I live in Japan, from the US. I’m not planning on returning to the us. I have been looking for ways to pay off multiple high interest US credit cards (I had from when I lived in the US) totaling just under 10,000 dollars faster.
A friend of mine recommended a consolidated credit loan to help put everything in one place and lower the interest. It seems I just have to apply and then they give me the money to pay them off?? Then I pay them, of course. It seems too good to be true to me. My credit score in the us is 660+.
Also, I called the credit card companies a while back but they basically said they can’t do anything because my accounts are in good standing lol
I wanted advice on whether I should consult a financial advisor first or if I should skip the advisor and just apply for the consolidation loan? If I should consult someone would you guys recommend anyone/company?
(Ps not paying them is not really an option for me, as my fiancé has a small chance of getting transferred to the US for a bit, I’d like to keep my status in good standing)
by AffectionateTax5483
1 comment
Why bother with a consolidation loan? If you’re in good standing, just keep paying them off each month. From a math perspective you should pay off the loan with the highest interest rate. If they’re all about the same rate, I’d argue it’s better to pay off the smallest loan first as fast as possible, which means you can use the amount that had been going to that loan to throw at the next smallest loan.
Consolidating your debt is not guaranteed to lower your overall monthly payment. It may result in an even lower credit score (if that is important to you – I don’t use credit cards, and in fact no longer even have a credit score in the US).
Obviously if you have credit card debt because you don’t have your spending under control, debt consolidation is a horrible idea as it just gives you more room to spend on those credit cards.
Personally, if the total debt is under $10K, I wouldn’t bother with a consolidation loan. Just get cracking on paying them off.