A question from a newbie

thebigdipper

Hello all

I'd like to get into stoozing but I'm not sure if I'm grasping the maths behind it. I think I've got it but I'd hate to assume I have and make a terrible error on my first try.

I've made a spreadsheet of what I believe the calculations would be based on the interest rate/amount borrowed/etc being input by the user. Would anyone be kind enough to check out the formulas & figures and let me know if I've got it sussed or if I'm missing anything out?

Thank you in advance!

mrs_T

http://stoozing.com/

Have you checked out this website? Lots of useful information there.

thebigdipper

mrs_T wrote: »

http://stoozing.com/

Have you checked out this website? Lots of useful information there.

Thanks for the link. I asked this same question on their forums, but have had no reply for several days.

I've read the site content and while I'm pretty certain I get it, I still feel like I'm missing a little something. For example, if a BT fee is 3% and the savings interest rate is 3%, those effectively cancel each other out over 12 months of 0% interest borrowing, so I don't quite see how stoozing generates much, if any, profit.

I made a spreadsheet to calculate profits based on these things and I wasn't sure if the calculated profits were so low because I'd misunderstood the concept and therefore entered formulas incorrectly, or because of the lack of decent cards available and the generally low interest rate for savers at this point in time.

Tixy

Your profits probably do look low. With basic stoozing the margins are much lower than they used to be (because BT fees are often as high as the savings rate that can be obtained). A few years ago stoozing money used to make good profits (often no BT fees or minimal fixed fees and interest on savings accounts was significantly higher).

People do still stooze, particularly people who still have stooze pots from some time ago and people who can stooze to an offset mortgage which can be more worthwhile than to a savings account but for many people the fees make it less worthwhile now.

thebigdipper

Tixy wrote: »

Your profits probably do look low. With basic stoozing the margins are much lower than they used to be (because BT fees are often as high as the savings rate that can be obtained). A few years ago stoozing money used to make good profits (often no BT fees or minimal fixed fees and interest on savings accounts was significantly higher).

People do still stooze, particularly people who still have stooze pots from some time ago and people who can stooze to an offset mortgage which can be more worthwhile than to a savings account but for many people the fees make it less worthwhile now.

Aye, that makes complete sense... sadly!

Thanks for taking the time to fill in the gaps

j8yba

I think the main purpose of stoozing is to 'pay-off' existing debts at low or in most cases 0% interest, rather than the expensive 16.9 -29.9% usual rates.