Making the most of your hard-earned money
Can GMBCU help? Are you currently grappling with a personal financial decision? Perhaps you’re considering how best to manage your overdraft, credit cards or loans?
If you freeze at the thought of making the wrong decision, you’re not alone. Past research suggests that more than one in three of us experience this personal financial predicament. We delay taking action to avoid losing money, failing to realise that doing nothing is in most cases the most expensive solution.
It has been estimated that avoiding personal finance decisions when it comes to credit cards, personal loans and mortgages can costs the average person around £1,600 pa. source: thisismoney.co.uk
Why do we worry about personal finance decisions?
We may not trust financial organisations or like making important personal financial decisions and it is this combination which makes us feel overwhelmed and anxious.
This is understandable given that there are so many options to choose from and details to digest. With a myriad of local and online banks, features you may or may not need, different interest rates and potential fees, it’s easy to spend countless hours fretting over finding the best solution.
You go online every day reading article after article hoping that you’ll finally get the clarity you’re looking for. When really all this searching is bringing you further away from deciding and saving money. It is believed that this avoidance is costing people in the UK a staggering £18.7 billion a year [source: Freedom Finance]. David Hillier, professor of finance and executive dean of Strathclyde Business School, said: “Many operate under the assumption that making no decision is preferable to making the ‘wrong’ decision.”
Member Support from GMBCU
GMBCU believes it’s not more choice, but more clarity that our members want. We promise to keep it simple and recognise that the two key issues are trust and making the most of your money. GMBCU treats members as individuals and is here to help members with a range of loan services including Swap & Drop Loans and Consolidation Loans.
Swap & Drop Loans
A Swap & Drop loan is simple. If you already have a loan or overdraft why not swap it for a GMBCU loan with the following member benefits:
- We will drop your interest rate
- We will save you money on your current borrowing
- We will reduce your monthly outgoings
Consolidation Loans
A Consolidation loan helps you settle several of your existing debts so that you have one single monthly repayment to one lender each month. This gives members more control and the following member benefits:
- Better control of monthly repayments
- Improve your budgeting with just one key repayment
- Improve your credit score by having one monthly repayment that’s harder to miss
- Reduce your total household outgoings
Some points you need to consider
While you’re combining and reducing the number of debts, you could be increasing the term of your new consolidation loan. So be aware that you will most likely be repaying for a longer period on the consolidation loan as you have combined several debts.
While you may be paying lower monthly repayments, the total repayable sum is what matters. So always do a quick comparison on how much interest you will pay in total.
Always compare the APR of your existing borrowings with the APR on your Swap & Drop or Consolidation Loans.
If your consolidating credit card borrowings its best to cut up your credit cards and not be tempted to build up more debt.
It is important to recognise that consolidation is not the solution if you are dealing with overwhelming debt. In such circumstances the first step will be to seek debt advice from organisations such as National Debtline or Step Change.
Is doing something better than doing nothing?
When it comes to personal finance, absolutely. Remember studies show that doing nothing will cost you money and a lot of worry. The amount of choice on the market also means consumers get easily overwhelmed and failure to switch or consolidate costs households dear source: thisismoney.co.uk
To apply for a GMBCU member loan the first step is to complete the online loan application on our website. If you wish to apply for a Swap & Drop or a Consolidation loan, simply state this in the application form where it requests the purpose of the loan. We will then get back to you to discuss and quickly progress your request.
“Inaction breeds doubt and fear. Action breeds confidence and courage. Dale Carnegie, author of the bestseller How to Stop Worrying and Start Living.