Transfer current credit card to 0% credit card?

Loopy_Lou91

Hello all,

I’m new to the site after having a bit of a mare yesterday. I graduated in July 2013 and have been using the HSBC graduate account as I used their student account and didn’t feel the need to change it.

I am currently in employment, but for one reason or another I’ve managed to get myself over my overdraft limit and I have £600 on my credit card linked to the account. This led to my rent not getting taking out of my account yesterday.

I’ve gone through all my finances today, and I could potentially pay off my overdraft with savings I kept for a holiday in November (inheritance). I’m also going to move my direct debits all to one place and so I can keep track of all my bills as I had managed to have some come out of my graduate account and some out of a separate account.

Now, for the credit card. Would it be an idea to get a 0% card for 18 months, transfer the balance of my current credit card over to that one so I’m not paying interest then pay it off gradually before the term runs out? If so how do you go about paying off one credit card with another?

Any ideas or help would be greatly appreciated!

Thank you in advance

chattychappy

It does sound like a good idea.

The risk with getting more credit is that it becomes a temptation to spend more. But it sounds like you are getting a grip so perhaps this isn't an issue. If you're spending (inc on interest) more than you are earning you're stuffed anyway. Shuffling debt just puts off the evil moment. Reducing interest does improve things a bit, but don't miss any chances to cut your spending.

The best deals aren't easy to get if you don't have a great credit history. Also you might not get a credit limit sufficiently high to clear the existing balance. Anything is better than nothing, so go for it. Some CCs, for a fee, allow you to transfer funds to your current account. This might be worth it if you are paying nasty rates of interest on your overdraft.

In general, it is a bit silly to keep savings whilst at the same time paying interest on debt. So I would pay down some of your debt using your savings, but perhaps keep a small buffer.