If you're like most people you keep a few credit cards in your wallet. Two or three is typical, but many Americans have way more than that. (Read on to see just how many.) Most people rarely take the time to evaluate the credit cards they carry: are they working for you, tools that you use to lubricate your finances, or are they draining hundreds of dollars from your budget needlessly? Here are a few little-known facts that you may find interesting:
1) The average consumer today has thirteen credit obligations on file with the credit bureaus, and nine of them are credit cards of some kind: Visa, a department store card, a gas card. The other four are likely to be installment loans.
2) The oldest credit obligation of the average consumer is fourteen years! Fourteen years of payment on an obligation indicates that the average individual has been managing credit for a long time - and hopefully well. Actually, very few people have short credit histories - only 5% of consumers.
3) Average credit card debt among indebted young adults increased by 55 percent between 1992 and 2001, to $4,088. This is an indication that the growth of debt among young Americans is currently experiencing explosive growth. The average credit card indebted young adult now spends nearly 24 percent of their income on debt payment. That's 4% more than the young adults did in 1992.
4) About 75% of families polled in 2004 owned credit cards. Of them, 58% carried balances on those cards, and the average person with a credit history on file has over sixteen thousand dollars in outstanding debt. And that doesn't include mortgages.
5) One in six families with credit cards pays only the minimum due every month. 28 percent of families surveyed indicate that their ability to pay off their credit card balance has become more difficult.
The statistics presented above are taken from The Federal Reserve Bulletin, US News and World Report and from Experion, a credit bureau - all very reputable sources. These are very startling figures! Many of us are carrying outstanding balances on our credit cards and this can get expensive. There is a good chance that you as an individual are not taking advantage of some of the opportunities that exist to optimize that debt. It's a very simple thing to do so in many cases, it can be done on-line and if your situation is similar to the average, it could save you hundreds or even thousands of dollars!
By applying for a new credit card that offers 0% balance transfers you can take all of the outstanding credit card debt that you have and lump it into and interest-free loan. This is a great deal and can save you a ton of money over time: apply for the new card, move the interest-laden balance off of your old card or cards onto the new interest-free card and close the old account(s). Here's what you can save: for every hundred dollars that you move from a standard credit card at %14 (an estimate - many credit cards charge much higher interest) interest to a zero percent balance transfer card you save $14 per year. If you have $2000 dollars of debt that you move that's almost $300 per year! The financial climate today is tough and we all need to find ways to save the money we earn - zero percent balance transfer credit cards are a drop-dead simple one.
It's easy to apply for a 0% balance transfer credit card - application can be completed on-line and the approval rate is high (applicants usually already have credit products and hence sufficient credit for approval). Get into the habit of shopping for 0% credit every 12 to 15 months so that you can roll any outstanding balance into an interest-free position. Given the current financial climate we all need to find ways to save the money that we earn. Zero percent balance transfer credit cards are a free and easy way to do just that.
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