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today's financial market more and more people are turning to credit card balance transfers instead of the traditional home equity lines that they have been used in the past. During the refinance hay-day throwing a tax deductible line of credit on the home to wipe out the credit cards was a no-brainer. Nowadays, shrinking home values and a turbulent secondary market are causing most banks have to hold these loans as opposed to selling them. This means the HELOCS of yesterday are only available to those with impeccable credit who have an abundance of equity in their homes.

Luckily, interest rates are low and balance transfers are a pretty good alternative if your credit card debt is out of control and need some help. This being said there are a few things that you want to look out for when transferring credit card balances from one card to another. The golden rule is that when you use a balance transfer card as an avenue to pay off balances on your other cards let this be your sole purpose. Make a budget and timetable to pay off the debt where there is a beginning and an ending payment otherwise you may get yourself into deeper debt.

Things to look for when transferring credit card balances:

Life of Balance Transfer cards – Life of balance credit cards are just what their name implies, they offer a low rate that applies to the balances you transfer within a certain time period. What you want to look for is a fixed rate that will not fluctuate over time. Depending on your credit level these may not be available to you, however if they are we highly suggest that you seek these cards out. The "gotcha" with this class of cards is that they usually will give you an extra thousand or two on your limit in hopes that you spend it at a higher interest rate, and most people do.

Again, we suggest that you use balance transfer credit cards for the single purpose of transferring higher interest credit card balances to a lower fixed rate. Once the transfer is completed, we recommend that you shred the transfer card and the one you transferred from to keep yourself from using them again. Over 75% of people that transfer balances use the transfer card and the old card again and end up owing more money than they did before the transfer. If the cards do not have an annual fee keep the accounts open for emergencies but shred the cards to keep yourself honest.

The Fine Print - If credit card issuers are similar in one area it is most definitely their fees and the fine print. It seems like they have fees for everything including one for on-time payments. Seriously you need to read the fine print and weigh the fees that apply for balance transfers, late payments, grace periods and other "gotchas" like universal default clauses. Over 80% of people that apply for credit cards will not read the fine print from beginning to end only to be surprised when their bill arrives in the mail. Most credit card websites offer handy calculators to help you calculate the best deal considering all of the fees.

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