Why Credit Cards May Not Be the Best Way to Fund Home Improvement Projects

Does finding the funding for a home improvement project have you scratching your head? Not sure where else to look, other than in your wallet for that credit card? Sure you have enough credit available on the card to easily pay for the whole project, and it is a heck of a lot easier than trying to look around to find other ways to pay for it.But, before you slide that plastic out of your wallet here are some things you may want to think about first.How Long Until You Really Pay Off That Home Improvement project?Using the credit available on your credit card to fund home improvement projects, like new windows, can take you longer to pay off than if you were to find funding another way. When you make a purchase on your credit card, that purchase goes to the back of the line of the items to be paid off.So, while you are making payments each month, you are actually still paying off that vacation you went on 6 months before you even purchased your new windows. In the meantime, the money you charged to pay for your new windows is quietly sitting on your card being charged interest month after month.On top of that, as you pay down your credit card your required payment amount gets smaller. If you continue to only pay the minimum amount owed, it will take even longer to pay them off. You could still be paying for these windows years after you would have been done making payments on a loan from the bank.The Interest Rate Alone is not Worth Using it to Fund a Home Improvement ProjectAverage interest rates on a credit card are currently a little over 14% (bankrate.com) and that’s if you have good credit. If you have bad credit, you could see interest rates between 20% and 27% for your credit card.Compared to the average interest of a home equity loan that is current less than 5%, means you could be paying a lot more than you should for the convenience of a credit card.Alternatives to Using a Credit Card to Fund Home Improvement ProjectsIf you just put in a little time and effort, you can find other ways to fund home improvement projects. For example, if you are replacing your windows as your project, Renewal by Andersen offers 0% financing on their payment packages. The windows do have to be done through Renewal by Andersen, but you can’t get much better than 0% interest to fund home improvements.Schedule an in-home consultation with a Renewal by Andersen team member today!