One day I will be debt free...

creditcardchaos

Bizzywizard said:

Have you tried changing bank accounts. I swit ched 3 bank accounts, so made £575 last year. I also moved to Nationwide and did a refer a friend request, hubby had a nationwide account, so we both made and extra £100. The account offered me an interest free overdraft for a year. So I have had a year to get rid of it, but it also didnt cost me anything. I had about the same amount of debt as you last year. I have knocked mine down to £9kish. I want to have everything gone by Christmas!
It might be worth saying what the ApR on the credit cards are and when the Vanquis deal is up. It took about 4 months for me to get the 0% balance transfers on my husbands credit cards, with lots of moving money around. You need to tackle the Credit Cards with the largest amount of interest first. Good luck with your journey.

Thank you. I did look at changing bank account. I have posted the APR on a previous post, it might be on the first page. 

creditcardchaos

enthusiasticsaver said:

creditcardchaos said:

MBNA - £400 / £1,900 Limit
BOS - £3,370 / £4,200 Limit
BC - £525 & £3,000 / £4,050 Limit
HSBC - £6,520 / £7,000 Limit
VANQ - £700 / £1,000 Limit
= £14,515 / £18,150 Limit 
I am still not eligible for a 0% transfer so paying in order of interest cost for now. It has been around about £200 per month in fees but 0% on HSBC is due to end so it might be nearer £250 this month. I am paying at least £625 monthly - more if and when I can. 

If I pay in order of interest the next ‘big’ card to tackle is BOS where the interest charged is £66 ish but I wondered whether anyone would advise paying more toward HSBC as I think that the interest charged on that will be nearer to £80 per month. Any advice appreciated x

Good that the MBNA is almost gone. If I remember right the BOS is the higher rate but obviously the HSBC is costing you more as the balance is higher. I would be tempted to continue with your strategy of tackling the one with the highest interest rate so BOS. It is a pain you still are not getting any 0% offers. 

Thank you, yes the BOS would be the next one with highest interest rate but just because the HSBC balance is higher it’s costing more so I couldn’t decide what to do. I’m hoping now the MBNA is almost clear they might offer me a 0% offer because the limit is £1,900. HSBC alwyas have a 0% offer but there’s not enough free space to make it worth doing a transfer. 

creditcardchaos

Update ..
October 19 - £16,670.40
March 20 - £13,939.56 
UNDER £14k 🥳
Still haven’t been able to transfer balances between cards for 0% offers or been eligible for any new cards with 0% (I haven’t formally applied as I’m scared to damage credit score). My credit score hasn’t changed even though the balance has decreased and the only negative on the report is that my credit utilisation is high. 

If I’m not able to get 0% offers and continue to pay interest hopefully I’ll be debt free in 28 months - if I do manage to get one at some point hopefully it’ll be a lot sooner!!

creditcardchaos

Would changing utility bills from my partners name to mine (they come out of my bank account) make any difference to my credit score?

creditcardchaos

creditcardchaos said:

Would changing utility bills from my partners name to mine (they come out of my bank account) make any difference to my credit score?

Can anyone help please?

creditcardchaos

Another small success ...
I now have £1,425 Emergency Fund 

creditcardchaos

So I’m thinking rather than trying to clear the MBNA which I’d been doing as the credit limit is £1,900 and I was hoping they’d offer me a 0% transfer rate - which they’ve not - I will throw most money at HSBC. HSBC is the lowest interest rate but is costing me the most at the moment. 

BOS - £3,360 (1.97% - £65 per month)

MBNA - £300 (2.07% - £6 per month)

BC - £3,650 (1.47% - £45 per month)

HSBC - £6,500 (1.67% - £105 per month)

Sarahwithlove

creditcardchaos said:

creditcardchaos said:

Would changing utility bills from my partners name to mine (they come out of my bank account) make any difference to my credit score?

Can anyone help please?

Depends if they are ones that require a credit check, usually like tv companies and some gas and electric do for example. You may find initially the check makes it drop but the following month when you start making the regular payment will bring it back up. 

creditcardchaos

Fluid £900 0%
BOS £3,100 2.20%
BC £3,490 1.47% 
HSBC £6,100 1.67% 

= £13,590

FINALLY managed to get a 0% card so transferred from my MBNA and Vanquis to be able to close Vanquis. I also closed Tesco. MBNA I have left open with a credit limit of £1,900 to see if at some point they offer a BT. My credit score has gone up 37 points this month too. Yay!

Feeling a bit rubbish about paying £600 a month and only about £400 coming off the debt because of interest though! 

creditcardchaos

My credit score has dropped again and I’m not sure if it’s because I opened the new account (fluid) to get the 0% BT or because I closed my Tesco card. Anyway I’ve kept Vanquis and MBNA open in the hopes that will lower my overall usage which seems to be the only negative factor on my report. 

MBNA - £0 / £1,900
Vanquis - £0 / £1,000
Fluid - £900 / £1,100
BOS - £3,200 / £4,200
BC - £3,500 / £4,050
HSBC - £6,100 / £7,000
= £13,700 / £19,250 = 71%
Im not sure if my Paypal Credit account is included if so that’s an extra £4,000 so would be 58.9% usage.