As a general rule, larger sums of money can be borrowed at lower rates of interest. So if you’re in the position where you have a number of small loans, you may want to consider consolidating all your loans into one larger loan at a lower rate of interest.
But, as always, I feel that it’s my duty to warn you of the unseen pitfalls that are associated with consolidation loans.
Now it goes without saying that you should avoid accepting consolidation loans from mysterious companies that advertise in the back of national newspapers. Many of them are only one step up the food chain from loan sharks, and their interest rates are usually astronomical.
Only consider consolidating with a reputable lender. But even then you must be very, very careful! These are two rules that you should stick to like a limpet.
1) Never borrow more money than you need to cover the loans that you want to consolidate.
2) Never borrow the money over a longer period than your current debts.
All will become clear as we continue. Just remember, if you break these rules then you’re asking for bankruptcy!
Right, the first thing to do is to find out the terms of the proposed dealto the last letter! They’re not always as good as they seem.
Know how the deal works and what will be required of you both financially and practically. The more you know about the agreement, the fewer nasty surprises you’ll receive!
Financial Requirements
Don’t let their sales force talk you into borrowing more than you need. All their sales patter is utter fabrication that’s designed to get you to borrow even more! Their slick presentations will ’show’ you how you could ‘borrow more but pay less’
They claim that the larger sum will give you more money to spend yet cost you less each month. This is a classic trick that’s used to make you borrow even more. But they’re just taking advantage of the fact that you’ll be repaying the debt over a longer period of time at a lower rate of interest. Don’t fall for it! It’s a con!
Let’s take a typical example. Imagine you had five different loans of $2000 each, spread over 5 years at 17% APR. They would cost you a total of $242.05 every month. So you intend to consolidate, borrowing $10000 over 5 years at 6.7% APR at a cost of $195.85 per month.
That would give you almost
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