Balance Transfer Partial 30 March 2022 at 3:54PM in Debt-free wannabe 4 replies 111 views

ezdan

Hi All,

New to the forum, I want to be debt free and have been reading through a lot of posts and the debt free guides on MSE and have recently cleared a few debts (stupidly it wasn't a very efficient way of paying it off, but what's done is done).

I have two debts remaining, both credit cards. I looked at my eligibility for a balance transfer credit card and it suggested I could get one at a lower interest rate than my current two with a 36 month 0% balance transfer period but with a credit limit at a fraction of the debt of either of my existing cards (15% of my total debt) so it would mean I would have 3 credit cards. I suspect that I can only get this credit limit due to the fact I recently went over the limit on my credit cards and also have recently missed payments for the previously mentioned, now cleared, debts.

The question is this, should I take this offer as it is lower interest and will at least put a fraction (about 15%) of my existing debt into 0% interest, or should I wait a few months for my credit score to recover and try to get a better interest rate / larger credit limit?

One other question I have is that I have around £2,000 in savings which I am planning to spend (read need to) over the next 3 months, would it be sensible to use that money now to pay towards a credit card and then use the credit card to do my planned spending or is it more sensible to keep the separation between paying off/spending?

Thanks in advance.

[Deleted User]

Transfer what you can and start saving on interest. Apply for another to see if you can move more.

You could use some of cash to clear the interest bearing balance, but avoid putting on more debt, unless at 0%.

RosaBernicia

Hi Ezdan

Have you looked at the website pages on how to improve your credit score?  That might help you get a better idea of how your score will change in a few months and anything else you can do to improve it in the meantime. 

Good luck

RB

fatbelly

With credit cards I recommend setting up a direct debit for minimum payment so that even if something goes wrong you do not get a late payment marker.

The other thing that makes a big difference is being on the electoral roll - you can opt out of the open register

sourcrates

As always, its credit history that counts, not some old number generated by companies wanting to sell you things.