Here we go...

nickster1970

Rightyho - as a debt free, wannabee mortgage free person, I've decided to go into stoozing to boost up my mortgage overpayments pot as much as possible.

I followed the advice on this website, and, having never had a credit card before, was astonished to be approved immediately for Martin's recommended Halifax 15 month 0% card. With a credit limit of £11,000. No wonder people get into trouble.

So, here's my question - what would you expert stoozers do in my situation? I'm already set up with an ICICI Savings account, and my Cash ISA is also full this year...

Advice much appreciated!

Keep saving,

N

Clariman

Hi nickster. Welcome to the world of stoozing.

What would we recommend? Well, firstly I would do some more reading on stoozing - there is plenty of information here and on the stoozing website. Having gone for the Halifax 15 months on purchases, you are clearly going down the slow stoozing route (Martin calls this "Simply Spend Stoozing") where you use 0% offers on Purchases. Others call it slow stoozing because it takes time to build up your stooz pot, as it gets accumulated over the months as you spend. That is in contrast to conventional (fast) stoozing where we exploit 0% offers on Balance Transfers to amass a large stooz pot quickly. For example, I had dipped out of stoozing for a few months and then built my stooz pot from £0 to £60,000 in under 2 weeks. My point here is that you should take a look at fast stoozing too. It may be that, as a new stoozer, you don't feel so comfortable with doing that straight off but it is certainly the most profitable way to stooz.

You mention that you have an ICICI Savings Account. That certainly pays a decent amount of interest, but I would recommend keeping your normal savings and your stooz pot separate. Although it is not strictly necessary, I think it is wise to totally separate your stoozing money (which you should not spend) from the rest of your money. The current top payer is the Bradford and Bingley Internet Saver which has recently been launched, paying 6.4% APR.

There is bags of information out there. If you have already exhausted Martin's stoozing article, then you may also want to take a look at the stoozing calculators (slow and fast), articles, card tables and savings account tables at the stoozing website (sponsored by MSE).

Good luck
Clariman

nickster1970

Thanks for your really helpful post - I'll probably dip my toe into the water with slow stoozing, before I consider upping the speed. I'm usually fairly organised in things financial, but I want to be 100% on top of what I'm doing...and the Bradford & Bingley account is now open and ready to go!

Thanks again,

N