Consumers paying $104 billion in credit card interest and fees

Depending on your credit score, you might be able to consolidate your credit card debt into a personal loan and pay a lower interest rate by doing so.

Rates on these loans varies widely, ranging from about 4 percent to as much as 36 percent. The better your credit score, the better rate you’ll get. The amount you are borrowing, along with the length of the loan, also will affect the interest rate.

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Remember that if the personal loan is part of your plan to get out of debt, you’ll need to destroy the paid-off card. Again, if you simply charge more on it, you’ll end up in a worse financial position.

Additionally, there is no flexibility in repaying the loan.

“The payment is the payment,” Clements said. “So you have to know you’ll be able to consistently afford the terms of the loan.”

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