Order to pay debts in

Hopeless_Case

We've just put our credit card debt onto two 0% cards, one of which is for 0% for 18 months, and the other is twice the balance, and 0% for 30 months.

The aim was to pay the minimum on the bigger one and throw every extra penny at getting the lower one paid off asap, then go onto paying off the bigger one, then onto overpaying the mortgage.

But I'm wondering about just paying the minimum on the cards and put the extra money into the mortgage, so as to save interest? This relies on more 0% deals being available at the end of the current ones, so I don't know if it's daft/ reckless.

One alternative which doesn't seem risky is to work out exactly what we'd have to pay in order to pay each card off by the date of the deals ending ( we were hoping to do it sooner), and just pay that and put the extra onto paying off the mortgage, or maybe somewhere in the middle (more than the minimum on the ccs, but not enough to pay them off, the rest on the mortgage, so there was less balance to try and get a 0% transfer at the end?)

We've re-mortgaged and have 5 years at a low rate and then we want to remortgage at the end of the fixed rate term and we'd like to shorten the term and would like to have reduced the balance as much as possible but don't want to be stupid or take risks

Hopeless_Case

I know it's silly o'clock and not expecting anyone to reply now, but I found myself wide awake and to pass the time, I've had a look at the snowballing calculator - I'm not sure if I'm not doing it properly but the order it's telling me to pay things off isn't making sense.

I've put the standard APR as the rates the cards would go to once the 0% period was over and then the length of the 0% period in the 'introductory interest rate' bit, and it's suggesting paying off the Tesco card first (I can only guess this is because the rate would eventually be higher if we didn't pay it off or move it before the end of the 0% period), which takes the First Direct card 9 or 10 months over the end of the 0% period, up til October 2020 - the Tesco cc, which has 30 months @ 0%, would be paid off February 20, which is obviously the wrong way round, so I can't trust the figures at all

Can someone advise if I'm using it wrongly in the way I'm entering the interest rates? It doesn't seem to recognise the introductory 0% period

I'm thinking now that the best bet is to work out exactly how much to pay in order to pay each card off by the end of its 0% period, and just pay that, and then as soon as the First Direct one is paid off (in 18 months), use that money to start overpaying the mortgage - slightly complicated by the fact that the minimum overpayt on the mortgage is £500 so I'd have to put the money aside and pay every couple of months (unless they would increase the dd each month of course)

Tyjen

have you thought about consolidation? a debt consolidation loan involves taking out a single loan that pays off your existing debts. This could work out cheaper if you're offered a lower rate of interest overall, when comparing it to your other debts' interest rates.

itchyfeet123

Tyjen wrote: »

have you thought about consolidation? a debt consolidation loan involves taking out a single loan that pays off your existing debts. This could work out cheaper if you're offered a lower rate of interest overall, when comparing it to your other debts' interest rates.

Lower than 0%?

datlex

Personally I would pay the smaller one with the shorter 0%. Then put the money from that to the second.

Hopeless_Case

Thanks - I think we'll definitely work on getting rid of the smaller one asap, then decide what to focus on next