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My spouse doesn't agree!
 Scott,
I have debts that have different
interest rates: 9 percent, 10 percent, 28 percent and 29 percent. I
want to consolidate my debt at 16 percent interest rate. But my
spouse doesn't agree! Is this a wise move on my part? If I do this,
we will reduce our monthly payment from $1,700 to $612. But we will
end up paying twice the amount of the principal of the loan over a
ten-year term. What I can't figure out is how much we will pay in
interest if I don't consolidate all the debts and how long will it
take us to pay them off when we can only afford minimum payments
each month on all the cards?
William
William,
You are wise to be thinking continually
about refinancing your debts! It's not the debt that
destroys people but the cost of that debt. Think about it. If you
could have borrowed $100,000 at 0 percent 20 years ago, with
payments starting today, you would have been given a gift. That gift
is that money is easier to get now because of inflation. Twenty years ago you
might have to work 5 years to come up with that principal but today, it
may only take two years because salaries have increased.
Okay, back to your specific question.
 The
quick answer is that you and your spouse are both right! You are
correct to look at reducing the cost of your debts. She has good
reason to disagree because you want to refinance 9 and 10 percent debts
with 16 percent loans.
You need to refinance only those
debts that are greater than 16 percent. In your case, these are
obviously the 28 and 29 percent loans. Of course, if the 9 and 10
percent debts you have are credit cards, you should transfer as much
of the high-rate debts to these lines before using the 16
percent loan.
Some people may argue and say
that it's easier to simply take out one loan and repay all the debt
rather than making 3 monthly payments. However, this is more costly because
the rate is greater. Your goal should always be to save money.
Reducing your interest costs allows you to take that money and apply
it to the principal of the loan, thereby paying it down more quickly.
It can also be argued that the
monthly payment will be reduced because you're refinancing the
entire amount. You mentioned that your payments would drop from
$1,700 to $612. This is a better argument for refinancing the entire
amount under one loan. That is, if your only goal is to lower the monthly
payment.
Figuring out your savings is a more
technical matter. The best way is to use my DebtSmart
Loan Calculator or any other financial calculator. You also need
to be sure to compare the payoff time by keeping the monthly
payments constant. In other words, if you're paying $500 per month
total to all your debt now, when you calculate your savings based on
the new rates, you need to use the $500 per month figure or else
your savings analysis will not be accurate.
You can also use the free DebtSmart
5-year loan worksheet to help with all these calculations. This
is the free download that you received when you signed up to get the
free DebtSmart
Email Newsletter.
Best,
Scott
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