2016-03-16
Interest Is A Budget’s Worst Enemy
A growing number of Americans are struggling to manage their finances, and few seem to realize how easy it is to reduce one critical part of a typical monthly budget. According to NerdWallet, the average U.S. household is paying a total of $6,658 per year in interest alone! Broken down, that amounts to $554 per month that Americans pay and get nothing in return. The good news is, even if it will take you years to pay off the principal of your debts, there are several easy ways to minimize your monthly interest payments.
Refinance your mortgage
Mortgages are such a large debt to take on that most people make sure to get the best interest rate at the time they take out their mortgage. However, interest rates change over time and even a 1.0% drop in interest rates came mean thousands of dollars saved on a six-figure mortgage. The Federal Reserve recently issued its first rate hike from historically-low levels since the Financial Crisis, and rates will likely continue to rise in coming years. If you haven’t taken the time to refinance your mortgage in recent years, now may be your last chance to take advantage of cyclically-low rates.
Improve your credit
Sometimes, something as simple as growing older or moving to a different zip code can allow you to qualify for lower interest rates on loans. However, improving your credit score is one sure-fire way to qualify for lower-rate loans. To boost your credit score, make sure to make payments on time and be mindful of your debt-to-credit ratio (the lower the better).
Consolidate and prioritize your debt payments
Credit card debt is usually the worst type of debt to carry in terms of interest rates. The average credit card rate is currently around 15%, much higher than mortgage, student loan or private loan rates. By taking out a private loan from an online lender like Prosper or Lending Club, you can pay off your high-rate credit card debt and replace it with a single lower-rate loan. Any debts that remain should be prioritized in terms of their interest rates, not by the size of the balance, and higher-rate debt should always be paid off first.
Take advantage of card promotions
What’s even better than paying lower interest rates? Paying no interest at all. To get some breathing room in the short-term, look for credit cards that offer extended interest-free promotions and no balance transfer fees. The Chase Slate card currently offers an introductory 0% APR for 15 months and no balance transfer fee for 60 days.
Takeaway
Life has plenty of expenses, but at least when you pay the electricity bill or do the grocery shopping, you are getting products or services in return. Money spent on interest is completely wasted, and yet Americans are still paying $554 per month in interest alone. The first step to eliminating your debt burden is to stop the bleeding from high interest rates. You might be surprised how far an extra $554 per month could go.
Disclaimer: The material provided on this site is not intended to provide legal, investment, or financial advice or to indicate the suitability of any Even Financial product or service to your unique circumstances. For specific advice about your unique circumstances, you may wish to consult a qualified professional. Any information or statistical data sourced by Even Financial through hyperlinks, from third-party websites, are provided for informational purposes only. While Even Financial finds these sources to be accurate, it does not endorse or guarantee any third-party content.
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Even Financial Adds Tally's Low-Interest Line of Credit to its Embedded Finance Marketplace
NEW YORK, NY, March 15, 2022 -- Even Financial ("Even"), the category-leading embedded finance marketplace and independently managed subsidiary of MoneyLion, Inc. (NYSE: ML), has announced a new partnership with Tally, a leading financial automation company, to include the company's low-interest credit offerings on its platform.
"Tally has built a powerful tech-enabled system to help people solve one of the biggest financial problems today: paying off credit card debt," said Phill Rosen, Founder and CEO of Even. "We're thrilled to welcome Tally's line of credit offerings to Even's unparalleled network of financial services providers."
Tally is designed to help its members pay off their debt faster and save them money on interest and late fees. Members can lower their monthly payment with Tally's lower-interest line of credit, if eligible. Typically, at least a 580 FICO score is needed. Tally's system is customized to save people as much money as possible.
"Americans today owe nearly $1 trillion in credit card debt. We know from our research that many want to pay down their debt but struggle to get started. That's where Tally comes in," said Jason Huynh, VP of Credit, Analytics & Operations at Tally. "Our system combines financial automation with a low-interest line of credit to give people the help they need to get on track to pay off their credit card debt for good. We're thrilled that our partnership with Even will allow Tally to help even more people."
The launch of Tally on the Even platform enables consumers to get matched with Tally's custom, low-interest line of credit accounts of up to $25,000 in just a few minutes. After getting matched, eligible consumers complete the process through the Tally app. There are no out-of-pocket costs.
Tally is the latest partner to join the Even marketplace, a growing network of over 400 financial services partners and 500 channel partners covering a breadth of financial services including loans, credit cards, mortgages, savings, and insurance products. Even's marketplace technology enables any company to add financial products to its business, with full compliance and security, at scale.
About Even Financial
Even digitally connects and matches consumers with real-time, personalized financial product recommendations from banks, insurance carriers, and fintech companies on mobile apps, websites, and other digital touchpoints through its marketplace technology. Even's infrastructure leverages machine learning and advanced data science to solve a significant pain point in financial services customer acquisition, seamlessly bridging financial services providers (such as SoFi) and channel partners (such as TransUnion) via its industry-leading API and embedded finance marketplaces. Even enables any company to add financial products to its business, with full compliance and security at scale. Even was named one of "America's Best Startup Employers'' by Forbes for 2021 and was named to the 2021 Deloitte Technology Fast 500, which recognizes the fastest growing tech companies in the world. Learn more at www.evenfinancial.com.
About Tally
Tally is a consumer financial tech company pioneering full-service financial automation to help people save money, pay down their debt and reach their goals sooner. Founded in 2015, the company built the first fully automated debt manager to help put billions of dollars back in people's pockets. In 2021, Tally was named to Fast Company's Most Innovative Companies list and to Quartz's Best Companies for Remote Workers. Previously, Tally made Forbes' Next Billion Dollar Startup list, Forbes' Fintech 50 list, and the app won Real Simple's Smart Money award. Learn more at meettally.com.
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Even
Even Financial’s Embedded Finance Marketplaces Surpass $5 Billion in Credit Facilitated
NEW YORK, NY, April 19, 2022 -- Even Financial (“Even”), the category-leading embedded finance marketplace and independent subsidiary of MoneyLion, Inc. (NYSE: ML), has announced it has now facilitated over $5 billion in consumer credit, as of March 2022. Leveraging machine learning and advanced data science, Even solves a significant pain point in financial services customer acquisition by seamlessly bridging financial service providers and channel partners via its industry-leading API and embedded finance marketplaces.
“Surpassing $5 billion in consumer credit facilitated through our marketplace is an enormous achievement for Even as we continue to help build the future of finance technology,” said Phill Rosen, Founder and Chief Executive Officer. “Access to credit has long been a challenge for many hard-working Americans, and we are dedicated to alleviating this issue by providing consumers personalized financial services offers that meet their needs, when they need it most. Reaching the $5 billion milestone reaffirms that our mission is driving significant value for both consumers and our partners."
Even has grown its embedded finance marketplace offerings beyond loans to cover a breadth of additional financial services including credit cards, mortgages, savings, and insurance products. Within loans, Even offers the largest network of premium, connected loan providers - across a wide array of products including unsecured personal loans, secured personal loans, line of credit, student loan refinancing, and auto loan refinancing. Leading financial services providers, such as LendingClub and SoFi, partner with Even to reach qualified consumers searching for loans, benefiting from Even’s unparalleled network and native integrations.
The company has continued its rapid growth trajectory in 2022, growing its network to include over 400 financial services partners and 500 channel partners. Even's marketplace technology enables any company to add financial products to its business, with full compliance and security at scale. Earlier this year, Even announced the close of its acquisition by MoneyLion, the award-winning digital financial platform, which will continue to advance their combined efforts of providing financial access and advice to hard working Americans.
About Even Financial
Even digitally connects and matches consumers with real-time, personalized financial product recommendations from banks, insurance carriers, and fintech companies on mobile apps, websites, and other digital touchpoints through its marketplace technology. Even's infrastructure leverages machine learning and advanced data science to solve a significant pain point in financial services customer acquisition, seamlessly bridging financial services providers (such as SoFi) and channel partners (such as TransUnion) via its industry-leading API and embedded finance marketplaces. Even enables any company to add financial products to its business, with full compliance and security at scale. Even was named one of "America's Best Startup Employers'' by Forbes for 2022 and was named to the 2021 Deloitte Technology Fast 500, which recognizes the fastest growing tech companies in the world. Learn more at evenfinancial.com.
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