Financial advice for unpaid federal workers
If you are among the 800,000 federal workers who have been without a paycheck and don’t have the proper emergency savings to fall back on amid the longest partial government in history, it may be time to get a personal loan, says Ted Rossman, industry analyst at CreditCards.com.
“If you have good credit, you can get an interest rate around 6 percent, Rossman tells FOX Business, adding that personal loans are also unsecured, so workers won’t be putting their house or car at risk.
“And you can get the money in less than 24 hours,” he adds, noting that the key is to look for a lender that does not charge a prepayment penalty so you can repay it as soon as your back pay arrives.
Another option is to look into a zero percent credit card to either lower your current interest rate on existing credit card debt or spread it out to new purchases.
“On existing debt, my favorite balance transfer cards all offer 15 months with no interest and no transfer fees (Chase Slate, Amex EveryDay and BankAmericard). You could get a zero percent balance transfer for as long as 21 months, but that one (the Citi Simplicity card) charges a 5 percent transfer fee,” he says.
A majority of big banks also offer 18-month credit cards with no interest but only minimum payments along the way, which could provide federal workers some much-needed breathing room.
And, if credit is your enemy, Rossman says another idea for quick cash is to sell things you no longer want or need.
“Organize a garage sale or sell stuff on eBay.”
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Lastly, Rossman’s best piece of advice for Americans looking to make ends meet is to simply cut back on expenses.