Is it best to transfer all credit onto one card?

Nina_Peach

Hello :j

I am finally trying my best to get my money on track.

Basically, I have 3 credit cards all with around £1500-2000 balances on. This is all my own stupid/poor decisions about money, I am well aware of how daft I've been.

I've stopped using ALL credit cards and managed to get all but 1 transferred to 0% interest cards.

My question is - will it be easier/better to try and transfer all 3 balances onto one card and then make one larger payment per month?

I just really need some advice on how best it would be to clear my debts as effectively as possible.

Any advice on how I can move towards being debt free would be WONDERFUL!

Thanks.

[Deleted User]

If you think you can clear the balance before the 0% promo period is up then sure.

[Deleted User]

Nina_Peach wrote: »

My question is - will it be easier/better to try and transfer all 3 balances onto one card and then make one larger payment per month?

It's not the size or number of payments which is important, but the cost of your credit.

Terry_Towelling

Paying 0% interest on your debt is always going to be better for you and you ought to aim to clear the whole debt before the 0% offer expires but I accept that won't always be possible.

There can sometimes be monthly affordability issues if you transfer all of your debt onto a card that has a higher minimum payment calculation than the existing ones but that is rarely a big deal.

Once your debts are no longer attracting interest, any payments you make towards them will reduce the debt by that exact amount and won't be 'eroded' by the addition of interest. That on its own will speed up the debt-clearance plan.

Beyond that, there aren't any magic answers but cutting your costs (which is a broad topic in itself), increasing your earnings, selling unwanted things can all help.

Drive more economically, turn the heating down, reduce the temperature of your hot water supply, don't overfill the kettle, take shorter showers, use the washing machine at a lower temperature, eat a bit less, cut down luxuries like chocolate, alcohol, fancy clothes, stupid mobile phone contracts, change energy supplier - the list is almost endless.

If you are able, you could just meet the minimum payment of the 0% card and any extra you have available you could save in an easy-access, interest-paying account. As you approach the end of the 0% offer period, see if you can get another one, or, if you can't, chuck your savings (including the small amount of interest gained) at the debt to get it as low as possible so that any interest then charged will be minimised.

On the basis that you continue to earn an income, it's really just commonsense and discipline - if you have those, you stand a better chance of success; if you don't, you may struggle a bit/lot longer.

Ben8282

If you can transfer the balances onto one 0% card, then yes. Otherwise probably not.

Nebulous2

It doesn't matter whether they are on one card or three if they are at 0% and you have a plan to pay them off.

How long do you have left on the 0% balances? How long would a new 0% card be at the promotional rate? Would you have to pay a fee to transfer balances to the new cards?

Answer those questions and your way ahead should be clearer.

Ben8282

Nebulous2 wrote: »

It doesn't matter whether they are on one card or three if they are at 0% and you have a plan to pay them off.

How long do you have left on the 0% balances? How long would a new 0% card be at the promotional rate? Would you have to pay a fee to transfer balances to the new cards?

Answer those questions and your way ahead should be clearer.

The OP has never stated that the balances are currently at 0% and from the observations made by the OP that he/she had been daft I assumed they were probably not.

Nebulous2

Ben8282 wrote: »

The OP has never stated that the balances are currently at 0% and from the observations made by the OP that he/she had been daft I assumed they were probably not.

You didn’t read the post. All but one are on 0% Lines 5 and 6.

Ben8282

Nebulous2 wrote: »

You didn’t read the post. All but one are on 0% Lines 5 and 6.

OK I see it now. Sorry.
In that case my advice is to leave the 0% balances alone and do all possible to get the 3rd balance transferred to 0%.
If the OP has only managed to get 2 of the 3 balances transferred to 0% cards so far, presumably due to inability to obtain cards or sufficient credit limits, then it is highly unlikely that the OP will get a sufficiently large credit limit anywhere to transfer all 3 of them.
Do any of the original cards that the balances were transferred to 0% cards from have existing customer 0% offers to transfer the 3rd balance to?

onwards&upwards

For the best debt clearing advice post on the debt free wannabe board a bit further down the page!