate that you can live with. And banks want you to be able to pay off your things and love your life.
So reach out to them. Make it clear that the current system isn’t working for you. You’d be surprised by how willing they are to work with you to fix it.
Want more tips to lower interest rates?
Finance isn’t easy. A single blog post might not be all you need to get the help that you need.
Sometimes, even when you have the best of intentions, you just need a little help.
That’s what Cigno is here for. We offer short term cash advances up to $500.
These tips are great to help you for the long term. But in the short term, you need to pay off the interest rates you have now.
If you’re looking for a bit of extra cash to help you out, we’re more than happy to help you get that.
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