Was anyone else scared by this?

Wyndham

I've always paid my credit card bills off in full. Always followed the rules. Never incurred any charges. Then I heard about stoozing!

I've started a slow stooze (and due to lots of big things recently which I knew I would have to pay anyway, the pot is already a few thousand!) But part of me is still waiting for it all to go wrong. While I've now had two bills, paid the minimum and not been charged any interest, the "goody two shoes" in side of me is still expecting it all to fail miserably so I end up with a big bill.

Of course, I've done my research, I'm sure it's all OK. But it feels 'odd' and I wondered whether this was normal? Does everyone feel like this at the start? And does it go away?

And will I ever get used to using my creit card to pay really small amounts? :rotfl:

lisyloo

I am not sure what you are doing is stoozing.
Stoozing is borrowing money at 0% and putting it into a bank account to get interest. That way you make money.

If you are borrowing money and spending it, then that's not the same thing at all. It can be useful to get loans at 0% for things you have to pay for anyway (I have just finished doing it to buy a new car), but this is not really stoozing. It's just cheap (or free) credit.

If someone is being tempted into buying things they wouldn't otherwise buy then it's downright dangerous and your gut feeling would be right in that case.

Good stoozers are always in control and have nothing to fear because they know the money is in the bank and they can pay it back at any time.

You worry may be correct if things are getting out of hand.
Do you have a contingency plan for the debt if you are sick or lose your job?

Kantankrus_Mare

lisyloo wrote:

I am not sure what you are doing is stoozing.
Stoozing is borrowing money at 0% and putting it into a bank account to get interest. That way you make money.

If you are borrowing money and spending it, then that's not the same thing at all. It can be useful to get loans at 0% for things you have to pay for anyway (I have just finished doing it to buy a new car), but this is not really stoozing. It's just cheap (or free) credit.

If someone is being tempted into buying things they wouldn't otherwise buy then it's downright dangerous and your gut feeling would be right in that case.

Good stoozers are always in control and have nothing to fear because they know the money is in the bank and they can pay it back at any time.

You worry may be correct if things are getting out of hand.
Do you have a contingency plan for the debt if you are sick or lose your job?

It IS stoozing if you put the funds you would normally have spent into a high interest account as I think the OP meant

Im in the same boat as OP doing slow stoozing and am now getting to the stage where my fuirst two cards are nearly at the end of their 0% deals (end of October ) and my dilemma is whether to carry on and try to transfer some of the 6K ive amassed onto another fee free card if I can find one or whether to just pay them off and start slow stoozing all over again.

Its simple to start with but can get more complicated and worrying the longer you do it and Im not sure my brains up to it :rotfl:

Wyndham

Kantankrus_Mare wrote:

It IS stoozing if you put the funds you would normally have spent into a high interest account as I think the OP meant

That is what I meant, and that is what I'm doing.

Careful_ly

This is a slow stooze and as long as you put the balance of your credit card bill into a savings account after you have paid the minimum payment, you have nothing to fear.
At the end of the interest free period you then can either pay in full from your savings accout or move your balance to another deal. The choice is yours as youve got the funds to pay.
When I first became aware that banks would lend money at 0% I was very wary myself, always thinking that there is no such thing as a free lunch. My OH was even more cautious, but we have made it work for us and have both slow stooze and balance transfer stoozes.
Just watch the end dates as they dont always make it clear.
It can become quite addictive!!!!:j

Wyndham

Careful_ly wrote:

It can become quite addictive!!!!:j

Yes, I can see that it can! And there is a buzz from knowing that I am legally getting money that it could morally be argued I shouldn't have! However, I'm working on the proviso that the banks would take money from me if they could, so I may as well take my share.

Thanks for all the (quick) replies, it helps!

giggs11

yes, i felt scared when i started doing it too but you soon get a buzz from it. just finished a slow stooze on a 9mth 0% purchases card and had built up several thousand in savings from it which is nice to look at in your ms money accounts even tho you know you can't touch it. just paid that off last week and it's about to be returned back to the savings pot for another 6mths on a 0% bt deal

lisyloo

Sorry. I didn't understand what a "slow stooze" was.
I have grasped the concept now.

Thanks for the education.

tonydee

Thing is as we all know that the CC companies are now charging for a BT on new cards so be very careful.

giggs11

has anyone done the calculatons to work out what the max amount is to bt without it actually costing anything in fees and interest?

PS i know it depends on how long 0% deal is and also if your a tax payer and at what level, but has anyone done any calcs?