Kevin

“Dear Steve,

I need to get my creditcard situation under control. All my a.p.r.’s went to 14% to 24%. Now my debt to plastic is almost $14,000. I pay $400/month to the card services but $225 goes to service charges.

I’m always on time with payments, have a 710 credit score, and make $32K/yr. Home and car pmts are fine…6.5%($600/mth) and 7.75%($150/mth) respectively.

How can I consolidate my credit card debt into a single per month payment as well as get a decent apr?

Kevin”

The Answer

Dear Kevin,

The first step would be to click here for debt management information. In a debt management program, depending on your creditors, you interest rates will be significantly reduced during your repayment period. The downside is that it will be reported on your credit report and that might hurt you. But outside of paying the debt in full right now, that is you best first step.

The debt management program solution should achieve the one payment, reduced APR goal you want to achieve.

Steve