A bit of help and reducing APR

ev8

Hello.

Over the years I have amassed a bit of debt, it's now something I feel in a position to do something about at last.

I would like to start with the smaller balances on credit cards, so I can then feel some accomplishment as each one clears, which I plan to do in a small amount of time.

I would also like to ask my credit card companies to reduce my APR on the cards. Can I do this, and how successful would I be?

I have a good credit score, I believe. I always make my payments on time and all of my cards ave been increasing my allowance (I haven't been using them at all for about half a year).

Would it be worth applying for another card with a 0% balance transfer? Do they still exist?


As a side note, I have some disabilities which can make me slow to comprehend certain things, so apologies if some of my questions may seem silly.

Thank you for any help.

EssexHebridean

Ev8 I've just spotted that you never got a reply to this - and in the light of your recent post concerning possibly entering into a DMP I felt it might be prudent to reply here also.

Balance transfer cards to take debt onto 0% can really help - particularly when you're struggling with the payments you can make clearing interest but hardly having any impact on capital - you might think about signing up to the MSE credit Club as this will help you to establish what you might be eligible for, if anything. There are also things called "low life of balance" cards which could be worth a look - but obviously try for the 0% options first.

In the meantime you know I take it to pay off the cards with the highest interest charges first - "snowballing" so you pay everything you can spare to the highest interest rate card while just paying minimums to the others - as soon as that first one is gone you pay everything you were paying to card 1 to the next highest interest - does that make sense?

If you haven't already put together a SOA (Statement of Affairs) then you might find it helpful - the link is in my signature. You could also consider posting that in here and we can take a look over it and see if there is anywhere that you may be able to make savings that you've not thought of.

ev8

Thank you for this reply.

First of all, sorry if I seem confused, I have disorders which mess with my mental ability and some days it can take me a bit to catch on!

Yes, I know about snowballing, so you pay one and then the money you was using goes to the next one. I think this is the best option for me, I have spare cash at the end of the month and would like to put it into paying off some of this debt.

I had no idea about the credit club, I'm going to sign up now as I really feel that's something that will help me see where I am.

I don't feel that a DMP will be for me. I'm not very organised with this, and saw about it and thought, 'why not' but I wouldn't want to do that.

I've just taken the credit club test and it says it's very good, nearing into excellent, and that I have a 95% chance of getting a balance transfer credit card, so that seems quite promising.

ev8

Wow, just looked at it further, thanks for providing this information, it really lays everything out, doesn't it?

EssexHebridean

It makes it all incredibly clear - it's a great thing for anyone to use whether they are currently paying off debt or not, as it gives you so many options! Very pleased it works well for you!

From what you're saying (money spare, possibly places you can cut back etc) I agree that a DMP doesn't sound like the right option for you.

ev8

EssexHebridean wrote: »

It makes it all incredibly clear - it's a great thing for anyone to use whether they are currently paying off debt or not, as it gives you so many options! Very pleased it works well for you!

From what you're saying (money spare, possibly places you can cut back etc) I agree that a DMP doesn't sound like the right option for you.

Yes, it was quite amazing how everything is just there for you, your whole history and accounts and everything. There's so much detail, it's so useful.

No, I think I was mistaken in that, completely.

I have more of an idea now. I'm hoping to clear the smaller balances quite quickly, in a month or two. That will leave me with two bigger balances, one with a higher interest, so hopefully I can transfer that over if I do get a 0% card. The other one has a much lower interest rate, so it's not as big of a problem and when things are cleared all money can go towards the one debt.