query regarding credit card / high debt

mrslawrence2003

hi there all,

i just wanted to pick your knowledgable brains.

the following is a list of my current debts:

Egg credit card - balance £0, limit £2,200, APR 16.9%
Lloyds TSB o/d - balance £1,300 (limit £3,200) APR 15.9%
Lloyds Loan - balance £2,059.43 (finishes Aug 07 i think) APR 6.8%
Lloyds Credit Card - balance £2,975 (limit £3,500) APR 7.9% LOB
Egg Loan - balance £15,237.58 (finishes Dec 11) APR 7.8%
Barclaycard - balance £2,840(limit £4,100) APR 4.9% LOB
Student Loan - balance £8,460 (finishes approx 2011) v low interest rate.

TOTAL £32,872.01

these are all taken out under my name, and exceed my current salary. however, with my partners income (we manage all our finances jointly but his wages are paid into my account as he doesnt have his own account) the debt is approx 50% of total income.

now, my o/d is very high interest rate - should i apply for an M&S credit card and do a balance transfer using my egg card as a mule and ending up with 3.9% LOB or how should i best manage the debt. bearing in mind i already have 3 credit cards, would i be pushing it for a new credit card? i applied for the barclaycard only about 3 -4 months ago, but seem to have a reasonably good credit rating.

does anyone have any suggestions or guidance?

lynzpower

Egg credit card - balance £0, limit £2,200, APR 16.9%
Lloyds TSB o/d - balance £1,300 (limit £3,200) APR 15.9%
Lloyds Loan - balance £2,059.43 (finishes Aug 07 i think) APR 6.8%
Lloyds Credit Card - balance £2,975 (limit £3,500) APR 7.9% LOB
Egg Loan - balance £15,237.58 (finishes Dec 11) APR 7.8%
Barclaycard - balance £2,840(limit £4,100) APR 4.9% LOB
Student Loan - balance £8,460 (finishes approx 2011) v low interest rate.

First off I would reduce the credit limits on all cards where appropriate ( bolded for you)
So egg card close
lloyds cc to 3k bcard to 2900
lloysds OD to say 1500 ( are you living in it at the mo)

this will improve your credit rating as you have a lot of "available" debt which you are not using.

your LTSB od is your highest APR are you snowballing to this one at the mo?

mrslawrence2003

lynzpower wrote:

First off I would reduce the credit limits on all cards where appropriate ( bolded for you)
So egg card close
lloyds cc to 3k bcard to 2900
lloysds OD to say 1500 ( are you living in it at the mo)

this will improve your credit rating as you have a lot of "available" debt which you are not using.

your LTSB od is your highest APR are you snowballing to this one at the mo?

hi lynzpower - thanks for replying.

the only reason i want to keep the egg card open is as a mule - so that i can transfer the o/d to barclaycard or a new credit card if i am successful.

as regards the lloyds o/d - yes we are living in it. have managed to reduce it from 2,200 to 1,300 with bonus, but now i've had a payrise will be able to use extra cash to clear it further. but wouldnt it be better to try and get it on a low interest c/c if possible? i would transfer it to barclaycard, but the LOB offer has now expired so dont think it's possible.

lynzpower

the thing is, with this egg card open, and all the other limits, they will be inpairing what other credit you get offered.

Ive never really understood the egg anniversary offer, am I right in thinking its just a 0% for x months?

If it is why impair your CR ( by having available debt to you ) while waiting for something that lets face it you are likely to get anyway, as you a) have a good CR adn b) you have a high income now than before

mrslawrence2003

lynzpower wrote:

the thing is, with this egg card open, and all the other limits, they will be inpairing what other credit you get offered.

Ive never really understood the egg anniversary offer, am I right in thinking its just a 0% for x months?

If it is why impair your CR ( by having available debt to you ) while waiting for something that lets face it you are likely to get anyway, as you a) have a good CR adn b) you have a high income now than before

no not the egg anniversary offer - egg is the only card that i can use to transfer my o/d onto. so i would transfer the o/d through the egg card on to either barclaycard or other low interest card, as i cannot directly move my o/d onto my barclaycard. that is the only reason i still have the egg card. well it's also used for some day-to-day spends that are cleared each month. oh i dont know. am just very nervous about all these kind of things and about making a foolish mistake.