Too many Credit cards!!

[KatyMac]

I have too many credit cards - 4 on 0% & one on a fixed %age until I pay it off
3 of the CC are with MBNA under many guises.

I am affording to pay them all off - just; but when the 0% runs out I will either have to move them or up my payments; and I am not adding to them at all. They were built up during a period of ill health.

I am paying off the 0% first as I'm not sure I will be able to renew them & I want to get rid asap. At the rate I am paying off I will be debt free by May 2013 - probably sooner.

But it's all so messy, money onto each one each month; would there be any advantage to amalgamating them all? If so which card or company would do it? I was refused a loan due to affordability......which I found annoying as I am affording it already

Help please

Why don't you see if there's another new 0% deal out there, and move all four onto it now, but keep up repayments as and when you can (even if it's not demanded)? Do not buy anything more on any credit until it's all paid off.

I'm not spending any more on them at all

I don't think I'd get the amount all on one card - I'd like to but I'm not sure how or which CC to go for?

I am paying well in excess of the minimum payment - 2 0%s will be paid off in time & 2 won't

Go to moneysupermarket.com, that's where DH found his most recent 0% cc when his last one was running out. We've paid and paid and scrimped and saved and now have all his debts paid off thanks to that 0% card (it was MBNA and he got it with 16m interest free.

Well done for paying off well in excess of the minimum payment. I'd def. pay off the one charging you interest first though - makes absolutely no sense to be paying interest on one card if the others aren't accruing interest if you don't pay them off. Concentrate on that one first, even if you can't move the other three in one go.

Except my last 0% was refused as I had too much credit; so if I don't pay the 0% off by the time they are due the interest rates will shoot through the roof

The one with the interest is not timed at all - it's for the life of the balance on there would be no penalty if I paid it late (apart from the interest iyswim)

Well, how long have you got left to pay off the one with interest? And how long on the 0%s?

June, July, Aug & Oct

the other is the life of the balance

I should pay off the July & Oct ones at my current rates of paying off; but I will be short of the June & August ones

Pay the June and July ones off first, and by then, you might be in a better position to apply for a new 0%

Try Google for the snowball calculator, very helpful.

If you are only 'just' affording the payments but will get into difficulties once the 0% expires then you have a problem if you can't transfer the debt. I'd strongly suggest you make an appointment now to talk to one of the free debt advice services - Citizens Advice Bureau, National Debtline or CCCS. If you act quickly you may be able to avoid problems.

I did contact one of them but as I was meeting my payments they didn't want to know

DH thinks we should cut the payment to the one with interest & pay off the others using that money (as it will be the cheapest once the 0% runs out) which is a bit like that snowball thingie

If I do the snowball thing I can pay off 3 of the 4 @ 0% by their due date - which is better I think, the debt free date remains the same

And by then, hopefully your debts owing might be low enough to get a new 0%?

I hope so

Today is the day I start to do something about this

Fingers crossed it goes well; I need DH to speak to some of the companies, so I couldn't do it before today

Katymac try looking on the debt free wannabe forum board on moneysavingexpert they have lots of good advice and tips

It's so big atm.....with all the minimum payments, I just liked the idea of only having 1 debt iyswim

Ah well

How did you get on today KatyMac ?

I transferred one of the ones I won't meet the deadline on, to a March 13 end
Then I moved my spare money to pay off the shortest dated one (like the snowballing thing)

I'll still be debt free by may 2013, but I won't have to pay any 'extra' interest on my 0% (although I did have to pay a transfer fee)

Well done.

Excellent start

I like the snowball thingie

& If I get any spare I can just add it in