Overwhelmed by debt? It may be time to consolidate

09:36AM / Tuesday, January 28, 2025Print Story | Email Story

The start of the New Year is a great time to evaluate your financial status and set goals for savings and more. If multiple debts are hurting your ability to meet monthly expenses and save at the rate you want, debt consolidation can help.

Debt consolidation works by transferring your debt from multiple—and often high-interest—sources into a single loan or line of credit. Not only is it easier to pay a single bill to one source, but consolidated debt options have lower interest rates that allow you to pay off your debt faster, which, in turn, frees up cash for savings. However, when choosing a consolidation tool, there’s more to consider than just the interest rate.

Why 0 percent interest may not be in your best interest

At first glance, a 0 percent interest credit card may seem like the best option for debt consolidation. But, as with many good things, the 0 percent interest offered on cards doesn’t last. Most introductory rates are in effect for six to twelve months, at which point the balance owed racks up interest at the card’s regular variable rate (sometimes up to 30 percent)—a rate that’s higher than other consolidation tools, like personal loans and home equity lines of credit (HELOC).

In addition, if you are late or miss a payment during the 0 percent window, you void the introductory 0 percent offer and immediately begin accruing interest charges. FYI, in December 2024, the average credit card interest rate was 24.43 percent while HELOCs clocked in at 8.55 percent and personal loans came in at 12.31 percent.

Benefits beyond low interest rates

If you’re looking for a consolidation option that gives you a bit more control and benefits that don’t disappear over time, you should consider either a personal loan or HELOC.

As the name suggests, a personal loan is a lump sum loan paid to you that you can use to pay down debt now. You then pay back the loan at a fixed rate over a fixed amount of time. One advantage of a personal loan is that you choose the term length and amount for the loan. This allows you to manage repayment of any debt on your terms. Qualifying tends to be quick and uncomplicated (no collateral required), and you may even be approved the same day.

HELOCs, on the other hand, do require collateral in the form of equity in a home or property. Like a credit card, a HELOC requires you to establish a line of credit that you can then draw from over time to pay down debt. While the interest rate for a HELOC is not fixed, it’s likely to be lower than the rate of a standard credit card. The downside of a HELOC is that if you are unable to pay it off in full, the lender can claim whatever property you put down as collateral.

Take control now

While there’s no way to make debt disappear, debt consolidation offers a means to save money on interest, simplify payments, and take control of your finances. But don’t wait. The sooner you get started, the more you’ll save and the closer you’ll be to long-term financial stability.

BIO

Mary A. Coughlin is the Vice President, Manager of Residential Mortgages at Pittsfield Cooperative Bank. She has more than twenty years of experience in residential and indirect lending. She has been a Top Ten Mortgage Loan Originator in Berkshire County for multiple years. Mary is a passionate advocate for finding the right lending solution for customers while ensuring a smooth and collaborative process with underwriters, processors, and the lending institution.

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BRTA Focuses on a New Run Schedule

By Breanna SteeleiBerkshires Staff
01:26PM / Wednesday, April 29, 2026

PITTSFIELD, Mass. — The Berkshire Regional Transit Authority is still working on maintaining its run schedules after dropping the route realignment proposal.

Last Thursday's meeting was Administrator Kathleen Lambert's first official meeting taking over the reins; retiring director Robert Malnati stayed during a transition period that ended last month.

Lambert is trying to create a schedule that will lessen cancellations. There was a two-hour meeting the week before with the drivers union to negotiate run bids and Lambert is working with the new operating company Keolis, which is taking over from Transdev.

The board spoke about anonymous emails from drivers, which Lambert said she has not seen. iBerkshires was not able to see those letters, but has received some.

"They were lengthy emails from someone describing themselves as concerning BRTA employee, and there was a signed letter from a whole group of employees basically stating their concerns. So, you know, to me, it was a set of whistleblowers, and that, what my understanding is that this really triggers a need for some type of process to review the merits of these whistleblowers, not going to call them accusations, but basically expressions of concern," said member Stephen Bannon.

A letter iBerkshires received spoke of unhappy drivers who were considering quitting because of decisions being made without "input from frontline staff," frustration and falling morale, and the removal of the former general manager shortly after Lambert came in.

Lambert said it's difficult to navigate a new change. She also noted many drivers don't want to do Saturday runs and it has been hard negotiating with drivers on the new runs.

"I would like you all to keep in mind that the process of change is super difficult. Transdev has been here for 20 years, and some of these drivers have never known any other operating company, the way some of the operations have been handled has been archaic," she said. "So getting folks up to speed on how a modern transit system works is going to be painful for them. So I don't want to say that I'm unsympathetic, because I am sympathetic, but I am trying to coax people along with a system that's going to seem very strange to them."

The board spoke about better communication between them and Lambert, citing cooperation will be best moving forward.

"There's just a lot of stuff in the air right now, and there are a lot of fires to put out to make this a coordinated effort. And if we don't keep our communications open and be straightforward, then you get blindsided about how you know the input that you could get from us about your position, and how you know what's going on in your direction, and we get blindsided. And I think that we have to make sure that this is a collaboration," said member Sherry Youngkin.

"Both sides have responsibilities, because in the long run, this advisory board is going to have to make decisions as to how we brought forward and if we've gone forward in a fair and helpful way. And I think that's hopefully what everybody is looking for also."

Transdev and Keolis held a three-day recruiting event interviewing almost 40 candidates and offering jobs to eight, but only three stayed on to start training. Lambert said it was disappointing but she will keep trying to retain more people.

In her first report to the board, she noted that ridership dipped a little over 10 percent, but still remains higher than last year, adding that was because of cancellations of services because of the lack of drivers.

Like the last meeting, some of the advisory board members were torn over the start of the Link413 service, worried that the start of the service took drivers away and the numbers of riders are low.

Lambert, however, said the ridership has doubled from last month.

"As I've spoken before, we have, generally, a six-month adoption for brand-new service before you can really go in and evaluate, are you being successful based on the grant that my predecessor wrote along with the team for PBTA and RTA, we are ahead of schedule, which is pretty good, so I'm hoping that will continue to improve," she said.

Member Renee Wood said the board never approved the service, adding the only thing she could find in the minutes was a vote to accept the equipment. She said it was supposed to be put on the agenda to discuss.

"The Link413 service has been three years in the making. It's been a grant that was accepted and has been working with our partners, PVTA and FRTA, to put into place. So I don't have the entire history of how that process worked, but it's been three years in the making, and did we not understand that once we accept that grant that we were going to put in new service?" Lambert said.

The board discussed if Title VI, the Civil Rights Act, was followed with an accurate review and accurate amount of time for public comment period on the service changes and if its attorney should review if the grant conditions were properly followed.

Lambert said changes had the 60-day comment period included in the proposed route realignment packet, giving the opportunity for the community to respond to that as well but will look into the legality of the situation with their attorney.

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