Some people feel the pinch of financial stress 24 hours a day, worrying about keeping up with the many demands on their wallets and their bank accounts. And in a culture where most people are managing at least some debt, First Independent Bank wants to help people discover and enact strategies for debt reduction. Less debt means more opportunities. But before that happens, most need to delineate between good debt and bad debt.
Good debt isn’t necessarily “good” in the traditional sense of the word. Obviously, if you could, you’d pay cash for everything in life and never finance anything. But that’s not the world most people live in. Financing major expenses is part of life. The trick is in finding the financing options that works for your budget and for your lifestyle.
Bad debt is the kind of debt with disproportionately high interest rates or unreasonable repayment terms. Certain credit cards and money lending or pay advance services are examples of these kinds of debt.
Having a credit card is good. It helps you build your credit score and helps provide an important and necessary protection in life. While some financial analysts or debt reduction authorities draw lines in the sand about credit cards, we recognize that they are part of our economy.
But having a credit card requires some important financial management principles. If you have a credit card with a $10,000 balance and a 17.9% interest rate, making 3% monthly minimum payments will pay off your debt in 20 years and you’ll pay a total of somewhere just under $20,000.
At First Independent Bank, we believe that when it comes to credit cards, it’s not about destroying them; it’s about managing them.
If you find yourself in over your head with credit card balances, take some proactive steps forward to make a dent in your debt load. One strategy is with an extra $200 a month. If you can find a way to direct an extra $200 toward your lowest-balance debt bill, it can help you reduce your debt faster.
Now consider snowballing your payments, so that the amount you pay on debt increases each month. Once that lowest-balance bill is paid off, take the extra $200 you were paying toward that bill as well as the minimum monthly payment you were paying toward that bill, and pay that total amount toward your next debt.
Eventually you’ll find yourself paying off debt in massive chunks. And you’ll find yourself in a much better financial situation.
If you are looking for help with your debt, talk to one of the lending experts at First Independent Bank. We have the expertise you are looking for and the debt consolidation loans you need.
