Here Goes...Starting Up on a Journey

enthusiasticsaver

Good news on the overdraft charges being capped though.  £600 as a 0% BT is not a great deal but better than nothing.  Depends on what interest rate you are paying on the most expensive card as to whether it is worth it plus of course how much is the fee and length of deal. 

Moving £600 off that 118 CC would save you £25 a month in interest. 

Superhoopza

enthusiasticsaver said:

Good news on the overdraft charges being capped though.  £600 as a 0% BT is not a great deal but better than nothing.  Depends on what interest rate you are paying on the most expensive card as to whether it is worth it plus of course how much is the fee and length of deal. 

Moving £600 off that 118 CC would save you £25 a month in interest. 

£600 for 6 months, zero transfer fee.
118 is being paid in full as I used my remaining MBNA credit to pay it.

Highest interest is Barclaycard. It would save me £15 a month so £90 for the BT. Not worth it to make the extra account application.

Superhoopza

All monthly updates will be prior to being paid at the end of the month. Loan balance is the max I will pay if I make no early repayments.

End of January-24 Update:

Credit Cards and Overdraft: £31,270
Loans: £23,892
Total Debt: £55,162

Emergency Fund: £30

Reduction in debt from previous month: £1,467
Total Reduction in Debt: £1,467

Notes:

• February should be my last month paying interest on my 118 Card.
• Any surplus cash is being moved to my next highest CC which is Barclaycard. I'm also hopeful (but don't think likely) to get a 0% offer from them in the near future.
• Overdraft fees are now capped at £30 a month

enthusiasticsaver

That is a good start.  Good move on the overdraft and just one more month paying interest on 118 card.  A few people have said Barclaycard are not usually that forthcoming with 0% deals but fingers crossed anyway. 

Superhoopza

enthusiasticsaver said:

That is a good start.  Good move on the overdraft and just one more month paying interest on 118 card.  A few people have said Barclaycard are not usually that forthcoming with 0% deals but fingers crossed anyway. 

I had three offers last year when balances were low on my Bcard (and lower debt taken out across the board) but yes I'm not that hopeful. A £7k loan has just entered my credit report so my offers are actually lower than they were at the start of the month but I can't help that.

enthusiasticsaver

Did you consolidate in the end then?  The debt seems to be more than on your original soa which said £53,100? If you took out a loan was the interest front loaded? 

Superhoopza

enthusiasticsaver said:

Did you consolidate in the end then?  The debt seems to be more than on your original soa which said £53,100? If you took out a loan was the interest front loaded? 

Nope I had taken this out before originally posting but first payment was due in 2 months time (i.e. 1st Feb) so is only showing on my credit report now.

I think the difference in balance is because on my SOA I showed the current balance of the loans where as on my update earlier, I'm listing the total amount to repay including interest I will incur during the life of the loan.

MBNA is front loaded interest (if I have understood the term correctly), not sure about the others but I would presume so as the balance is higher at the start than later on during the length of the loan and therefore you pay more interest during the first few months of the loan term?

enthusiasticsaver

Superhoopza said:

enthusiasticsaver said:

Did you consolidate in the end then?  The debt seems to be more than on your original soa which said £53,100? If you took out a loan was the interest front loaded? 

Nope I had taken this out before originally posting but first payment was due in 2 months time (i.e. 1st Feb) so is only showing on my credit report now.

I think the difference in balance is because on my SOA I showed the current balance of the loans where as on my update earlier, I'm listing the total amount to repay including interest I will incur during the life of the loan.

MBNA is front loaded interest (if I have understood the term correctly), not sure about the others but I would presume so as the balance is higher at the start than later on during the length of the loan and therefore you pay more interest during the first few months of the loan term?

That makes sense.  Yes lots of loans put the interest on at the beginning of the period but if you repay early you should get some back. It takes a while for the loans to start reducing in the early months/years. How have you found the first month? 

Superhoopza

enthusiasticsaver said:

Superhoopza said:

enthusiasticsaver said:

Did you consolidate in the end then?  The debt seems to be more than on your original soa which said £53,100? If you took out a loan was the interest front loaded? 

Nope I had taken this out before originally posting but first payment was due in 2 months time (i.e. 1st Feb) so is only showing on my credit report now.

I think the difference in balance is because on my SOA I showed the current balance of the loans where as on my update earlier, I'm listing the total amount to repay including interest I will incur during the life of the loan.

MBNA is front loaded interest (if I have understood the term correctly), not sure about the others but I would presume so as the balance is higher at the start than later on during the length of the loan and therefore you pay more interest during the first few months of the loan term?

That makes sense.  Yes lots of loans put the interest on at the beginning of the period but if you repay early you should get some back. It takes a while for the loans to start reducing in the early months/years. How have you found the first month? 

Sounds like I'm better off using any spare cash in a few months to put towards clearing interest bearing CC balances?

First month is the easiest, easy to be frugal when you're most determined. I'm quite impatient in wanting to reduce interest as much as possible so looking every few days (even though there is no point at this stage) if there are any balance transfers or new cards pop up that are worth taking but understand this could take months, even a year or so to develop. I've set up spreadsheets to show my partner and also track spend, balances etc myself. Been asking more questions in relevant threads to try and understand things better where I can.

Feb should be a quietish month, more stuff happening in March. Trying to do things like attend events I have to/want to but maybe having lunch at home instead of out etc. I understand I will have to and want to spend some money being out but try and be selective as to the frequency and amount.

£5k promo balance on MBNA ending end of March is annoying as I've saved myself about £100 a month in interest from activities this month, which I'll lose the benefit of in March. Then the final £5k balance promo period ends in July.

I've abandoned any plan of payments plans so therefore have stopped asking creditors whether they will freeze interest and will just look to pay these off as quick as possible.

Superhoopza

Just renegotiated my SIM contract to a cheaper deal, half the data (although still plenty enough), for almost half the price, so saving £7 a month (until April hikes).

Every little helps.