If you have a mortgage or a credit card, you probably have to spend a lot more on interest than on the principal of your debt. Credit just works like that. There is a way to change the way you handle your money so that you can get a cheaper mortgage or credit card. Try to get a better deal.
It is true that a quick phone call can help you pay less in interest. If you don't call, your credit card company and mortgage company will...
If you have a mortgage or a credit card, you probably have to spend a lot more on interest than on the principal of your debt. Credit just works like that. There is a way to change the way you handle your money so that you can get a cheaper mortgage or credit card. Try to get a better deal.
It is true that a quick phone call can help you pay less in interest. If you don't call, your credit card and mortgage companies won't try to lower your interest rate. When it comes to cheap loans, the person who asks for them the most will get them. In 2002, the U.S. Public Interest Research Group did a national survey. Fifty people with different credit histories called credit card and mortgage companies and asked for lower rates. In this study, more than half (56%) of the people had lower scores. On average, rates went down from 16 percent to 10.47 percent. Customers were very impressed that their credit card and mortgage rates could be cut by one-third with just one phone call. It just makes sense, and it doesn't hurt to ask why. If you don't ask, you DEFINITELY won't get it. If you do find the courage to ask, you never know what might happen.
Then why don't more people do this? It's easy, but we don't think of it. We are given a rate, sign a contract with it, and think that it can't change. But advertising and marketing cost credit card companies and mortgage lenders several hundred dollars to get one new customer. Now that the same service is available online, there is a lot of competition. If you are a good customer, the lender will work hard to keep you. Also, the lenders can give you breaks, and if they want your business, they will give you the best deals. And this is exactly the way you should handle it when you call. "Hello, this is so and so. I got about four different offers in the mail today to lower the rates on my mortgage and Visa. I would like to get a lower interest rate. What can you do for me so I don't have to switch to another company?"
Avoid a confrontational conversation. You just have to ask, and always remember that honey works better than vinegar to catch flies. And try, try, and try again if at first you don't succeed. The next time you call, you might get someone who is more helpful. You might be sent to the department for "customers who are threatening to switch." Try it out and see what might happen. If you are having trouble because of high interest rates, you can try to do something about it. Try to maximise the money you earn to get the most out of it.
