£15,000 debt

ten4rubberduckie

hi,

i'm after some advise on the best way to clear £15000 of debt, over 5 credit cards. i was thinking of a balance transfer card, but the terms don't seem to be long enough for me to afford to pay off the full debt. maybe i could put the whole debt on a transfer card, but just pay half of it off, then get a new card when the term has run out to pay the other half. also, i have been looking at balance transfer cards on this site, and can't find the credit limit stated on any of them?

any advise would be appreciated
Paul

getmore4less

The first step is knowing where all you money goes

Start with a SOA

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

This will lay out your finances in a standard way where people can have a look at what can be done to start tackling the problem

ten4rubberduckie

many thanks for the reply.

unfortunately it isn't that simple.

i lost my licence a few years ago. i am self employed and was unable to work for a long period. thus accumulating this debt. i should be able to start paying it off now, but the interest isn't helping on all the cards.

getmore4less

How you got here does not matter if it is resolved.

How you get out of the situation starts with where your money goes now.

You need the SOA as that drives the choices available.

ten4rubberduckie

ok. i'll look at that and post back.

thanks

BabyStepper

Hi
You have it exactly right about 0% cards. If you move all the debt to 0% but don't manage to pay it all off before the end of the deal, you can transfer again at that point. You will still be saving on interest payments and paying things off quicker.
When you apply for a new credit card they decide at that point what your credit limit will be. You just need to keep your fingers crossed its enough and wait. Don't be afraid to turn down a deal that is just not a big enough credit limit to be any help to you.
Come back and let us know how you do.

ev8

I was asking yesterday and I can't believe the help I received.

Go onto MSE credit club and fill that in, it's super quick and you'll have some idea of where you stand and what you can apply for in terms of balance transfer.

enthusiasticsaver

Presumably you are paying interest on those 5 cards? If you are self employed you may struggle to get a 0% card with a high enough limit given you already have £15k of debt.

An soa is the start so you can see how much spare money you have to pay down the debts.

ten4rubberduckie

thanks for replies everyone. i was going to apply for multiple transfer cards, to make up the balance of the debt. that would be ok wouldn't it?

[Deleted User]

Only up to the point you start being rejected for having excessive credit and too many searches.

MEM62

ten4rubberduckie wrote: »

Unfortunately it isn't that simple.

Yes it is. And understanding why you are in your situation is absolutely key to preventing future repetition.

If you can transfer some of the debt to a free balance transfer card then that will certainly help in as much as you will reduce the amount of interest that you are paying and this can be thrown an reducing your debt further. But be clear that transferring the debt is just shifting it, it is not getting rid of it and the principle amount still needs to be repaid. Many will fall into the trap of taking great comfort in the fact that they have consolidated or moved debt and start spending again, thus actually making their situation worse.

The guys on this board will offer detailed and inspired advice on ways to clear your debt - much of it based on personal experience. Post up an SOA and they will point you in the right direction.