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I have an ARM home equity loan which is at 7.99%. I have excellent credit. Unfortunately I had to get this loan to pay AMEX that my son charged $34,000 worth of baseball cards. So I took out the loan to pay most of that off. I received a 2.99% offer from ATT Universal Card to transfer credit card balance and this rate is good until paid off. Should I take the offer @ 2.99%? There is a $75.00 fee. The only other issue is the interest on the home equity loan is tax deductible.
First of all, you are not alone. With $13 Trillion out there of debt, we're just about all depressed with bills. The challenge is to take charge of the situation and come up with a solid game-plan.
The first goal will be to determine your goals. Are total cost or short-term monthly payments your number one priority?
If total cost is a consideration, then you need to determine what you can make in monthly payments. If you are only making minimums, then the Credit Card (even with a 'teaser' low rate) may cost you up to $100,000 to pay off the $30k of debt. Keep in mind, this rate expires and then you are paying high interest that is non-tax deductible.
If you can pay the whole thing off in one year, then the teaser rate makes sense.
You may want to seek to refinance your first mortgage and pay off the entire balance all together.