Credit card debt sleeplessness

Jesthar

MoneyWorryBunny wrote: »

Do people think I should try for a 0% balance transfer for all three cards? I've done it before a couple of times but I'm scared now. I'm scared of picking the wrong card because I've read that if they're owned by the same bank as one of my existing ones they might turn me down. That might send me over the edge! But then it might work and then I'll be kicking myself over not doing it months ago!

Well, you can but try! Providing you don't KEEP applying and getting turned down, you aren't going to do too much damage to your credit rating. You can do your research first and ask us for advice to make sure you don't pick the 'wrong' card (others will be better placed to help you here than I can! ), and then when you apply you can also go through a 'cashback' site (like Quidco or TopCashBack) to get paid money back if you are accepted for it.

If you can't get 0% life of balance transfer, or don't want to risk trying it, then if you can get a low APR life of balance transfer (and let's face it, anything lower than what you are currently being charged can only be good! ), go for it!

I'd agree the Natwest card is the first to try and transfer, then the Virgin. You never know, you may be able to get them both on one balance transfer card, or you may not. Lloyds is the last target (lowest APR of the three). The important thing is to cut the card(s) up as soon as you receive it, so you can never be tempted to spend on it and lose your balance transfer rate!

If you do manage to transfer a balance, you should also cut up that credit card too, so you're not tempted to spend again on it. HOWEVER, unless you have a good savings cushion, you MAY want to keep the Lloyds card intact just in case you have an emergency you can't cover any other way (this is what credit cards SHOULD be used for, rather than casual spending ), as you WON'T be able to use the balance transfer card(s) without losing your rate. If you do keep this card, lock it away somewhere and never carry it with you so you're not tempted to use it. This is just my thoughts, though, so you may want to see what others suggest here too.

Even if you DO get turned down for any kind of balance transfer, there's no need to panic. You have the finances available to handle this debt, and even though it will take longer if you can't transfer, with careful household budgeting you can rapidly make inroads - have a play with the snowball calculator to get an idea of timescales with various overpayment levels!

As to veggies, well, I love my meat, so I don't think I'm going to be too much help, unfortunately! However, you can save yourself a small fortune by buying 'value' veg and potatoes in bulk from supermarkets, or by getting them from the reduced sections of supermarkets at the end of the day. You can also get huge nets of carrots from horse supply places, which might be worth a look if you get through a lot - they are wierd and wonderful shapes, and have the occasional split and fork mark, but they cook just fine! If you have a garden, try growing some of your own veg too - my runner beans (just 6 plants) went mental again this year, and were producing by the handful until the frosts got them last week. And the Old Style board will have tasty and cheap recipes a-plenty to help you out!

~Jes

GeorgeUK

You can usually have about 3 credit checks in a 6 month period before it affects your credit score. If you are able to transfer between existing cards though, this usually doesn't require a credit check so you can do this without worrying about your rating.

If you are worried about which bank uses which card provider so you may not be able to balance transfer between them, have a look at this table and it should keep you right.
http://www.stoozing.com/cards.htm

I would try transferring between existing cards first, then once a card is clear, wait for a statement with a nil balance and try another transfer using the newly cleared card.

MoneyWorryBunny

Hi,

I thought I'd give an update on how I've been getting on. I had a few days off work and got a few things sorted.

So... I managed to get the car insurance down from £43.29 to £17.33. Yay! Although I do still need to sort out breakdown cover .

I also... deep breath.. took my life in my hands and applied for Martin's recommended 0% balance transfer Capital One card and..... it was accepted!! Woo hoo :T !!!! I've signed the credit agreement, just have to wait and hope that everything goes okay with the balance transfers (fingers crossed).

So... that left me feeling much better. Plus the other half got loads of job apps sent off (again, fingers crossed).

But, I've got a tricky last half of the month to come. The cats need their annual check-ups and boosters and the MOT and car tax is due :eek: . And the power steering has completely gone on the car. Does anyone know whether that'll affect the MOT? I took it to the garage for them to sort out last month and they got it working again by whacking the power steering motor, but it's gone again.

I sorted my sig out too. I figured if i could get myself posting and participating and seeing (hopefully) the balances decreasing on my sig it'll spur me on. Just need to check the current balance of my student loan....

Jesthar

Heya MWB,

Great to hear from you! And fantastic news about the progress so far, especially the 0% - what limit did you get, and how many balances can you transfer?

Remember - have a pair of scissors waiting, and the MOMENT that Capital One card arrives cut it up so you're not tempted to spend on it! You might want to shred the PIN number and any other activation details too, just to be extra safe. Also cut up all but one of your existing cards - keep the one with the lowest APR in case of emergency, but lock it away so you don't start to use it regularly.

Not sure about the MOT, to be honest. However, if you are struggling with the car tax, how about just paying for 6 months now instead of 12? I did this when I got my last car, then when the 6 moths was up went back to paying for 12 months, as it doesn't cost any more to do this, and also means the car tax and insurance bills don't arrive in the same month every year.

Keep up the good work!

~Jes

MoneyWorryBunny

Hi Jesthar!

I don't know what limit they've given me yet. I applied for it to transfer all my CC balances and it was accepted, so am hoping all is okay. Just waiting for my 'welcome pack' to arrive.

I've done 0% balances before and NEVER spent anything on the card, I always put it straight in a drawer and forget about it. Yeah, I'm planning on keeping the Lloyds TSB card as an emergency and getting rid of all the rest, but I might just give Natwest/Virgin a ring first to give them a chance to better the Lloyds TSB card (see, I'm learning!) before it gets cancelled!

Next thing on the list is cancelling the magazine subscriptions....

poker_face

Happytogetdebtfree wrote: »

poker are you really working 7 jobs ?:O

yes but not all at once

Sue-UU

MoneyWorryBunny wrote: »

And the power steering has completely gone on the car. Does anyone know whether that'll affect the MOT? I took it to the garage for them to sort out last month and they got it working again by whacking the power steering motor, but it's gone again.

I sorted my sig out too. I figured if i could get myself posting and participating and seeing (hopefully) the balances decreasing on my sig it'll spur me on. Just need to check the current balance of my student loan....

Hi again MoneyWorryBunny, my hubby thinks that if the power steering had gone, the entire steering would be up the creek. He says, are you sure it's not just that more oil is needed?

Congratulations with all the rest, well done you, and I hope OH has success with the job applications!

Sue