Advice on dealing with CC debt...

familyguy12

I took out a Virgin Money credit card to avail of balance transfers to get me through a tough period.

I am close to the max limit on the card having borrowed over
£2k for which I am meeting the monthly repayment on of about £25.00 - £30.00 approx.

This is manageable but ideally I'd like to pay it off sooner if possible.

Would it make sense (given I don't have any extra 'normal' income from wages etc free to put towards it) to take out another 0% credit card to help pay off the Virgin one?

That would mean I have 2 cards on the go but would it make sense to take another 0% card and say take a balance transfer of £500 and pay off a lump sum on the Virgin card?

I have been reading through various threads but each person's case is unique so it's hard to know which advice is best to follow.

Cheers

eskbanker

If your references to 'another' 0% card mean that your existing Virgin card is already a 0% one then I can't see any point in what you're suggesting, but if you're paying interest on your current card and can get a 0% BT deal then yes, you'd end up paying less in total by doing so, although you might find that two separate minimum monthly repayments exceed what you're currently paying on one.

PeacefulWaters

If both cards are at 0% what's the point?

You'll just increase your total debt by the amount of the balance transfer fee.

What rate is your existing card on?

How long for?

BoGoF

What is the current balance on the card and how long have you left on the 0% offer - if you are actually still on 0%, as others have said it's not 100% clear. Basically if you still have a few months left on your deal then there is no sense in your suggestion - as has bee said you will actually increase the amount you owe after the balance transfer fee is added on.


The fact you are saying that £25 - £30 per month is 'manageable' but you don't have any extra money to pay down this debt would suggest you are financially stretched?

StopIt

If you're only paying the bare minimum of this debt and can't pay any more, I suggest visiting the DFW boards, posting up an SOA and trying to find ways to make savings to get on top of this debt.


Paying £30 a month will take 5 and a half years just to pay this off, assuming you keep managing to stay on 0%, which may not happen. Take action to get on top of this ASAP.

CaptainSlow88

As others have said, if you're currently on a 0% card, there's no point taking out another 0% card. If your current card has an interest rate applied, then it's maybe worth taking out a 0% card. Additionally, if you're only making the minimum payment it is highly likely that you won't clear the debt by the time the interest-free period is up, at which point it may be worth taking out another 0% card and transferring the remaining balance to it.