To put a tumble dryer on my credit card?

[Lemononachair]

I have a credit card which I got about 18 months ago as a way to try and build up my credit rating again. It was meant to be only for emergencies and/or large purchases that I couldn't afford outright in one go. I have terrible credit as a result of my exH leaving me in debt and with CCJ's (which will hopefully be discharged next year!) so I can't get much in the way of other credit. Unfortunately lockdown and furlough have left me in financial difficulty and I've been having to use the credit card more and more lately, it's not maxed out but I'm using more than half of my available limit and getting close to the limit of what I can afford to pay off every month.

I live in a single glazed property with no central heating - I have one gas fire in the living room and that's it. I'm finding that now it's getting much colder and wetter it's getting really hard to dry my clothes when they get washed and especially now I'm back at work I need to wash things regularly. My work clothes get filthy and need to be cleaned thoroughly. At the moment I'm drying them on a clothes horse in front of the fire but they are still taking 2 days to fully dry and smell damp and musty by the end 😞

Wibu to use my credit card to buy a tumble dryer? Really can't see a way to manage the whole of autumn/winter without one 😭

Get a tumblr drier but then look at your credit cards. Can you move it to any 0% interest or low interest rates cards, always worth shopping around for credit

Tumble dryers are absolutely essential, I love mine....yes, of course put it on the card. There is nothing worse than musty clothes smell, make sure you get a condenser dryer though.

What about a gravity spin dryer? They get a lot more water out than a washing machine and ony takes a few minutes so they’re cheap to run. Or the Lakeland heated air era get good reviews.

I think as long as you can make a plan for paying it off, then buy it. Credit card interest can add up if you are just paying the minimum payments though, so make it a priority to pay it off sooner rather than later.

There's a calculator on here that shows how long it will take you to pay off a credit card if you only make the minimum payment each month, and how much it will cost you in total in interest:

www.moneysavingexpert.com/credit-cards/minimum-repayments-credit-card/

Don’t mean to derail thread OP, but was wondering if you were aware of double glazing film? You see I live in old farmhouse with 200yr old plus original windows (so single glazed). I put up double glazing film every year and it keeps the house warm AND vastly reduces my heating bill. I’m just posting this in case you haven’t heard of this, it more than pays for itself and all you need to put it up is a pair of scissors and a hair dryer.
www.amazon.co.uk/Stormguard-11SR0666SQM-Secondary-Glazing-Insulation/dp/B00AL8L20I/ref=sr_1_3?dchild=1&keywords=double+glazing+film&tag=mumsnetforu03-21&qid=1602021916&sr=8-3

I’d also consider a heated airer as cheaper than a tumble dyer Given your debts
But fully agree you need something x

Do you not live close to a launderette? Just take your wet washing there right be dried? I think it’s about £2 where I live x

You could look at littlewoods for one, they do 12 months interest free credit, although the prices tend to be a little higher to start with.
But to be honest in your situation I consider a tumble dryer to be essential.

Or Look on Freecycle! There are always appliances given away round here.

We live in a 2 bed terrace with no central heating, just a gas fire in the living room. We have a condenser dryer in the dining room (it is knocked through to the living room) and it is the best thing I ever bought! It heats the room and gets everything dry. In the summer I dry outside as I have 3 lines in my yard which are retractable and still use them in autumn/winter if not raining then finish off in the dryer. If you can afford it then I would definitely get one though explore if you would be able to get it on interest free credit from the shop first?

I recently got a 2.5kg tumble dryer for £139 from Amazon. Is compact, works really well and has made no difference to my electricity bizarrely enough. I hang my clothes and throw in to finish off but if raining, I put straight in.
I wouldn't be without it now.

Oh, you can attach a small condenser unit to it for 8.99 for when you can't ventilate the rooms properly.

I would as it's a necessity. But cut your card up afterwards - you can always report it lost and replace it if you need it again but it would stop you using it just because it's there.

If you have a lot on credit card, can you find one with a free balance offer transfer offer.

Ie. Buy on credit card A ( to get the rule 75 security).

Then transfer to ‘free balance transfer card B to pay off without incurring monthly interest rates ( there may be a small initial transfer fee).

See moneysavingexoert.co.uk. For further info.

Do you have any outside space at all? Things will still dry when it’s cold.
Double spin and only wear the clothes that dry quickly. Hot water bottles in bed are better than heating the room with a blow heater which will cost a fortune.
I wouldn’t go into debt for a tumble drier

If there is a laundrette nearby, have a look

My local one is so cheap, it costs £1.50 to dry a large load of laundry in their giant driers, and takes 10 minutes

Was an eye opener and life saver for me

What about a JML Dri Buddy? We picked one up for £60, it’s great. Just hang everything up on hangers straight from the washing machine, and pop it in. Usually dry within 2-3 hours at the most and much cheaper to run than a tumble dryer. We have a tumble dryer too that we use for towels but now use the Dri Buddy for all of our clothes as we found that they were getting wrecked by the tumble dryer.

running costs

According to this article, it costs under £25 to run a tumble drier using it once a week, that’s 50p per use. For me, using it even a couple of times a week to dry towels and sheets is worth it, rather than having it all around the house. Also, during the summer these go outside, so the costs are further reduced.

Could you not get a buy now pay in 12 months deal? Then pay off a chunk every month?
That's what I do with big purchases.

Ignore people saying they're massively expensive to run. Ours made no difference to our bills and I'm very hot on checking our energy bills and sending regular meter readings. We haven't paid more than £60 pm for both gas and electric for 2 years so must be doing something right.
We have a Beko A++ dryer and have 4 kids so it gets used every day in winter. Wouldn't be without it now.

I'm suprised your landlord was able to rent the property! What is the EPC? You should have been given it before you moved in. There is a government scheme at the moment to heavily subsidise some home improvements including single glazed windows, you could send your landlord some information?

If you are paying at least the minimum payment every month on time you will be doing wonders for your credit rating - regardless of how much you owe so if you are able to keep up with that then adding the likes of a tumble dryer to the card seems okay.

Rather than the fan heater have a look at oil filled radiators and consider changing electricity to Economy 7 or 10. An oil filled radiator will be a lot more effective than a fan heater and if you change to economy 7 or 10 you'll get periods of low rate electricity when putting an oil filled radiator on will be a lot cheaper. You can also run a washing machine in low rate times too.

If you think you can handle it financially now that you're working again, I'd do it. I know how you feel - my washing machine died 4 days after I kicked my abusive ex out and I had to buy a new one on credit. Ouch.

When you're working full time a condenser dryer is essential, I have damp issues in my house and there's no way I'd use a heated airer or hang clothes in front of a fire, I'd need my dehumidifier on full the whole time, might as well use a dryer.

If you can get an Argos Card they do buy more pay in 6 months, if you pay it off within the six months it's interest free and you can make payments at any time online.

I’d get a heated airer instead; tumble dryers are expensive to run so won’t help financially and I don’t find that they’re very good for clothes if you dry them in it every time anyway.