The economy is finally picking up steam, and continuing to improve at a faster rate. With this improvement comes some welcome economic news, unemployment is down, home sales are up, and consumer confidence is also improving. But with the good economic news comes one item of bad news for consumers, interest rates for borrowing money are on the rise. The interest rate on a 30-year fixed rate mortgage is up more than one percent in the last three months alone. Because interest rates are on the rise, now is the time to refinance and consolidate your debt before it is too late.
Take Advantage of Low Mortgage Rates
Because interest rates are projected to continue to rise, if you haven’t refinanced your home yet, now is the time to do it. Refinancing can save you hundreds, or sometimes even thousands of dollars per month on your mortgage payment. You may even be able to shorten the length of your mortgage from a 30-year fixed loan to a 15-year fixed loan and still lower your payment. Best of yet, most banks will roll any refinancing fees into the mortgage, so you will not have to pay have any up-front money to refinance your mortgage.
Lower Your Credit Card Interest Payments
Another great way to lower your monthly payments is to consolidate your credit card debt. There are many quality debt consolidation agencies that will help you to lower your monthly credit card bills through consolidation. One way to lower your monthly credit card payments is to use a low interest rate credit card to pay off higher interest rate credit card balances. Many credit cards will offer 12 to 24 months of zero percent interest on balance transfers. While these offers usually have a small up-front fee, they can be a great way to avoid interest payments, and to quickly pay down the principal owed on your credit cards.
Consolidated Credit Card Debt With a Home Equity Loan
Another great way to consolidate your credit card debt is to pay them off with a home equity loan. Like mortgages, now is the time to take out a home equity loan. Home equity loan rates are rising from their all-time lows, and are projected to continue climbing as the economy improves. Home equity loan rates are still in the five to six percent range, most credit card debt is subject to interest rates of 20 percent or higher. These lower interest payments with a home equity loan will help you to pay down your outstanding principal faster, and get out of debt quicker.
Recently, interest rate were at an all-time low. These rate are beginning to rise, and as the economy improves these rates are projected to continue to rise. Whether you are refinancing your mortgage, transferring high interest rate credit card balances to lower rate credit cards, or consolidating credit card debt onto a home equity loan, now is the time to take advantage of the low interest rates that are still available.
