We'd like to remind Forumites to please avoid political debate on the Forum. This is to keep it a safe and useful space for MoneySaving discussions. Threads that are - or become - political in nature may be removed in line with the Forum’s rules. Thank you for your understanding.

Room for improvement?

Hopefully you wont see this as wasting anyones time....am not a finance expert...so am just leaving it to you guys to see if there is room for improvement!

Income: Monthly

after tax £1056

Outcomes: Monthly

NTL Digital £38.50 = all sky sports + MUTV + family pack(inc £10 refund)
NTL Phone and Broadband £27.49 = 300k + standard tariff phone
Parents £120
ING Savings £50
Northern Rock Loan £240.44 a month borrowed 7K for 3 years and am on 5th payment APR 6.6% this payment includes PPI.

EGG CC £750 limit used....2nd month into 0% apr for 9months

have a Virgin CC on the way £2000 limit 0% on BT for 9months

Any room for improvement? Can I speed up the paying off the debt? Welcome any suggestions! Thanks

Comments

  • deemy2004
    deemy2004 Posts: 6,201 Forumite
    What are you doing with the 0% credit cards ?

    I hope your not spending it ?

    The problem is at the end of the 0% periods you may be lumbered with even more higher interest debt... So I would be very wary of using 0% borrows for anything other than saving and earning an interest off it, so that the cash is always there to pay it back.
  • Magentasue
    Magentasue Posts: 4,229 Forumite
    It looks as if you have about £500 left a month minus your repayment on Egg - so maybe you could increase your repayments?

    And like Deemy, I'm wondering why you've applied for the Virgin card when you've only had your loan and Egg card a few months.
  • snakey_2
    snakey_2 Posts: 76 Forumite
    deemy2004 wrote:
    What are you doing with the 0% credit cards ?

    I hope your not spending it ?

    The problem is at the end of the 0% periods you may be lumbered with even more higher interest debt... So I would be very wary of using 0% borrows for anything other than saving and earning an interest off it, so that the cash is always there to pay it back.

    very true. I need some extra cash in the short term. Like you say dont want to end up with more debt. Was also thinking of using the 0% cards to pay off some of my loan to reduce interest on that?
  • deemy2004
    deemy2004 Posts: 6,201 Forumite
    snakey wrote:
    very true. I need some extra cash in the short term. Like you say dont want to end up with more debt. Was also thinking of using the 0% cards to pay off some of my loan to reduce interest on that?

    Whatever you do, DON'T Spend it !

    You could use it to pay EXTRA off towards the loan (baring any early repayment penalities) - BUT ! How will you then repay the new higher interest debt in 8 months time ?

    The only advice I would give is to put the £2k in say a Cash-iSA and make about £65 on it (barring any balance trasnfer fee). Then repay before the due date. That we your up, all other ways you will be NET down and better off not having touched the credit card.
  • Snakey,

    You have £579.57 left after paying your bills. Plenty in my view to put a big dent in your debt in a short period of time. Do you have any other monthly expenses? Car, travel to work etc?

    You will need to clear the £750 egg CC by the end of the 9 months or face incurring the interest it will charge after this. You could of course BT this onto the Virgin CC and give yourself an extra 2 months to pay this. BUT IT IS ESSENTIAL YOU DO NOT PURCHASE WITH THESE CARDS.

    I would advise giving yourself a set figure from the £579.57 per month, say £300, and throw the remainder at the loan. You will need to check if you can make overpayments or whether you will incurr penalties for this.
This discussion has been closed.
Meet your Ambassadors

🚀 Getting Started

Hi new member!

Our Getting Started Guide will help you get the most out of the Forum

Categories

  • All Categories
  • 348.2K Banking & Borrowing
  • 252.1K Reduce Debt & Boost Income
  • 452.4K Spending & Discounts
  • 240.8K Work, Benefits & Business
  • 617.1K Mortgages, Homes & Bills
  • 175.6K Life & Family
  • 254K Travel & Transport
  • 1.5M Hobbies & Leisure
  • 16K Discuss & Feedback
  • 15.1K Coronavirus Support Boards

Is this how you want to be seen?

We see you are using a default avatar. It takes only a few seconds to pick a picture.