Credit Card help

Hetup

This is a strange question, and i am almost certain i know the answer, but here goes..

I have 4 credit cards with an income of £260 to pay them off.
HSBC £1840 @1.671 Per month Approx £30 Interest and £50 Min
Halifax £232 @ 27.45 Per annum Approx £6 interest and £11 min
BarclayCard £2444 @ 7.8% Annual Approx £16 Interest and £57 Min
Mbna £892 @2.2071% Per Month Approx £22 Interest and £31 Min

Total over all cards £5408 (rounded up) £74 per month interest and £149 per month Minimum Payment. plus £110 to throw at what i can.

So I should concentrate taking down MBNA as quickly as possible, followed by HSBC? There is a Balance transfer available with Halifax, the APR is 16% and im not sure that is a good idea

I can withdraw cash from my Barclaycard account, (at 15.8%) is it worth withdrawing the cash needed to clear the MBNA balance?

Basically this is my question!

This is so depressing, I need to clear it as quickly as possible, i consider a loan buy thats going to be with an apr of 29%
according to experian i have a good credit score

TadleyBaggie

£260 a month, I suspect that is JSA? No sensible leader is going to give you a loan, with that little income and so much existing debt.

MrSilk

Up Sh*t creek without a paddle comes to mind, I'm not really too sure what to suggest.

I would not recommend for anyone to make cash withdrawals using a credit card, it's very very expensive. And you want to withdraw cash from a card you already owe nearly £2.5k on to pay off another card which you only owe £800 on? Am I missing something?

I'd recommend calling a debt help line to see if they can speak to the lenders and see if they can stop the interest for a period of time while you catch up on payments, or maybe find employment or a better job?

SnowTiger

MrSilk wrote: »

Up Sh*t creek without a paddle comes to mind, I'm not really too sure what to suggest.

[...]

I'd recommend calling a debt help line to see if they can speak to the lenders and see if they can stop the interest for a period of time while you catch up on payments, or maybe find employment or a better job?

It seems the situation is even worse than that:

Hetup wrote: »

My husband has to do one of these for his job..

I have £5400 credit card debt that i have not told him about.. Will they tell him? will it affect his DV?

If i told him it would be divorce for sure, so there is no way i can tell him, unless i have a definitive plan in place.
Please help?

I did a credit check of myself and it came up as "good" so will that help?

I think OP needs some professional advice. CAB would probably be a good place to start. It's gone beyond seeking help from strangers on an Internet forum.

JakeGreen

Hetup wrote: »

I have 4 credit cards with an income of £260 to pay them off.

You mean you have £260 a month which you can use to pay off your cards?

I think MBNA first, then Halifax, then HSBC leaving the Barclaycard until the end.

Only use your credit cards for cash withdrawals as a last resort as the interest rate is higher.

MrSilk

SnowTiger wrote: »

It seems the situation is even worse than that:



I think OP needs some professional advice. CAB would probably be a good place to start. It's gone beyond seeking help from strangers on an Internet forum.

I'd second that

Thegirl

The rule with 'snowballing' cards is to clear the one with the highest interest rate first, then the next highest until cleared. Do not borrow cash on a card and do not do the balance transfer at that rate, neither are a good way forward.

Your problem from your other post is more complex. Perhaps once you've got a plan of attacking the debt clear to yourself then is the time to speak to your husband about the debt. Not judging, I've kept debt secret too, it's just not that healthy a thing to do in a relationship. It is a good thing for you to come up with a solution for getting rid of the debt on the cards as it helps you learn and prevent the situation from happening again.

De-clutter the house and sell stuff on ebay and throw that money at the debt.

Also, go to the debt free wanabee board, have a read of a few posts then prepare your SOA (statement of accounts). This lets other people see what you are spending and offer tips to help reduce bills and other liabilities. The less you spend elsewhere, the more you can throw at the debt. It feels a bit 'exposed' but people will help you save money and that is what you currently need.

Good luck.

The_Boss

Hetup wrote: »

according to experian i have a good credit score

:rotfl:

(sorry, that was mean, but it's further evidence of how pointless the Experian scores really are).

My suggestion, as also mentioned above, would be to post on the Debt Free Wannabe board with a statement of affairs (or maybe a mod will move it for you) and also get professional advice as it's going to be a big problem paying them off if you have unexpected expenses and it will take a long long time.

For what it's worth, as repayment advice I'd advise to pay off the Halifax first and see if they offer you a 0% balance transfer in future rather than the 16%. Psychologically clearing one card will help you focus on the others and potentially feel a little less depressed but do not then spend on it. There's not a great deal of difference between the interest you'd pay on that v the MBNA (which you should start to pay off next).

CLAPTON

Hetup wrote: »

This is a strange question, and i am almost certain i know the answer, but here goes..

I have 4 credit cards with an income of £260 to pay them off.
HSBC £1840 @1.671 Per month Approx £30 Interest and £50 Min
Halifax £232 @ 27.45 Per annum Approx £6 interest and £11 min
BarclayCard £2444 @ 7.8% Annual Approx £16 Interest and £57 Min
Mbna £892 @2.2071% Per Month Approx £22 Interest and £31 Min

Total over all cards £5408 (rounded up) £74 per month interest and £149 per month Minimum Payment. plus £110 to throw at what i can.

So I should concentrate taking down MBNA as quickly as possible, followed by HSBC? There is a Balance transfer available with Halifax, the APR is 16% and im not sure that is a good idea

I can withdraw cash from my Barclaycard account, (at 15.8%) is it worth withdrawing the cash needed to clear the MBNA balance?

Basically this is my question!

This is so depressing, I need to clear it as quickly as possible, i consider a loan buy thats going to be with an apr of 29%
according to experian i have a good credit score

just doing the maths

HSBC has an APR of 22%
Halifax has an APR of 27.4%
Barclay has an APR of 7.8%
MBNA has an APR of 29%

so the order you should pay off the debts
is MBNA
then Halifax
then HSBC
the Barclaycard


assuming that Barclaycard do not charge a fee as well as interest at 15.8 % for cash then it does make sense to use this cash to pay off the other credit cards.

However be very careful about using a CC to draw cash as this may damage your credit rating and B/Card may withdraw the privilege if used too often.

The_Boss

CLAPTON wrote: »

just doing the maths

HSBC has an APR of 22%
Halifax has an APR of 27.4%
Barclay has an APR of 7.8%
MBNA has an APR of 29%

so the order you should pay off the debts
is MBNA
then Halifax
then HSBC
the Barclaycard


assuming that Barclaycard do not charge a fee as well as interest at 15.8 % for cash then it does make sense to use this cash to pay off the other credit cards.

However be very careful about using a CC to draw cash as this may damage your credit rating and B/Card may withdraw the privilege if used too often.

Interesting. Do you not think that with such a small difference between the interest rates of MBNA and Halifax, that the Halifax is clearable in one payment and the possibility of then getting a 0% or lower rate offer that it would be best to target Halifax before MBNA?

CLAPTON

The_Boss wrote: »

Interesting. Do you not think that with such a small difference between the interest rates of MBNA and Halifax, that the Halifax is clearable in one payment and the possibility of then getting a 0% or lower rate offer that it would be best to target Halifax before MBNA?

I don't disagree.