If you regularly use the overdraft facility with your bank, and you’re just about paying off the minimum amount on a couple of credit cards – is it really worth consolidating your debts and if so what are the benefits?
The start of the New Year is always a good time to give your money a health check and with the cost of the living crisis still impacting on us all, it’s more important then ever to see where we can save money in order to pay for the essential bills such as food and energy.
You may not think that your bank overdraft is costing you much but if you’re regularly using it then it might be time to look at how much your bank is charging you for this facility as it’s unlikely to be free. Which? magazine have summarised the different types of charges that banks can charge for using their overdraft so it’s well worth a read if you’d like to know more.
If you have other debt such as credit cards, store cards or any other kinds of credit, then you could save money when you join or consolidate these debts together. That way you’re putting them all into the same pot rather than paying interest over multiple debts.
By consolidating all of these debts into one loan, it also means that you don’t need to deal with several companies and that you’re debt will be managed by one institution. There is also an ethical way of doing this when you come to credit unions like Wave Community Bank as when you consolidate your debts into one easy Debt Consolidation Loan you will also be adding into your own savings account so when you’ve paid off your debts you will have some cash left over for you to spend or continue to save with us. Find out more about our Saver Loans here.
To assess a debt consolidation loan, we will just ask for a list of all of your creditors and how much money is owed. If the loan is approved, we will then pay your creditors directly and help you to start to save. It doesn’t have to be scary and you will no doubt feel better when you’re back in control of your finances.
We do recommend talking to an independent debt advisor if you are considering consolidating your debts or if you are having problems paying existing creditors. You can find local advisors on the Money Helper locator here.
You can apply online for a Debt Consolidation Loan and look out for our free webinars to help you manage your money in the future.
