 TITLE: How to Save Money With a 0% APR or Balance Transfer Credit Card CONTENT: There are several ways you can use a 0% intro APR or balance transfer card to save money.\n*   **Balance transfers**: By transferring balances from cards with high interest rates to the new card, you can save on interest charges. Suppose you owe $5,000 on a credit card with a 16.61% APR and are paying $200 a month toward your balance. At that rate, it would take 31 months to pay off the balance, and you'd pay $1,179.21 in interest over that time.  \n    If you could qualify for a 21-month 0% APR balance transfer card, on the other hand, you'd have 21 months to pay off that $5,000 before the interest kicks in. By increasing your monthly payments to about $277, you'd pay off the balance without paying any additional interest. Depending on whether the balance transfer fee was 3% or 5% (typical balance transfer fees), you'd pay either $150 or $250 to make the transfer. Either way, you'd still save hundreds of dollars on interest.\n*   **Balance consolidation**: If you have several credit cards with high balances, keeping track of all the due dates can get confusing. That makes it easy to miss a payment (and potentially hurt your credit score). Consolidate those balances onto the balance transfer card, and you've got just one monthly payment to remember. This is easier to manage, and can also make your expenses more predictable, which helps you budget better.\n*   **No-interest purchases**: Some balance transfer cards also offer 0% APR on purchases for a limited time. This can be helpful if you're faced with an emergency expense, such as a car repair or medical bill, that you don't have the cash to cover.\nThe key to saving money with a balance transfer or 0% intro APR credit card is to create a plan for paying off the balance before the promotional period ends. A simple way to do this is to divide your balance by the number of months in your introductory period and pay that amount toward the card each month.\nYou generally need good to excellent credit to qualify for a balance transfer card. If you're not sure what your credit score is, check your credit score before you start researching balance transfer cards. END