Pay off debts (also posted in Mortgage Free thread)

adarynefoedd

Hello everybody I am new to this site but think it is fantastic.

My circumstances: pretty easy compared with many posting here but I still have some problems. I am 55 tomorrow so less time to sort myself out.

DEBTS

Mortgage: £39999, for buy to let house, interest only, rent of £450 paid direct into mortgage account, bank takes approx £190 per month. Mortgage product brilliant as many overpayments as I like integrated with other bank accounts, all done on line.I have paid off the mortgage on my main house 3 years ago. Before anybody says BTLers are bad people, I bought the house originally to help out a relative who reneged on the rent. I now have 5* tenants who are brilliant.
Barclaycard: £1600
Bank Flexiloan : £4600

OUTGOINGS

Council tax £138 Gas £60 Electricity £73 House Insurance £25 Water £22 TV £10 Phone/Internet £25 Help with garden/house/decorating £200 I also have a number of expenses associated with work because I am self employed - car, accountancy expenses,mobile contract.


INCOME

I earn a variable amount (sometimes feast sometimes famine) my partner has retired and is on a fixed income of £1200 a month (work pension).

I have used this site extensively to batten down the costs. My aim is to pay off the ridiculous credit card and comet loan first then the flexiloan. I also want then to build up some cash reserves after reducing debt. I will get a reasonable pension at age 60.

Will keep you posted and appreciate any feedback.

Miss_Piggy_2

Hi and welcome to the forum!

Don't have anything useful to add really, except to say I think BTL'ers are lovely people! My brother and sister in law bought a house and let it to me and my husband. Without their assistance in this way we'd still be in a tiny flat!
Good luck with your endeavours

Miss P
xx

fatbelly

Hi

Stoozing.com have a list of 'super balance transfer' credit cards here - most will give 0% for a year or more

You would only need a credit limit of 2k to be able to transfer 1600 to Barclaycard and 400 to your currrent account to pay off Comet.

Even if you only make the 2 or 3 % minimum payments at least that's the amount of debt that gets paid off.

adarynefoedd

Thanks Fatbelly have applied and been successful in moving the BC debt to the 0% Virgin card so will pay off the wretched Comet debt and will also start to make a hole n the Virgin credit card - great advice.

adarynefoedd

Thanks to a suggestion elsewhere I now have AceMoney a really good spending monitoring programme. I will have my Virgin 0% card in the next few days and will shift my BCard and other little Storecard debt to Virgin and then pay it off!

adarynefoedd

Thanks for the support so far. Does anyone know if I can shift the balance of a flexilo0an (£4300 now) to the Virgin card. The flexiloan is an HSBC loan, basically an awful arrangement where you can spend up to £5000 and they then take £200 a month by direct debit. I have taken out the Vigin loan and they have given me a credit limit of £5600, can I shift this loan as a balance transfer?

fatbelly

Hi adarynefoedd

On the Virgin card you can do a Super balance Transfer of £4300 into your current account and from there pay off the HSBC loan. Obviously you can't do that at the same time as transfering your other 2k of debt as your credit limit is £5600.

However, it would be worth asking for another £700 of credit - the fact that you got a relatively high limit so quickly is a good sign.

If your limit stays at £5600 then what you could try is: move £4300 to your current a/c, £1600 to Barclaycard. Then phone Barclaycard to tell them that you will cancel the card unless they give you a good deal.

Barclaycard offered flexiblefish 9 months at 0% with a 3% fee about a week ago.

His post is here