Ditching the Debt

gd55

Keep at it Gino. It doesn't happen overnight unfortunately but you're on the right path now so tiny steps forward will get you to your destination.

GinoOhGinoGinelli

Thank you @jokono and @gd55 for your words of encouragement, I really appreciate it!

I'm still swinging back and forth between whether to throw everything at the smaller Halifax cc2 to clear it quickly and have a nice snowball, or to focus everything on the big beast that is the super high-interest Amex! I'll have another look at the weekend and make a plan I think.

One thing I'm not sure about if whether it's best to close cc accounts when the balance is cleared? I know it's sensible to remove any temptation to spend on the cards again, and I do usually tend to close them straight away.

However, I saw on my credit report accounts that one of the measures of your creditworthiness is that your percentage of used credit should be less than 50% of your full credit allowance. If I close the Fluid card and then Halifax cc 2, my overall credit used will be really high compared to my reduced credit available. Whereas if I clear these balances and cut up the cards but leave them open, I'll have a lower overall percentage of used credit, if that makes sense? 

I'm thinking that it might be useful to keep them open until end of January when hopefully I have a chance of applying for another 0% balance transfer again. I'm just not really sure though!

GinoOhGinoGinelli

Hope everyone had a nice weekend 

I did some meal planning for the week ahead. We have a good supply of spices/condiments/cooking ingredients and only buy plant-based so we're fortunate in being able to shop cheaply. We tend to stick to beans, lentils, tofu etc rather than expensive meat replacement items, which are saved for the occasional unhealthy treat!

I made a tikka masala dish with homemade naan and pilau rice on Saturday, It took HOURS to make everything from scratch but it was really delicious - and healthier and cheaper than a takeaway would have cost here in London! We have some left over for tonight to enjoy before sitting down for the House of the Dragon finale, which I'm really looking forward to!

This time of year is really good for making big pots of soup for lunches. The easiest batch cooking! Going to look for some new soup recipes to keep it interesting. 

GinoOhGinoGinelli

I spent some time over the weekend playing about with my monthly budget and debt repayment spreadsheet. Still undecided about whether to focus on Amex (highest interest cc) or Halifax cc 2 (second highest interest, smallest balance). Pay day is coming up at the end of the week, so I'll need to decide by then!

Should be getting a refund of £90 back on my Amex card in the next week or so, which will be a big help. Also looking forward to making the final payment on my Fluid cc. They have increased my credit limit, so I also need to decide whether to keep the card open but cut up the card, or close it down. I haven't used this one for spending at any point, just used it for the balance transfer. The interest on Fluid would be the highest of all, so I definitely wouldn't want to spend and accumulate debt on it!

GinoOhGinoGinelli

Important but VERY dull chores this evening. Sorting out an insurance reimbursement and checking everything is ticking along to ensure I meet the criteria for the bank account switches I applied for. Making a trusty list to check on everything before all the deadlines. Would be very annoying to miss out on the incentives after all the hassle it has involved!

I've decided to tackle Halifax cc2 first since the extra payments from the bank switches and insurance will mean I can clear it more quickly. Then I will chuck everything at Amex. That balance and its painfully high APR feels impossible to clear at this stage. But fingers crossed I'll be eligible for another 0% balance card early in the new year.

jokono

Good organising! I switched around in the last 12-18 months and got all the incentives. Actually I skipped virgin as it wasn't offering cash.

Once cc2 is out of the way you will have more to throw at amex and then in the new year you can call halifax to ask for a new 0% offer since your balance will be 0. They might offer it in the app anyway.

GinoOhGinoGinelli

Thank you @jokono

That's a good idea, I don't know if I've had any offers from existing cards before, I've always looked for new cards to switch to. I'll need to keep an eye on my existing card accounts over the next few months in case they have any offers. 

I'm waiting for the statements on two of my cards to be available tomorrow and then I'll update my monthly totals. It's always a nice boost to see the overall balance go down (slowly)!

GinoOhGinoGinelli

Happy Friday everyone

It's that time of month again! I had to wait for the last statements to be produced before doing the calculations.

End of October 2022 Debt Breakdown 

• AMEX credit card: £3,730 (30.6% APR) 
• Halifax credit card 1: £2,850 (23.54% APR)
• Halifax credit card 2: £200 (27.34% APR)
• Bank of Scotland credit card: £2,540 (0% APR until June 23)
  
• Virgin credit card; £2,225 (0% APR until Sept 23)
• HSBC personal loan: £13,440 (5.9% APR) - Monthly fixed payment: £538, (5/30 payments made)
• TOTAL CURRENT DEBT: £24,985
  

A few good and bad things this month:

• I had a course-related expense and a birthday gift.
• Received an incentive for switching bank accounts.
• Received an insurance pay out I'd been waiting for.
• Fluid card has been paid in full - my first snowball! Was glad to clear it before the end of the 0% deal.
• I decided to tackle the Halifax cc2 first, so it's almost cleared. 

My priority for next month is to clear the remaining balance on Halifax cc2, pay the minimums on the rest (but round them down to the nearest £5) and throw everything I can at Amex. The APR on that gives me sleepless nights!

All going well, I anticipate my end of November debt balance to be between £23,900-£24k.

stymied

Is there any other way you could get the balance across from the highest interest rate card to one of the slightly lower ones? Would it work to do the food / fuel shops on Halifax CC1 then immediately pay the same in money off the Amex card?

GinoOhGinoGinelli

Happy New Year! Hope everyone had a merry and MSE-friendly festive break 

I was super busy at work during November and December, so I've fallen behind with my diary and I'm just getting around to posting an update now. Despite cutting back this year and having a quiet Christmas, it still ended up expensive. On top of this, I had some vet fees which I'm still waiting to be reimbursed.

End of Year (December) 2022 Debt Breakdown 

• AMEX credit card: £3,040 (30.6% APR) 
• Halifax credit card 1: £2,904 (23.54% APR)
• Halifax credit card 2  CLEARED!
• Bank of Scotland credit card: £2,414 (0% APR until June 23)
  
• Virgin credit card; £2,175 (0% APR until Sept 23)
• HSBC personal loan: £12,361 (5.9% APR) - Monthly fixed payment: £538, (7/30 payments made)
• TOTAL CURRENT DEBT: £22,980
  

A few good and bad things this month:

• Achieved my second snowball! Cleared Halifax Credit card 2! 
• AMEX is still causing me SO much stress as it's higher than I would like it to be.
  

My priorities for the next month are finding money to pay for some quite expensive dental treatment, eek! And clearing as much as I can from my AMEX balance. I really need to get this down as I'm not in a position to apply for any more balance transfers at the moment.

I did apply for a Capital One balance transfer last month. Wish I hadn't bothered though as they only gave me a limit of £300 and it was supposed to be a balance transfer card.

I anticipate my end-of-January debt balance will be around £22,000.