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Posted 1 Comment on Debt consolidation… it’s not a dirty word Consumer Debt

Debt consolidation… it’s not a dirty word

What’s the first thing you think of when someone says ‘debt consolidation’?  Trouble… or, you can’t pay your bills…cashflow problems… We probably all think there is some financial problem..

Sure, that’s the popular reaction…and who can blame us for thinking that way with the recent media hype about Personal Debt concerns…  One day we have an article saying that Personal Debt levels are high or increasing… The next day, Canadians are conservative and managing our debts well.  This flip-flop would confuse anyone.  click here for some articles from earlier this year.

But debt consolidation can actually be a good thing most of the time…  And that time is now.  You’ve heard of ‘buy low and sell high’… Well in credit, you ‘borrower when rates are low to save high amounts of money’…

With record low interest rates it makes sense to borrow….If you own a home, have some equity and have some non-mortgage debt, such as credit cards, a car loan, a student loan, a line of credit, etc…  These debts probably carry a higher rate of interest than what you could get through a mortgage…  Debt Consolidation is a smart thing….paying less interest puts money in your pocket.

Here’s a good calculator to figure out how much you can save…DEBT CONSOLIDATION CALCULATOR.

Use these rates for comparison…Mortgage rates are well under 4.00% today… a 5 year fixed rate is somewhere around 3.59% and Variable rates are around 2.25%…  compare this with 12% to 18% credit cards, 6% lines of credit, 7% car loans, etc… Rolling these debts into a mortgage is not a bad thing, it’s a smart thing.   Paying less interest just makes good financial sense.

And as always, speak with someone who knows and understand financial matters… talk with a qualified Mortgage Broker or Financial Planner….

Posted Consumer Debt

These Eggs do belong in one basket

Our parents taught us to pay our mortgage off quickly… Great advice, but they forgot to tell us to not incur other debt while we were paying that mortgage off….

A few years back, there was a study done about Debt Diversification by Moshe Milvesky, Associate Professor of Finance at Schulich School of Business Milevsky debt review.   The study showed that we were using the old rule of ‘Don’t put all your Eggs in One Basket’ and applying that to our debts.   And this is exactly what you should NOT be doing…

Investment diversification is GOOD, Debt diversification is BAD.   The study used $95,000 as a typical amount of diversified debt and $2,700 in idle cash…. the conclusion is that this combination results in a $1,000 loss per year by not managing debts properly.

If you have equity in your home and you carry a balance on your credit card, line of credit, or have a car loan or student loan, then you should consider utilizing the equity to borrow at the lowest rates possible… Residential Mortgages are always the cheapest form of financing…