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Equity can help get handle on finances
By Betty Lin-Fisher
POSTED: 07:24 p.m. EDT, Oct 23, 2008
Beacon Journal business writer
High credit card debt and home equity were the themes of phone calls handled by financial counselors during a free program offered Wednesday by the Beacon Journal.
There were also a number of calls from parents and grandparents trying to take care of debt of college-aged and adult children and grandchildren.
The financial hot line was sponsored as part of the newspaper's ''Reclaim the Dream'' series on personal finances. The phones were answered by volunteers from the Consumer Credit Counseling Service and Financial Planning Association of Northeast Ohio.
The final call-in will be held again on Saturday from 10 a.m. to noon. The number to call is 330-996-3644.
One caller had $30,000 in credit card debt on six credit cards at interest rates in the range of 10 percent to 14 percent. The caller was making minimum payments, but couldn't afford to pay any more and wasn't making a dent on the debt, said Jess W. Hurst, a financial planner with The Millennial Group in Akron.
The caller wondered if he should try to tap into his home's equity to pay off the credit card debt. Hurst told the caller that it would first depend on whether he could get a home equity line of credit, since banks have tightened credit standards on new lines. Many banks have also frozen existing lines of credit.
If the caller could get a line, then he could pay his current $800 payments at the prime interest rate, which is 4.5 percent, instead of the 10 to 14 percent he's paying now, Hurst said. Interest on home equity lines is also tax-deductible, Hurst said.
But, the key, Hurst said, if the caller does get a home equity line and pays off the credit card debt, would be to stop racking up credit charges.
''The biggest risk is if they don't change their behavior,'' Hurst said.
Financial advisers and credit counselors caution consumers about taking unsecured debt, such as credit card debt, and rolling it into a secured debt, such as a house, but they said the change in credit card behavior is the biggest factor. If the behavior changes and the home equity debt is also paid off and no further credit card debt is added, the consumer can use that temporarily to get a handle on finances.
Another caller, a 68-year-old woman, told Eric Schwarz, a financial planner with Bernstein Global Wealth Management in Cleveland, that she was having trouble making ends meet. But she had $35,000 invested in mutual funds and wondered if she should sell her mutual funds to pay off her mortgage, especially in light of recent losses on Wall Street.
Schwarz told her that without knowing the specifics of her mutual fund, she should probably speak to her broker, but if it helped her sleep at night, she should consider it.
In particular, Schwarz said, given the woman's age and that she is having trouble with everyday expenses, it seemed paying off her mortgage would then free up cash for her budget.
Kelly A. Smith, a financial planner with Beacon Financial Partners in Beachwood, and Victor Russell, regional manager for the Consumer Credit Counseling Service, both took calls from parents who got into trouble helping children in debt.
To see all of the financial stories, many with tips, in the Reclaim the Dream Series, go to http://www.ohio.com/news/reclaim_the_dream.
Betty Lin-Fisher can be reached at
330-996-3724 or blinfisher@
thebeaconjournal.com.
Beacon Journal business writer
High credit card debt and home equity were the themes of phone calls handled by financial counselors during a free program offered Wednesday by the Beacon Journal.
There were also a number of calls from parents and grandparents trying to take care of debt of college-aged and adult children and grandchildren.
The financial hot line was sponsored as part of the newspaper's ''Reclaim the Dream'' series on personal finances. The phones were answered by volunteers from the Consumer Credit Counseling Service and Financial Planning Association of Northeast Ohio.
The final call-in will be held again on Saturday from 10 a.m. to noon. The number to call is 330-996-3644.
One caller had $30,000 in credit card debt on six credit cards at interest rates in the range of 10 percent to 14 percent. The caller was making minimum payments, but couldn't afford to pay any more and wasn't making a dent on the debt, said Jess W. Hurst, a financial planner with The Millennial Group in Akron.
The caller wondered if he should try to tap into his home's equity to pay off the credit card debt. Hurst told the caller that it would first depend on whether he could get a home equity line of credit, since banks have tightened credit standards on new lines. Many banks have also frozen existing lines of credit.
If the caller could get a line, then he could pay his current $800 payments at the prime interest rate, which is 4.5 percent, instead of the 10 to 14 percent he's paying now, Hurst said. Interest on home equity lines is also tax-deductible, Hurst said.
But, the key, Hurst said, if the caller does get a home equity line and pays off the credit card debt, would be to stop racking up credit charges.
''The biggest risk is if they don't change their behavior,'' Hurst said.
Financial advisers and credit counselors caution consumers about taking unsecured debt, such as credit card debt, and rolling it into a secured debt, such as a house, but they said the change in credit card behavior is the biggest factor. If the behavior changes and the home equity debt is also paid off and no further credit card debt is added, the consumer can use that temporarily to get a handle on finances.
Another caller, a 68-year-old woman, told Eric Schwarz, a financial planner with Bernstein Global Wealth Management in Cleveland, that she was having trouble making ends meet. But she had $35,000 invested in mutual funds and wondered if she should sell her mutual funds to pay off her mortgage, especially in light of recent losses on Wall Street.
Schwarz told her that without knowing the specifics of her mutual fund, she should probably speak to her broker, but if it helped her sleep at night, she should consider it.
In particular, Schwarz said, given the woman's age and that she is having trouble with everyday expenses, it seemed paying off her mortgage would then free up cash for her budget.
Kelly A. Smith, a financial planner with Beacon Financial Partners in Beachwood, and Victor Russell, regional manager for the Consumer Credit Counseling Service, both took calls from parents who got into trouble helping children in debt.
To see all of the financial stories, many with tips, in the Reclaim the Dream Series, go to http://www.ohio.com/news/reclaim_the_dream.
Betty Lin-Fisher can be reached at
330-996-3724 or blinfisher@
thebeaconjournal.com.
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