£11,000 debt - personal loan or low rate credit card?

carol120401

Hi

I have been tarting a credit card debt which was originally at around £15000 for the last 3 years and currently have this with Lloyds TSB credit card 0% until May next year.

However, due to being made redundant last month and having to take a pay cut in my new job which I start in January, I feel I ought to have some security around the long-term interest rate in case rates go through the roof.

My debt is now £11,500 and I can afford to repay £170 a month (including ppi). I appreacite that I will be looking at a long-term in either case. Am i best to take a personal loan or move the debt to a low rate credit card - fixed for the entire term?

I don't really understand how I can calculate what I will pay overall if I go for the credit card option - can anyone help and let me know what the best deals are too?

Thanks

carol120401

Was this really such a daft or boring question?

citygal

Nope its not such a daft question! I am just trying to get my head round it....(been a busy and long day for me) Could you not carry on moving it to different cc for 0%? That way you would avoid the high interest rates.

Hope this helps

chriz1000

If you’re worried about not being able to take out a new card with a 0% rate, simply ring up your existing credit card companies (if you have any with no debt) and ask what rate they will give you for a life of balance transfer. It will probably be between 5-8% which will be a lot less than the typical APR

savvy

Hi Carol
I'm going to move you over to the Debt Free Wannabe board as you may get more advice there.
HTH
savvy

Thefunkygibbons

If you can get it, a life of balance card is

1. Better if you are determined to clear the debt and you throw every penny at it

2. Worse if you leave it unpaid, whereas a loan has minimum fixed payments you must make

It depends on where you are in your plan to clear the debt

carol120401

Thanks for youre replies. The comment about being determined to clear the debt made sense as this debt was actually only £9k when we started and I've let it grow instead of sticking to the original plan. Silly I know!

Will search for a low rate loan and see what I can find