Best way to clear this debt?

drokkeh

Hi All.

Just looking for some advice on clearing some debt (best way to do it).

I have 2 debts at the moment as per below:

£2000 overdraft with Lloyds Bank
£2900 on Lloyds Mastercard credit card.

Since the change to Lloyd's overdraft charges I am paying significantly more than I used to. I havent worked it out exactly but i'm sure its more than £60 per month in overdraft fees (used to be around £30 per month).

I saw an offer from Lloyd's whereby I can transfer a balance from my credit card to my current account at a rate of 4.5%.

Is it a good idea to go ahead with this and clear my overdraft. So the only debt I will have will be on the credit card?

Was wondering if I can then get a 0% credit card and transfer the balance from the Lloyds one to the new one etc.

Thanks

EssexHebridean

First step - Statement of Affairs (SOA) so you can see where you stand in terms of being able to throw additional amounts at the debts to get them cleared - that also gives you a solid monthly budget to learn to work with. You'll find the SOA link in my signature.

Have a look at the MSE credit Club eligibility calculator to see where you stand on possibly nabbing a 0% "money transfer" card to shift the Lloyds overdraft balance to - you can then use any surplus to get the Lloyds CC gone and then focus on the 0% CC, but if doing that you MUST close the Lloyds CC and not spend on the new 0% card.

drokkeh

Thanks. Well I joined the MSE credit club.

Experian score 998
90% chance of getting a top balance transfer card
90% chance of getting a top 0% spending card

The SOA calculator was a little confusing as some details im not sure of e.g CC % repayment rate etc but I think I can afford to pay £300 per month off debt as a rough guess.

When you mention " 0% "money transfer" card" are you talking about a balance transfer card?

Edit: I think i need a card that does both money transfer (to kill my overdraft) and balance transfer (from my existing lloyds CC to the new card) at a low rate?

EssexHebridean

Yes - money transfer will clear the OD - personally I'd apply for that one first then give it a couple of months before applying for the BT card as well. I don't think there are too many out there that will give you 0% on both.

By that time you will have made a good impact on the CC as well at £300 a month plus the fees you're not paying for the OD plus the existing monthly payment.

Something you MUST do though is to stop using credit cards until you have this paid off at least. If you spend on the 0% card you'll potentially end up in a worse position.