Consolidate Credit Cards to a Loan

Sweet330 · 18 January 2018 at 1:09PM

I owe £20,000 on 5 different 0% credit cards and I am finding it hard to keep paying £500 each month to cover the minimum payments. i was wondering if it would be better to have a personal loan even though I would be paying interest so that I can reduce my monthly payments?

bertiewhite · 18 January 2018 at 1:51PM

It worked for me but then others will tell you consolidation is not a good idea if you're not disciplined.

Sweet330 · 18 January 2018 at 3:32PM

Hi Bertie I am disciplined enough but just wondering if it is a wise thing to do.

MallyGirl · 18 January 2018 at 4:01PM

Reducing the monthly payments just extends the time you are in debt - and can lead to you relaxing a bit.
Have you addressed why you ended up with so much debt in the first place? If not then you might be back with £20k loan plus a load more on credit cards.
Better to tackle the debt head on - with the interest looming at the end of the deals - and cut back on spending to throw everything you can at the cards while they are still 0%

Sweet330 · 18 January 2018 at 4:50PM

Hi MallyGirl

I totally know how I got in a pickle to start with. My daughters father left me and did not pay any money towards his daughter and I was too sick to work at the time. Now i am working and self sufficient and trying to get myself out of this pickle. I have long stopped using my credit cards and work on the basis that if the money is not there then i can't have it. I am desperately trying to get the cards paid off before their due date but that would mean me going from paying £500 to £1000 each month which is too much. Thank you for your reply

[Deleted User] · 18 January 2018 at 4:55PM

You stand very little chance of getting further credit, let alone doubling it, with your current circumstances.

You need to tackle it a chunk at a time. Cut costs, overpay the most expensive, see if you can get a BT card to shift a mall amount of the debt.

Pixie5740 · 18 January 2018 at 4:57PM

Why don't you compare the cost of taking the loan versus snowballing your credit card debt?

http://www.whatsthecost.com/

enthusiasticsaver · 18 January 2018 at 6:02PM

If your credit cards are at 0% then it makes little sense to take a loan out at probably a very high rate to repay them. Your salary would have to be enough to sustain £40k of debt as any application will pick up the existing credit card debt and assume you want a £20k loan on top of that. It is not a wise thing to do. Tackle the cards in the order of the first one with the deal expiring and close them as you repay them. As the debt reduces you will find it easier to get new balance transfers.

Thrugelmir · 18 January 2018 at 9:42PM

Sweet330 wrote: »

My daughters father left me and did not pay any money towards his daughter and I was too sick to work at the time.

Have you pursued him to contribute?

savingholmes · 22 February 2018 at 10:11PM

Hi don't know if the OP is still reading this - but an alternative would be to try and balance transfer to an MBNA type card who appear on average to offer lower minimum repayments than some of the others...

Consolidate Credit Cards to a Loan

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