Advice on best action to take

Jolyon_mark

Hello everyone,

I would like to make a purchase that will cost me upwards £1,500.00 and I was not sure what the best method would be.

I have good credit and pay my monthly's (DD, Minimum payments etc.) on time but my savings suck. I currently have 2 CC's. One is a monthly bill paying card and gets paid off usually every month of so. I also have a CC that i made a balance transfer (£1,500.00) on and I have a monthly payment of £100.00 taking care of this one before the end of the 0% rate. Apart from that no other debt.

I am not sure if i should ask the CC company with the 0% that I have if I can make the purchase and continue to pay the monthly £100.00 maybe upping it £200.00 or if I should apply for another card. they upped my limit to allow me to make purchases by I think the interest rises when I do until I have paid the whole card off ans they make money this way.

I am also was not sure f I should open up a bank account that comes with its own CC as I am about to start a new business and I would need to route money to a bank account and credit card anyway and the purchase is connected to the new business (office equipment) as well.

Please get stuck in with any views or opinions. Ideally though I would like to assess my options and make a decision by the end of the week. This is my first post so please go kindly.

Thanks in advance.

Mark

chattychappy

Unless you have only recently taken out your 0% purchase card, you might get a longer deal on a new card. You could try the eligibility checker to see what you might qualify for. https://www.moneysavingexpert.com/eligibility/credit-cards/

I'll state the obvious before somebody else does. You already have some debt, and are planning to take on alot more. You're starting a new business (good luck) - but will you still have your existing income to meet the repayments and/or the running costs of the business before your sales revenue comes in?

Dobbibill

Hi Mark,

Good luck with your new business venture.

I echo chattychappy, how will this impact your ability to repay any debt. You are looking to double your debt with one purchase. Is it essential? Can it wait? Not looking for you to answer these questions, just food for thought for you to consider.

If you have to make the purchase, have you considered making the purchase on your monthly bills CC and then moving it to your BT card, assuming the limits and offers are in place for this. Admittedly, you will pay a BT fee of normally around 3% but only you know if your cards have the capability and if the purchase is worth this.

All the best.

Jolyon_mark

Thanks for the greet replies.

I am and will bthe still employed whilst I am developing a business. I have a rolling 3 year contract with the government to provide independent reports for a court and a government statutory body. There is little chance this work will dry up but its not consistent enough and is not future proof. Hence the business as I can provide a similar service in the private sector and then develop other services around this.

The business I want to develop has very little costs associated with it. No staffing costs (as I will do most of the work) or office costs, just administration, driving and computer hardware. I need myself, a computer and a way to get from A to B. I am fortunate to be in this position I must admit.

I did complete the eligibility checker and it cam back with 95% for 5 to 10 CC's with 0% and then more below that. Overall, I am pretty good with my debt so much so I have not mortgage for the house I own. I am not in the league of others on this site or in general though but I own my house.

To repay the debt I was thinking £100 to £150.00/month for 12 to 18 months seemed reasonable and this would not break the bank ot cause to much hardship. The issue I have is getting paid promptly from my contract work when I submit a fee claim. I cannot change the issues I have been having but to bi-pass it and not rely on it as much.

Some recent changes with the frequency and consistency have affected my finances dramatically. So much so I have been paid very little when I am owed substantial pay (2 months in arrears). These issues have been occurring before Christmas and I have found have not improved since then. I have been told this will be managed and will get better but I believe I have found that the frequency of payments has been cut by 2/3's to once a week and if there is any difficulty it may take up to 3 weeks to rectify so I need to find a new revenue stream. Its funny how some decision-makers think a cost saving in one place will be helpful but it actually probably only guarantees that the savings will be eaten up by recruitment costs later and the people the system support only become more uneasy and anxious so find alternatives, perpetuating the issue. Still I was informed recently by a senior official not to worry I will receive funds on this day. The funds were not deposited so I realised that the authority they have is limited and what will be will be. there is little point complaining and the best action was to act and be more independent and rely on my self more.

The purchase is for a new computer and office equipment. Its also tax deductible as well if the accountant plays nice. its not as though I cannot work on the laptop I have but 8 to 12 hours a day on a laptop is not appropriate so I believe a desktop would be better.

Also the MBP I have is not 4 years old so I am wary that this will stop running soon and will need replacing as well.

Still though the central question is;

Should I get a bank account with overdraft and CC associated with it for the business. I am hoping to start the account with a few thousand in to get me going to pay for website, PO Box, company registration etc and within one month work should be coming in.

or

Rate tart a Credit Card get a 0% on purchases for £2K and set up a £100.00/month DD and not worry about where I open the business account. Probably NatWest as I bank with them.

Any thoughts?

I do agree though. Why add to the existing debt. I am finding that with the frequency of payments being erratic I cannot save money.

eskbanker

Jolyon_mark wrote: »

its not as though I cannot work on the laptop I have but 8 to 12 hours a day on a laptop is not appropriate so I believe a desktop would be better.

A desktop may indeed be better but you could always buy a monitor, keyboard and mouse to use with a laptop if you're struggling to use a laptop for long periods?

Jolyon_mark

I too have considered this but my wife completes some of the administration for the work I complete as she highlighted that it would be nice as she has to rely on a tablet for everything she does.

If I added just a screen and docked the MBP there are also security risks to consider. Some documents I receive are designated protected private and then occasionally protected sensitive within data protection fields so I am hesitant to breach the rules I have when dealing with these.

The ideal solution is a new computer that I could usually afford but as someone who is self employed i suffered irregular payments for work completed, highs and lows with work being assigned and 4 weeks unpaid paternity leave. I have just come back to work again to face difficulties with receiving pay and irregular work allocations. on the other side I am being asked to complete private client work within the sector I work and the possibility to grow and dvelop this further. given thenew tax year and that I have been thinking about how I would develop, manage, grow a business I am in my mind ready to move forward and actually start something.

The timing is good and I am being reminded that relying on even a government contract providing a statutory service and specific role I am still vulnerable. So having that work as a secondary income stream seems better then relying on it fully. but I digress...

Thanks