What to pay off first with my little windfall?

ally1974

Hello

I've posted a couple of times but this is my first 'proper' post!

I have recently received the final payout from a life assurance I took out 10 years ago. It came to £1900. I want to make sure I make the most of it and would appreciate some advice
The first thing is to repay my parents £800 I borrowed last year. Then I'm left with £1100 and have the following CC debts:
argos: 204.94 at 0% until sept then 25%
halifax: 492.65 at 0% until oct then 18%
egg: 1085.37 at 0% until sept then 15%
HSBC: 893.04 at 15%

My first thought was to pay the argos and HSBC straight away but then I thought it might be a better idea to pay the HSBC and put the rest in an easy access savings account (quick and easy as I have one set up already, don't know what the interest rate is but I think it's pretty minimal) to pull out just before my 0% runs out on the argos card. This might be more effort than it's worth and I've succeeded in confusing myself

Any help would be much appreciated. Thanks.

leni

I'd pay off the HSBC card and then the argos card!

Devo

Argos
Halifax
HSBC
Egg

Based on interest rates and debt amounts

heatherw_01

I would also pay HSBC and put the rest into savings before the other cards turn into full rate interest and then start to pay those off.

LookingAhead

I would definitely get rid of that Argos debt if I had that cash.
I think I would be very tempted to pay off all the HSBC one next.

Good luck whatever you decide and it will be so lovely to have reduced your debt!

Molanole

HSBC and then the Argos card. Imagine if you forgot about the Argos card when the 0% finishes. That interest rate is disgusting!!

pavlovs_dog

you dont mention what payements (if any) you are making on these.

presumably you are not paying anything towards the debt currently on interest free, but i would assume you are currently paying off hsbc - but how much per month?

have you put any money to one side to pay off/pay towards argos, halifax and egg?

duncans-mum_2

HSBC definitely needs to go away. I personally would get the argos one out of the way too, and the money that you were paying each month to those two can go towards the other two to try and clear before interest is added. (if that makes sense)

nomoneytoday

argos: 204.94 at 0% until sept then 25%
halifax: 492.65 at 0% until oct then 18%
egg: 1085.37 at 0% until sept then 15%
HSBC: 893.04 at 15%

Assuming no penalties etc

HSBC first - highest rate
Then argos
Halifax
Leaves around £800 on Egg @ 15%

Kevicho

ally1974 wrote:

Hello

I've posted a couple of times but this is my first 'proper' post!

I have recently received the final payout from a life assurance I took out 10 years ago. It came to £1900. I want to make sure I make the most of it and would appreciate some advice
The first thing is to repay my parents £800 I borrowed last year. Then I'm left with £1100 and have the following CC debts:
argos: 204.94 at 0% until sept then 25%
halifax: 492.65 at 0% until oct then 18%
egg: 1085.37 at 0% until sept then 15%
HSBC: 893.04 at 15%

im currently using money i would have to clear a debt left in an account which is gaining interest (between 1-2k) and tbh the interest isnt that great, however it is extra.

In my opinion I would clear the HSBC card now, (as you are paying interest on ths) and then put 100 towards the Argos card

You will then have an extra minimum payment to pay off the argos quicker, so if your minimum payment on hsbc is say £50 then before september comes you can use that extra to clear than nasty little debt, then obviously clear it before the interest hike.

Also i would suggest negotiating with HSBC to see if they can do a competitive BT rate and transfer the halifax and as much of the egg debt onto a cheaper interest rate.

Otherwise you have 2 options

1) get an 0% BT card with 9 months on it, and shift as much of the remaining debt to that and hope you come close to clearing it before the offer ends
or
2) Get a low rate life BT card to cut the interest

It may be worth again haggling with egg and halifax, to see if you can cut down the interest levels, remember to tell them that they will be the ones making money from the interest as opposed to one of there competitors

Then it should be easier to snowball, or indeed pay off the one last debt

All the best

ally1974

Many thanks to you all. I am currently paying the minimum on the Halifax, HSBC and egg and nothing on the argos. You're all quite right, I need to get rid of the HSBC and argos first then the £40 or so I put on the HSBC can be redirected to the Halifax.
The payout has certainly helped put a dent in my debt (I haven't even told you about my loans, I'm going to make a signature very soon though) but it's a one off thing and I wanted to make the best use of it.
Many, many thanks!
:grinheart