Credit Card - Loan

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mick1234_2
mick1234_2 Posts: 92 Forumite
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Hi,

I have a Barclaycard with £9800 on, currently, I am paying £142 a month in interest ( 17.18% ) this is a lot and I am trying to clear it but it's very frustrating how long it will take me as I only have about a spare £300 a month. I cannot get another interest free card the only ones I can get have like £1000 limit which isn't great. should I get a loan instead? I know this is normally a no no but the interest will be a lot less or am I totally wrong? I have checked some options and one with RBS - 3.9% APR over 3 years this will cost £602 - but the credit card will cost me at least £3000 over 3 years. Am I looking at this correctly its all really confusing.

thanks

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  • MallyGirl
    MallyGirl Posts: 6,623 Senior Ambassador
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    mick1234 wrote: »
    Hi,

    I have a Barclaycard with £9800 on, currently, I am paying £142 a month in interest ( 17.18% ) this is a lot and I am trying to clear it but it's very frustrating how long it will take me as I only have about a spare £300 a month. I cannot get another interest free card the only ones I can get have like £1000 limit which isn't great - no but if it was a balance transfer at 0% it would help. should I get a loan instead? I know this is normally a no no but the interest will be a lot less the interest might be less but not everyone gets the headline rate and if you are being offered lower limits that might be an indication that they would offer a higher rate or am I totally wrong? I have checked some options and one with RBS - 3.9% APR over 3 years this will cost £602 - but the credit card will cost me at least £3000 over 3 years. Am I looking at this correctly its all really confusing.

    thanks

    If you can get accepted at a lower rate, even for some of the balance, it would help. Have you addressed the reason you got into debt in the first place? Otherwise you might be back with the credit card full again but now you have another one too, or a loan
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  • mick1234_2
    mick1234_2 Posts: 92 Forumite
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    yes I have, I have a full budget and the cards have all been cut up.
  • EssexHebridean
    EssexHebridean Posts: 21,372 Forumite
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    What surplus have you freed up to be paid to the card each month? As the balance on the card falls, you may well find that you get accepted for further 0% transfers.

    Use the MSE credit club to see what you might stand a chance of being accepted for in the first instance - don't apply anywhere until you have checked eligibility. Weigh up between a longer period to pay off or a shorter period but with a higher amount allowed depending on the surplus you have to clear the interest bearing balance.

    If you go down the loan route, it needs to be on the basis of ONLY borrowing the amount you need for the cards - and ONLY over the number of months that your surplus allows you to clear everything in - don't be tempted to "borrow a bit extra" or give yourself an extra bit of time to pay it off... ideally though see if you can tackle it without.
    🎉 MORTGAGE FREE (First time!) 30/09/2016 🎉 And now we go again…New mortgage taken 01/09/23 🏡
    Balance as at 01/09/23 = £115,000.00
    Balance as at 31/12/23 = £112,000.00
    SOA CALCULATOR (for DFW newbies): SOA Calculator
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  • EssexHebridean
    EssexHebridean Posts: 21,372 Forumite
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    OK - additional post:
    mick1234 wrote: »
    Hi everyone, I have a dilemma and was wondering if anybody had any advice.

    I have 3 Credit cards at the minute

    Barclays outstanding = £9,416.99 £147.35 a month Interest!
    Halifax outstanding = £1000 - 0% unitl Dec
    Tesco £3000 = £3000 0% for 28 months

    I have just got the Tescos card to try and offset some of the Barclays that £3000 will come off the £9,416.99 balance in the next few days, they wouldn't give me the full amount, the interest is obviously slowing down the payment and I am trying to get rid of them all, I am also trying to protect my credit score which is back up to fair after all my credit card applications a year ago.

    Currently I pay
    Halifax - £100 ( min on this card is £29 )
    Barclays - £250 ( min on this card is £240 )

    any ideas on the best way to tackle ? do I pay Barclays first and min Halifax or the other way round its just frustrating that the £124 could be coming off the main bill!

    thanks for all the help.

    What happened with the 0% transfer to your Tesco card?
    🎉 MORTGAGE FREE (First time!) 30/09/2016 🎉 And now we go again…New mortgage taken 01/09/23 🏡
    Balance as at 01/09/23 = £115,000.00
    Balance as at 31/12/23 = £112,000.00
    SOA CALCULATOR (for DFW newbies): SOA Calculator
    she/her
  • mick1234_2
    mick1234_2 Posts: 92 Forumite
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    The Tesco card changed the amount to £1000 credit limit, I think it's because of my use of available credit it is quite high, that was supposed to come off the Barclay card but I had to pay a tax bill that I had not expected an emergency fund would have stopped this so I now have £800 outstanding on this.

    I have exactly £300 free with not a penny left over all my expenses are covered Food and fuel, I am just trying to find the best way to get rid of my largest debt once that is done then I can snowball the others.

    I have checked my card eligibility the problem I have is the amount that they will let me borrow now is low.

    The loan would only be for the exact amount that I owe, I do not need or want anymore.

    I understand that the interest will drop over time but will it be better than a loan that will cost me £600
  • mick1234_2
    mick1234_2 Posts: 92 Forumite
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    @EssexHebridean thank you !! I have just done the eligibility I have not done it for a few months and managed to get a card for £3800! Interest-free for 15 months
  • EssexHebridean
    EssexHebridean Posts: 21,372 Forumite
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    Get the transfer done before another "emergency" comes along then for goodness sake! ;)

    The next question is how did you end up with an unexpected tax bill? I take it you are self employed on self assessment? Are you putting away the relevant portion of everything you get paid to account for tax & NI contributions?

    You're right on needing an emergency fund though - £500 if you're renting, £1000 if you own your home.

    Could I suggest that it might be an idea for you to post your SOA in here so others can cast an eye over it to see if there is anywhere else that you might be able to make savings or anything you've missed?

    A tip for you on the cards - set the direct debit to the starting amount of the minimum payment when you start tackling them. So if you have a card with a £49.75 minimum payment on month 1, you set the DD to £50 and leave it there. Over time the minimum payment falls as you make a dent in the capital, so you're paying off slightly more without even thinking about it, plus the amount it's dropped by doesn't get left in your bank account and frittered.Anything extra to be paid to the card can then be done as a straight transfer to the card account - easy!
    🎉 MORTGAGE FREE (First time!) 30/09/2016 🎉 And now we go again…New mortgage taken 01/09/23 🏡
    Balance as at 01/09/23 = £115,000.00
    Balance as at 31/12/23 = £112,000.00
    SOA CALCULATOR (for DFW newbies): SOA Calculator
    she/her
  • mick1234_2
    mick1234_2 Posts: 92 Forumite
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    I have done the transfer, I will do a SOA and put it up, I will also up the DD like you said it's a good idea.

    thanks for your help.
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