Credit card debt has spiralled

redux

kimwp said:

Sorry, not had a chance to think about this, but a couple more thoughts - you have to be very careful about how you do this, but you can effectively transfer debt from the higher interest accounts to lower/zero by putting your monthly spends on 0% cards and using the cash to pay off the higher interest accounts - just make sure you don't end up with more debt overall.

That can be awkward to keep track of. On most cards it won't mean interest free on purchases, even if the purchases amount is fully cleared by the due date on the next statement

And if there is a direct debit set up to cover minimum payment, it won't necessarily take enough to cover all the purchases, so an additional payment would be needed.

I'm hoping that the OP will do 0% money transfer offers to clear the store cards as soon as possible, rather than gradually migrate in the way I think you're suggesting.

And I'd prefer new monthly spend on a card that will be cleared in full each month.

Usually people here will advise against mixing 0% and spending, but it can be a bit useful if done in a modest way

On one card I had a couple of years ago, there was about £2200 balance and £25 minimum payment. Not long before the statement date I would spend £20 to £30, and I'd pay £25 to £30 a day or so after the statement. This meant just a few pence in interest, and it kept the benefit of the 0% on most of the balance for most of the time. 

jokono

Would making a list - physical or a spreadsheet - to keep track of all cards help with anxiety? This is what mine looked like when I started, the most I had at one time was 7. I had DD set on minimum for all of them and the money for these DD was always in my 'bills' account. For day to day spending I would use a different account so I would never run out of money for DD. I had a different sheet for what comes in and what goes out every month, and after payday I would use whatever was left for overpayments. I also did surveys and mystery shopping, sold on vinted and marketplace, and most of that money went to overpayments as well. Now I'm left with 0% cards only so all extra money goes in savings to make a few extra pounds in interest.

BlueManc10

jokono said:

Would making a list - physical or a spreadsheet - to keep track of all cards help with anxiety? This is what mine looked like when I started, the most I had at one time was 7. I had DD set on minimum for all of them and the money for these DD was always in my 'bills' account. For day to day spending I would use a different account so I would never run out of money for DD. I had a different sheet for what comes in and what goes out every month, and after payday I would use whatever was left for overpayments. I also did surveys and mystery shopping, sold on vinted and marketplace, and most of that money went to overpayments as well. Now I'm left with 0% cards only so all extra money goes in savings to make a few extra pounds in interest.

That's interesting. Can I ask which survey companies/mystery shopping sites you used for extra cash?

TheAble

As i mentioned yesterday don't get too bogged down with interest rates and 0% offers. You've already got a bunch of stuff on 0% which you didn't even realise! And they haven't stopped you getting 19k in the hole so far...What you need to focus on is paying back rather than switching around. 

BlueManc10

TheAble said:

As i mentioned yesterday don't get too bogged down with interest rates and 0% offers. You've already got a bunch of stuff on 0% which you didn't even realise! And they haven't stopped you getting 19k in the hole so far...What you need to focus on is paying back rather than switching around. 

Agreed. I've done my research now and found out the situation so as you say tackling it is now going to be the focus. 

jokono

BlueManc10 said:

That's interesting. Can I ask which survey companies/mystery shopping sites you used for extra cash?

I do surveys on prolific, lifepoints and panelbase. For mystery shopping I had a great run with shepper a couple of years back but they don't so much in my area anymore. There are quite a few other companies that do it and list their jobs on the 'presto shopper mpa' - look it up and from there you can register with the companies that have jobs in your area.

flipflopflo

Also look on the Boost your Income board. 

https://forums.moneysavingexpert.com/categories/boost-your-income?source=MOB_MSEIOS&utm_source=mseios&utm_medium=mobile_app&utm_campaign=mse_topics

In fact have a really good peruse of the boards as there are a lot of tips and tricks and guides. 

Martico

Yeah, Prolific Academic is great for surveys - I've got £610 from there since I started last July. There's a dedicated thread in the subforum mentioned above by flipflopflo

BlueManc10

So in a huge subplot. Updraft are now being absolute idiots and after saying I could return the £8k and that was the end of that. They reckon I have to pay a £240 service charge to cancel. Surely that's not right? I literally told them I wanted to cancel and returned the funds the second they arrived?

kimwp

What's in the terms and conditions?