Consolidate Debt on 3 cards or wait

m150984

Hi all,

Myself and my wife currently have 3 credit cards between us with the below balances on them and 0% interest.

Card 1.) Balance £4600 @ 0% until September 2019
Card 2.) Balance £4500 @ 0% until Jan 2021
Card 3.) Balance £2900 @ 0% until July 2020

We're trying to work out the best way to pay them and are looking at paying about £230 a month across them all. I'm wondering if it would be easier to take a loan and consolidate all the debts or try and pay some off before looking at a loan option. My worry is that if we get to the end of the 0% on Card 1 it could be a struggle to get another card with a large enough credit limit to transfer the balance. My wife had an Amex cc with a balance of £6000, when the interest free period ended she was only able to get a new card after various eligibility searches with a maximum limit of £3000, I had to get another card to transfer the additional £3000 from her card. We are home owners with no defaults on any payments over the past 6 years.

Any advice would be good? :beer:

[Deleted User]

What are your balances, limits and incomes, split between you and your wife?

Ebe_Scrooge

You've currently got debts at 0% interest, and you're thinking of shifting them to a loan that charges interest ?


Seems like a good plan to me


Seriously, you'd be far better cutting back on your outgoings and concentrating on paying the cards off before the 0% period expires. If you could aim to increase your payments to £500pm, you'll have them all cleared in 2 years. Compare that with the amount of extra interest you'll be paying if you were to take out a loan ( even if you got accepted for one ).


Alternatively, concentrate on paying off the one that expires soonest, first, and make only minimum payments to the others. Then do the same for the one that expires next, etc. If you can combine this tactic with increasing the amount you pay a bit, it could work out that you'll be OK.


Head over the DFW board, post an SOA, I bet you'd be surprised at where you can make some savings in your budget. Short-term pain for long-term gain

m150984

Income for us both is £86,400

Card 1 Limit £5900 with a balance of £4600
Card 2 Limit of £5000 with a balance of £4500
Card 3 Limit of £3000 with a balance of £2900

Dobbibill

What are the minimum payments on the cards?

How much are you actually paying off them each month?

Ebe_Scrooge

m150984 wrote: »

Income for us both is £86,400

£86K is a pretty reasonable income by any standards. Why do you say you're currently paying just £230 a month across all 3 cards ?


Obviously, it's easy to be "flippant" without knowing your expenditure - which is why doing an SOA may be helpful. But, on the face of it, and in the absence of any further information - is there any reason you can't substantially increase the monthly payments to the cards ? If you can do this, even if it means going without a few luxuries for a short while, you'll be shot of the debt in no time.

m150984

what is an SOA?

We have a number of large loans which are are paying at the moment, one finishes in May and the other Feb 19.

Dobbibill

SOA - statement of affairs.

http://www.stoozing.com/calculator/soa.php

format it for MSE at the bottom, post it here (if you want) and the good people of the forum will help you to see where savings can be made to throw against your debt and be rid sooner.

molerat

Pay the 2 longest at minimum and anything left over at the first expiring. How much will the 2 loans free up ? The problem is that you need to pay the first one at £200 pm to pay off before the 0% ends and approx £420 across them all.

Sncjw

What are you spending 5 k a month on