Families increasing their debts. What to do?
According to DECO Proteste, some families have 20 loans, with credit cards being the main cause. But how to ease this credit burden? Get to know the options next.
Multiple credits? Did you know that with a single credit, you can combine multiple loans? It is called consolidated credit and allows you to pay only one installment, and lower, for all. Learn more about this option from the credit intermediaries of Poupança no Minuto. Or understand, first, the numbers that the organization refers to.
Families with many credits: DECO alerts - the solution will not be to enter into a cycle
The alert is given by DECO Proteste, according to news shared by Notícias ao Minuto: there are families with 20 loans or multiple credit cards, which will further complicate personal finances. Read more about personal finances here.
"We are finding many families with a lot of debt, which did not happen a few years ago. With 20 credits, with many credit cards and this is happening in an attempt to solve the problem," reads the news quoting Ana Passos, from DECO.
According to the organization, the accumulation of credits will cause long-term conflicts for families, even though they currently help pay other installments of older credits.
"Our concern is that many families have been using consumer credit to pay off other loans, due to financial difficulties, and this will further complicate the lives of families," warned Ana Passos.
A DECO highlights that what consumers should do now is seek help in finding solutions, in order to avoid defaulting and ending up on the "blacklist" of the Bank of Portugal (BdP).
Note that the credit card may seem like a simple option to resort to, but it is, however, the "main cause of over-indebtedness situations", according to DECO. This is because, when using the card, you are not using the money that is in your bank account, but rather money from the "credit that the bank is granting you", having to then pay it back (with interest).
"If it is not paid on the scheduled dates, which are usually at the end of the month, it implies the payment of very high interest rates compared, for example, with the interest rates of a mortgage," Nuno Rico from DECO Proteste warns.
Several credits: What to do? Contact an intermediary and consolidate the financing.
The first step is to ask for help! If you are struggling with multiple credits, and need more breathing room in your budget, resorting to another loan solution may not be beneficial. This is because, in the long run, you end up paying more than what you would owe, due to accumulated interest.
In this case, there is a solution: consider consolidating the various credits. For example, do you have an auto loan, a personal loan, and credit cards? It is possible to merge them all into one, paying only one installment (with less risk of forgetting to pay any), and with more attractive interest rates.
If you use a credit intermediary such as Poupança no Minuto, they can simulate several proposals for consolidated credit from different banks to evaluate which solution is most beneficial for your situation.
If this is not an option for any reason, asking for help from a credit intermediary, you also have access to mediation by an informed and experienced agent to review the conditions of the financing with current banks. If possible, they can also help you transfer credits from one bank to another if another bank offers you better conditions.
Contact us and guarantee a free service, and personalized assistance from start to finish, so you can relieve your monthly budget!