Advice on my Credit Card Debt

Indebt_4

Hi

Am after some help/advice I currently have four credit cards:

Egg
HSBC
Barclaycard
Sainsbury

Egg has no debt :j
HSBC and BarclayCard have a combined £7100 :mad:
Sainsbury has about £400

HSBC and Barclaycard are on 0% until August
After August the APR will be 13.9% and 15.9%

Is it worth getting a loan to clear the debt? So I make one payment each month? I currently pay between £260-£275 a month. Just that come August the interest bon my Debt will be quite alot. I can transfer one of the cards to EGG in Septemeber with 0% for six months. Am think off getting a loan and cutting up the credit cards.

Any ideas

Cardinal-Red

Think it depends on your circumstances.

If you have the inclination / credit rating you could apply for more 0% cards and transfer those balances over.

If the above doesn't appeal, i.e. you want stability and don't mind paying interest then a loan is possible, but have you considered Texaco Credit card, still at 3.9% for life of balance - meaning stable monthly payments but the ability to overpay when you want.

It's good though that you realise leaving them on 13.9% and 15.9% cards is not a good idea... good luck!

Indebt_4

Thanks

Am a home owner pay bills regularly with one child

Reaper

If you can get more cards then Cardinal-Red's suggestions will cost you less than a loan. You can still cut up all your cards once you have transferred the debt to stop you being tempted to use them for purchases.

Just make sure you pay off more than the minimum each month (see the Danger! Avoid minimum payments article) or they will take a long time to clear.

The consolidation loans are not usually a good idea. They are normally lengthy terms and will cost you more in the long run.

Cardinal-Red

Sorry if my message wasn't clear... as Reaper says the best bet (in terms of paying the least back over all) is a continuous 0% approach, but this takes some planning and discipline and you need to be careful to factor in Transfer Fees etc when you are working out 'savings'.

However if this isn't suitable and you doubt you would qualify for these cards then I'd recommend trying for Texaco before going for a normal loan as the 3.9% Life of Balance is a good deal.

If getting a new card is not possible at all, consider this: if you can shuffle your Barclaycard debt off the card when your 0% expires, they do an existing customer 6.9% Life of Balance offer (I think this is still available) which may be a better APR than a loan offer you'll get for the value of loan you're looking for.

YorkshireBoy

Indebt wrote:

I can transfer one of the cards to EGG in Septemeber with 0% for six months. Am think off getting a loan and cutting up the credit cards.

Any ideas

If this is the anniversary offer, I think you need to budget for ONLY 5 MONTHS. Check your T & C's.

Indebt_4

Thanks think am going to look for another card to transfer balances to.