sell shares to pay debt?

Boiledegg_2

I owe approximately 4k on my credit card at an
APR of 3.9%.

I have shares in BT worth just under 4k
- should I sell my shares and clear my debt?

Would like to clear debt asap but don't know
if this a viable option.

Help please.

CLAPTON

of course why not.
once debt free you can always start to buy them again if you think they are good vale.

Voyager2002

I must say, 3.9 per cent is a good rate if you are a borrower. It is entirely possible that your shares will earn more than that for you, even after tax.

If you expect to buy anything expensive in the near future (car, new kitchen, whatever) then do not sell the shares to pay off the debt, since you would probably pay a lot more interest on a car loan or whatever.

sicker

If you can hold on until ex.div date (22 August) you will get the 10p per share dividend to be paid in September. You appear to have about 1000 shares which will give you £100.

John

Boiledegg_2

Many thanks for advice - have decided
to hold onto my shares for now - plus
I hadn't heard about the extra dividend
due in August and every little penny helps.

sicker

Boiledegg, it's not an extra dividend, it's the final dividend for the year. BT pays 2 dividends each year (all being well), an interim div. in February and a final dividend in September. The dividend is normally paid in the proportion of 1/3 of the full years dividend as the interim and 2/3 as the final. The date in August is the ex.div date. If you hold the shares on that date you will get the dividend in September, if you sell them before that date you wil miss out on the September dividend.

[Deleted User]

Remember the share price changes when a share goes ex div as the buyer does not get the dividend, you do, as the seller.