New to the board

BringtheStoneshome

I've used the emails from this site and read the forums with intesrest in the last few months so I thought it was time I joined in the fun. Hopefully my signature is working OK. For the astute among you that spot that I seem to have loans/CC and savings, fear not. The savings are from 0% interest CCs. however, I am noticing the tightening in credit and it is annoying that I have suddenly been refused credit cards despite having never defaulted on anything. I guess I just have too much out at present.

Anyway, Ii am to start reducing debt although the need for a new boiler this year may halt my progress. I hate the banks with a passion for what they have done to this country and am currently delivering leafelts around Rugby on behalf of the Credit Union.

One little story to warm everyone's heart is that I started getting serious about debt reduction when, last year, the (un) Co-operative Bank dropped my O/D limit from £2.2k to £300 without telling me. When I phoned to first enquire and then complain that my mortgage etc had all bounced they were rather sanctimounious towards and some jumped up person told me "well that's the facility we offer you either take it or you don't". Half an hour later I had moved my direct debits, paid things by 0% interest card and upped my O/D at HSBC. I was rather pleased to tell them to stuff a week later when someone from the complaints department was offering to put my O/D back up. I now have to pay my loan off and then Co-Op will never resurface in my life again.

My plans are to keep stoozing my short term CC debt (will be about £2k come June), pay off my loan early, use the stoozed debt to pay for my boiler (I estimate £2-2.5k) and continue to reduce my long term CC debt (£4.3k at 5.95% and 6.95%).

I hope I can remain as disciplined and achive as much as others on this board, as the next target will be my mortgage (£101k).

BTSH

Nargleblast

Hello and welcome on board. While you have the ability to switch CC debt from one card to another and make it work in your favour, then you might as well. The only thing to beware of is increasing your overall debt situation, because you will eventually find yourself where you were before, at the maximum limit for borrowing. It's then that things get hairy, as many of us on here have found. If I were you I would aim to clear all debt totally apart from mortgage. Then you can build up savings and look into paying off some extra on the mortgage. You will find lots of tips on budgeting on this site, and lots of people on here can offer advice based on their own experiences. Good luck on the journey, and hope you find it as addictive as the rest of us do!

Tixy

Hi and welcome to the board

I appreciate what you are saying regarding the stoozed cash being the 0% card cash, but you still mention that you are paying interest on some of your CC debt.
Have you looked at the snowball calculator yet? It may make more financial sense to use the cash to pay off the interest charging cards, so instead of stoozing you are using the 0% cards as BT cards to move all your debt to 0%.

Obviously the fact that you need some cash for a new boiler will throw a spanner into things. Have you looked to see if you are eligible for a grant for your old boiler? Hopefully you may manage to get a cheaper boiler than you estimate (I have just had estimates for new boilers ranging from £1.5k to £3k, so worth shopping around and getting a lot of different quotes!

Welcome on board!

BringtheStoneshome

HI, NB

Cheers for the advice.

I am in a reasonably advanced state with my plans coming to the board.

I have a budgeting sheet all set up that includes payment off of debts in it (it is as close to an SOA as can be).

I know what you mean about the debt not going down and I think that is where the problems have all come from in the last few years. However, the actions of the banks in the last couple of years have sharpened my mind a little. if I can get my loan paid off early the payment will go straight back into paying the next thing down the list off. I may not do things in the best order interest-wise but I am also keeping an eye on the mortgage situation because (thanks to the actions of the banks) my 15% deposit of 2007 (and two years of repayment) has become nothing and now they will use that situation to make me pay for their poor lending policies (I never borrow more than 3x our salaries for a mortgage and we are currently at less than 2.5x). Eradictaing the loan would give me an extra £180 which could be diverted if the mortgage goes up (I am now a sitting duck on SVR and probably 100% mortgage). All the time the mortagage stays down it can repay things.

I have little choice but to expand debt to pay for the boiler, as it is over 30 years old and there is now no way to re-light the thing when it goes out. Saying that I have been lighting it myself using a barbecue lighter but this is not the most ideal situation.:(

BringtheStoneshome

Tixy wrote: »

Hi and welcome to the board

I appreciate what you are saying regarding the stoozed cash being the 0% card cash, but you still mention that you are paying interest on some of your CC debt.
Have you looked at the snowball calculator yet? It may make more financial sense to use the cash to pay off the interest charging cards, so instead of stoozing you are using the 0% cards as BT cards to move all your debt to 0%.

Obviously the fact that you need some cash for a new boiler will throw a spanner into things. Have you looked to see if you are eligible for a grant for your old boiler? Hopefully you may manage to get a cheaper boiler than you estimate (I have just had estimates for new boilers ranging from £1.5k to £3k, so worth shopping around and getting a lot of different quotes!

Welcome on board!

Hi Tixy

Cheers for the advice. I think my stoozing days are nearing an end for the time being (I have been refused on the last three occasions and probably need to get rid of some of my cards now to be able to get new ones). Moving the interest-paying CC debt will probably not save masses as it is fairly low interest and also leaves me the problem of trying to pay it down within a certain time (which is not realistic on what we have). As such i leave it to act as a low and flexible long term loan (somewhere between 5.8 and 6.95%). I am going to try and use 0% purchase and the wife's 'complete lack of credit at present' situation to stooze a bit more though on my need to be paid off soon or go to high interest rates cards.

It's interesting to know your boiler quotes. I have an old back boiler that is gravity drop. I need my system switched over completely and a new condensing boiler installed. It's infuriating really because we plan to move in two or three years but could not leave the boiler in it's current state, as we would have to advertise it as needs replacing. British as quoted me £3,800 so I have used that as a price marker and that is where my estimate of £2,500 comes from. Cheers though. I will certainly shop around because every penny saved now is one that the banks don't get. I am even pleased I got my phone/telly etc bill down £15 using the saynoto0870 site I first noticed on here. MSE's first £15 saving for me. Here's to many more:beer:

GeorgeUK

Can't add anything to the discussion so far, but your figures look to be about right from these articles.
Have you looked at the possibility of getting vouchers from the bolier scappage scheme?

http://www.moneysavingexpert.com/news/utilities/2010/01/warning-over-boiler-scrappage-incentives
http://www.moneysavingexpert.com/news/utilities/2010/01/government-boiler-scrappage-scheme-launches-today

BringtheStoneshome

Cheers George

I will certainly check that out although by the time I come to replace my boiler the election will have gone (along with many of the noce pre-elections schemes not doubt:().

However, the advice is much appreciated.