Balance transferred for hopefully the last time

Tyrone_Black

In the last year I've paid my debt down from around £7k to £2.7k, while also putting together savings of around £5k. I've decided that I now trust myself not to spend on credit any more - the only things I've bought on credit in the last year are big items I've wanted Section 75 on, and paid them off immediately - so I've just transferred what's left of the debt to a Virgin 32 month 0% card. £85 a month does it and my savings can keep rising.

A few months ago I was determined to pay it all off but I think I'm at a point where I can acknowledge that the level of debt is no longer a big issue and I can slow it down. I expect I'll make the odd big payment here and there if I get a bit panicky but things feel calm now.

So, I'll bookmark this thread and set a reminder to come back in a while and see if I was right to trust myself. Thanks for all the help.

aphill24

Hi Tyrone,

Just like to say well done and it is a mirror image of what I have been doing for the past 14 months. I always made the mistake of paying off the most I could manage to bring my 0% balance down but never saved alongside for the unexpected.
After reading the forum here for I soon learnt how important it is to have a cushion for the rainy day and indeed it came in handy this year when out Garden gates were damaged in a storm. (Insurance didn't cover storm damage which was gutting)
I have two 0% credit cards that I set up to be paid off in full this October £100 each month so looking forward to being able to save this every month. Ideally I want a £5000 emergency fund. I was of the opinion having debt on 0% didn't really bother me but now I am nearly there I will never again put anything on a cc that I can't pay off within the 56 day period that interest is not added.

My sister & Brother in law have recently been through a very bad time and racked up debts of over 50k on cc. How they are able to do this is beyond me as I think the fsa should restrict companies from lending this amount. Clearly it is the person's fault for overspending but when you see their health suffer I really do think it is the Banks who should prevent it in the first place and not wait until such sums are racked up before people fail to pay the minimum amount.

The only reason I am keeping a cc open is for car hire and section 75 otherwise I would be quite happy to live off the emergency fun and pay it back just like paying a cc,