Am I in trouble

mark_jones13 · 5 February 2005 at 11:24PM

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deemy2004 · 6 February 2005 at 12:22AM

Yoouve been a good boy and are not in any trouble, as you have a saving pot which covers the main interest bearing debts.

If I were to make changes it would be to ditch the annual fee cards in favour of no fee cards.

thefoot · 6 February 2005 at 12:26AM

I personally would get rid of any credit cards (Amex and BA) that you have to pay an annual premimum for as you're are just paying them and getting nothing in return. You will save £215 P.A.

Of course its better to be in no debt - make sure your savings are earning a good interest rate - perhaps an internet bank - and then use the interest to pay off the Barclaycard.

Depending on whether you need the overdraft - you'd be better paying of the £200 on the barclaycard at the 18.9% limit - and owing it on the overdraft at 0%

If you're going to Paris - use a credit card that doesn't charge fees for foreign transactions - like Nationwide or London Victioria.

Murtle · 6 February 2005 at 9:34PM

Not sure if this is good advice...but I'd say you're not in trouble...but why not use your savings to pay back the outstanding amount on credit cards and if you need cash in savings - do a BT with 0% interest to get the cash back, allbeit for a short period?? just a thought

comicmankev · 7 February 2005 at 12:36PM

Thats a no brainer as the Americans would say. Your £200 is gromwing fast with Barclaycard at 18.9% and you'll never get saving at that rate. So yes, put that extra towards that and you'll be gaining every month. Of course, you could clear the majority with your savings which would benefit you even more!

And of course, ditch the fee paying cards, this is also a no brainer!

Hope that helps!!

Debt_Free_Chick · 7 February 2005 at 2:27PM

I think that the £125 a year a pay in total each year (Golg Charge Card is £95 and I get the American Express British Airways Premium Plus Card for £30 because I have another of their cards) is worth it.

But that £125 would pay your BCard off in one go!

I get air miles with the BA card (which is good because I go away about 10 times a year) and the Gold Chargecard gives me Membership Rewards.

But do you get £125 worth of benefits? And you can get BA miles without having an AmEx anyway (or have I misunderstood what you get with AmEx?)

The service I get from them will never be beaten by any card company

Just make sure you never miss a payment - they are ruthless.

Ditched my AmEx about 6 years ago and can't say I've missed it.

I would feel really unsafe without savings.

But you actually have very little "net worth" once you factor in the debt - you have to deduct your debt from your savings to find out how much you really have.

Think about this ... if you had no debt, how much money would you have each month i.e. add up the total of the repayments you currently make on the cards. Now then, you could add that to your savings account each month, once the debt is paid off, instead of paying it to the card companies.

As you have a student loan due in April, why not use your savings to pay off the cards. Then the loan can go straight to replace your savings.

One more thing .. I thought there was a minimum income requirement for AmEx - as a student, how did you get one (just curious)?

Hopefully, some things for you to think about.

HTH

louise1234_2 · 7 February 2005 at 2:35PM

I'm with the others - cancel fee paying cards & pay of credit cards with savings.

I'm impressed you think Amex's customer service is worth £125 a year - are the other companies that bad?? How often do you actually need to speak to them?? For that price, you could get say a flight to Europe.

Why do you feel nervous without savings?? Surely if you needed funds in a hurry, you could use a (Non-fee charging) credit cards??

Banks & CC companies LOVE customers like you!! They make money in interest on your credit card, and give you much less in interest on your savings. You even pay annual fees for privilege of carrying cards! You don't even use all your interest free overdraft.

To be a moneysaver, you have to play them at their own game, and not let companies make money out of you. Obviously it is up to you whether you do this.

You can happily keep going as you are, you are in no means in any serious trouble, you may need to tighte the purse strings a bit.

Debt_Free_Chick · 7 February 2005 at 3:42PM

I have an income of around £25,000 p/a with loans, job, investments

You really don't need debt then. You should be much more savvy with your money - get more bang for your buck. OK, you think the AmEx is worth it - can't argue with that. It has to deliver benefits for you, not me ;-)

But .... what do you get from the interest you pay on your debts? Nothing ... it's equivalent to an increase in the price that you first paid.

Perhaps you are living just a teeny bit above your means at the moment. Why not reign in the spending for a few months, pay off the debt, build up the savings to an even more comfortable level and have complete finanical security for a while.

Good Luck Mark

Am I in trouble

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