Advice on paying of 2 high interest credit cards please.

asoe209

Hello all, not sure if posted in the right place, but.....

I was hoping for some advice on paying off my credit cards.

I have had bad credit in the past so I took out a credit card to help rebuild which was going well to start off with. I had it paid off at the end of every month so that was great.

Towards the end of last year I had to to use it for some stuff that was going on and pretty much hit my limit.

I had a second card that was for emergencies and that to had to be used.

So now I have 2 high interest cards around 30%,

As I really want to get the balances down now I was wondering what the best way to bring them down is.

The limit on one is £1600 and the other is £1000.

So would I be better to pay the minimum on the £1000 card and then just pay as much as I can a month on the other to bring it down.

Until now I have just been paying just over the minimum on both cards which is around £50-60 each a month.

I would pay more but I also have other things that I own money to like my catalogue. Which Are on buy now pay later but coming to the end of there terms so more is going on that until September when they are paid off.

moved as in wrong section

alfred64

You will reduce your debt on both cards even if you pay the minimum -Providing you do no more spending on them.
Could you not try for a new card with an introductory interest free period on balance transfers - and then close the old account? I found that to be an effective and cheaper way some time ago to reduce my not inconsiderable debt burden .

sharpy2010

alfred64 wrote: »

Could you not try for a new card with an introductory interest free period on balance transfers - and then close the old account? I found that to be an effective and cheaper way some time ago to reduce my not inconsiderable debt burden .

Just done this myself, this is excellent advice from Alfred64.

osborn99

He/she won't get a 0% card. You need to sit down and go through your outgoings. See what you can save, what you don't need etc...

It's important to pay off your catalogue debt first because if you let it run they will charge interest from the first day you bought the item.

bouncydog1

Start a thread over on the debt free board so you can see where you can save some money. Your buy now pay later must be paid as quickly as possible. The interest rate is going to be horrendous and if you breach the terms by even one day you are going to be charged interest from day 1.

If you have had your lighbulb moment then your debt can probably be paid down fairly quickly - second job, reduce mobile package, stop eating out, drop sky etc. etc. However you have to be committed to do this and stop relying on your cards.

opinions4u

Pay the minimum payment plus £1 on everything.

If you have additional spare money after doing this allocate it all to the debt with the highest interest rate.

pheonixrising21

asoe209 wrote: »

Hello all, not sure if posted in the right place, but.....

I was hoping for some advice on paying off my credit cards.

I have had bad credit in the past so I took out a credit card to help rebuild which was going well to start off with. I had it paid off at the end of every month so that was great.

Towards the end of last year I had to to use it for some stuff that was going on and pretty much hit my limit.

I had a second card that was for emergencies and that to had to be used.

So now I have 2 high interest cards around 30%,

As I really want to get the balances down now I was wondering what the best way to bring them down is.

The limit on one is £1600 and the other is £1000.

So would I be better to pay the minimum on the £1000 card and then just pay as much as I can a month on the other to bring it down.

Until now I have just been paying just over the minimum on both cards which is around £50-60 each a month.

I would pay more but I also have other things that I own money to like my catalogue. Which Are on buy now pay later but coming to the end of there terms so more is going on that until September when they are paid off.

moved as in wrong section

When it comes to paying the cards, from the figures you have given, does the lower balance (£1000) have a higher interest rate. if you are paying a similar amount each month for both, then the lower balance one must have a higher rate, so get rid of this first.

Also, Cap One do a 0% balance transfer for 6 months. This might be useful (and easier to get than other lenders). However, the interest rate is 39.9% after the 6 months, so if you apply for one of these and get it, make sure you can clear all your trasnfer onto it within 6 months!

Thats what I've done. I swapped my 18.9% tesco card for the 0% Cap One card and am tackling that one first, despite it having the lowest interest rate. It saves me over £12 a month in interest against the Tesco one I ditched. With this, I took the amount I transferred across and divided by 6. I make sure I pay this figure off each month and this month I will pay off the purchase I made on it last month as an extra payment.

At the end of the 6 months my balance will be £0 and I will politely ask Cap One if they would be willing to offer me another 6 months 0% BT and move some of my AA card to it and repeat the process. If they decline, I will cancel the card and apply elsewhere

asoe209

I have pretty much cut every thing that i can the only thing that is really sucking me now is smoking which is about 4 pound a day.

As for cards the intrest is the same may be 5% difference both cards are minimum payment of about 50 right now which i add 10 pound more to on each.

The cat is being paid and main focus as the intrest will be crazy on that

I have a 2nd job but where i have recentley moved this is where im finding things hard.

Ill check about that balance transfer tomorrow but there is no way i can get a 0% card....

izools

Are you smoking ready made cigarettes? I switched to rollies and have never looked back

Lol... "The cat is being paid". I'm getting images in my head of a cat on HP and being repossessed and stuck in a pound for falling into arrears :rotfl:



Charlie Says "Always pay off the highest interest rate first"

dresdendave

asoe209 wrote: »

I have pretty much cut every thing that i can the only thing that is really sucking me now is smoking which is about 4 pound a day. ....

That's about £120 a month that could be going towards repaying your cards.

asoe209 wrote: »

As for cards the intrest is the same may be 5% difference both cards are minimum payment of about 50 right now which i add 10 pound more to on each.
...

If one has a 5% higher APR put all your overpayment on that one, don't share it with the lower APR card.

arcon5

Look at the rates on your Buy Now Pay Later agreements. It may be cheaper to pay them with one of the CCs if you feel you may miss the deadline