The obvious goal in life is to be debt free. Wouldn’t it be wonderful to own nobody anything? You could just pay cash for anything you needed and not have to worry about how much interest you were going to pay or how long it will take you to pay back the bank. However, statistics will tell you that may of us owe somebody something. The worst people to owe are credit card companies.
Credit cards are convenient but often carry huge monthly interest rates. If you have credit card debt you should consider calling them and asking for a rate reduction. With so many banks and lending companies eager to lend money there is probably a better deal to be found. A simple call to your current credit card company will probably net you a few percentage points on your APR. If you have a $5,000 balance, even a 3% rate reduction saves you $150 a year.!
You probably won’t get an instant reduction with just a simple call. You will probably have to talk to a supervisor and possibly even threaten to take your business elsewhere. However, with a little persuasion you’ll probably get what you want, especially if you’ve always paid your monthly credit card bill on time and have a decent credit score.