Need a loan and advice

breadfan-10

Hello all, I need some advice on the best path to take regarding a loan.
My wife has a CC with a little under 5k outstanding. The card has recently passed it's interest free period but she can't get another because she's just lost her job.
Fortunately, I earn enough to pay her card but last month she paid £100 off the balance and got charged over £70 interest. This is clearly unsustainable so I need to find the best way to go about taking over her debt at a more manageable rate.
Should I get a personal loan and pay her card off or try and add the amount on her card to my CC, the interest free period of which runs out in just over 4 months?
Any advice would be really helpful.

Thanks.

opinions4u

Unless you can 100% stop your wife spending on the card, repaying it with a personal loan will leave you with and a new credit card debt.

What is she spending the money on? Can you sell any of the purchases and use the proceeds to reduce debt?

£70 a month interest suggests a rate of 16%-17%. You may not be able to get a loan for a lower rate.

Here's what I'd do:

1) Ring the company and ask if they have any special deals for existing customers (they probably won't apply to the existing debt, but you could always ask)

2) Try to pay more than the minimum payment even if it's only a fiver or so a month. This will enhance her future credit rating and improve her chances of a 0% card when she's back in work (but point 3 below would apply to any new card).

3) Cut the card up and never use it again.

4) If the card company ever increase the rate in future opt out of the rate rise.

5) Lock the wife away until the debt is repaid and don't let her go shopping again.

6) Address the spending habit that got you here. The Debt-free Wannabe part of the forum may help you.

Crap_with_money.com

Do you have an existing balance on your own credit card? If so, it may not be an option to do another balance transfer and still benefit from the 0% deal. You're best to phone them and ask, if you can transfer it over, or even get an interest free deal elsewhere, that's definitely the cheapest option for you, but that will depend on your credit rating.

If you exhaust that option and it turns out not to be possible, I'm not personally opposed to bank loans, but most on here are. If you can get a cheaper rate than your existing credit though it's definitely worth considering, and if you can be accepted for a loan where over payments are possible then even better!

The danger of course if that you clear your wife's card for her, and she runs up another balance - you'd need to be absolutely confident this wouldn't happen.

MFWannabe

The cheapest option would be for you to get a new 0% card or a low life of balance of card. But if you take over this debt then if it were me i would insist that your wifes current credit card is cancelled and cut up so that she can't run it up again

Fruit_and_Nut_Case

opinions4u wrote: »

5) Lock the wife away until the debt is repaid and don't let her go shopping again.

:eek:..........

breadfan-10

Thanks for the replies so far.
The wife's credit card is no more. It's gone. Dead. Never to be seen again.;)
Where we go from here is the next step and I think the idea of a different 0% card is the way to go. My credit rating is pretty good, or at least it should be as I've never defaulted on any loans, mortgages etc. Looking around this site, I notice that there's a 0% deal for around 16months and I suppose the best way is to pay off as much of the transfer as i can within the 16 months then see what deal I can get then? If I take this option, I'll be sure to cut the card in two when it arrives, though.
With a bit of luck, maybe the wife will find another job in the meantime......:)

breadfan-10

Fruit_and_Nut_Case wrote: »

:eek:..........

Don'tlook so shocked - it's not the worst idea I've heard.;)

MFWannabe

breadfan-10 wrote: »

Thanks for the replies so far.
The wife's credit card is no more. It's gone. Dead. Never to be seen again.;)
Where we go from here is the next step and I think the idea of a different 0% card is the way to go. My credit rating is pretty good, or at least it should be as I've never defaulted on any loans, mortgages etc. Looking around this site, I notice that there's a 0% deal for around 16months and I suppose the best way is to pay off as much of the transfer as i can within the 16 months then see what deal I can get then? If I take this option, I'll be sure to cut the card in two when it arrives, though.
With a bit of luck, maybe the wife will find another job in the meantime......:)

Exactly right; that's the best way to go. Just make sure the card you apply for is a different card to the one you are paying off; as they don't allow transfers between cards in the same 'group' i.e MBNA and Virgin are supplied by the same company

rgjjb3

i got a barcleycard with 6.8%for life and no transfer fee from a link on here.

any good to you?http://www.barclaycard.co.uk/landing/simplicity22.html?&WT.mc_id=17243120195776415-&TC=MSE0340001