Is this really foolish, or am I taking the sensible option?? (and can someone help with the maths?)

[goldFAQinsenceandmyrrh]

I have a Littlewoods account - I've been paying the interest free payments on it, until this month.

This is my reasoning, in the New Year I'm going to HAVE to move house. I'm currently saving money for the deposit and first month (plus a bit extra) rent, aiming to move mid-February.

I can still afford the interest free payments, however the difference between interest free and minimum is quite dramatic (not suprising given their interest rates lol).

I don't have a massive balance on there at the moment, and the reduced payments will only be until I move - then I'll easily be able to afford to up them again, to pay it off pretty quickly.

Now I'm thinking that as moving house is an absolute certaintity (and I don't want to be hanging around here until the bitter end.......) it's better to put extra money towards the move and then up the payments once I'm there. Is that a sensible choice???

Current balance is £330, interest rate is

I wouldn't contemplate moving if I couldn't afford to pay off the £330 first. There are always extra costs you don't expect so your debt will rise.

39.7% is EXTORTIONATE - it's far more than a credit card.

forty I HAVE to move - I have no choice in the matter. I only found this out after I'd made the purchases on the Littlewoods account - which I made in the full knowledge that I could afford to pay the interest free payments.

and yes I know the APR is extortiante - that's why I have been paying the (higher) interst free payments on the account not the minimum payments.

Right... just checked my credit card bill. I never pay interest as I pay the balance in full every month, but this month's is £915.31, interest rate is 18.9% and estimated interest if I didn't pay the full balance is £25.52.

I'm no mathematician but you'd be paying roughly double the rate of interest on just over a third of the balance so maybe about £20 per month? So in just three moths your debt would increase by £60 - MAD!

thanks for the maths - helps a lot - yes I know it's a lot of interest - but it's less than the amount of money I'l be able to save by making the minimum payments for those 3 months. And I know I'll be able to make the higher payments again as soon as I've moved

Any chance you could get an interest free deal on a credit card? I know they're few and far between these days. Or what about some extra work over Christmas? Bar work even?

Good luck, anyhow!

No I cant wok over Christmas.

Have church commmitments - which I get paid for - but it works out at about £19.50 a week - which doesn't affect my Income Support. Plus I have no childcare for the DS's.

in an ideal world I would make the interest free payments as I have been (well actually in an ideal I wouldn't have to move ). But time is slowly running out for me to get the money together for the move, and making the minimum payments on the account until Feb would help greatly.

Of course I could make the full interst free payments, and have less money to move, but I'm worried that's going to reduce my options for where I can move to (if that makes sense)

Why don't you apply for a loan from the benefits people? better way to do it IMO.

No interest on it and it could also help towards your move.

Not sure if my maths is right, but I make the monthly percentage rate 3.3% (39.7/12)

Therefore on a balance of £330 I think you would be paying £10-11 a month, just under the minimum balance.

Hope this helps.

And if my maths is wrong I hope someone corrects me.

You'd be paying just under £40 interest per £100 surely? I'm not good with this stuff, but I try to never pay interest if I can help it.

cos they won't give me a loan as things stand at present.

exH (as much of a twat as he is) won't write a letter to say I have move out of the house (and not sure it would stand anyhow being the marital home and all that) so they would take one look at my current bank balances and tell me I have the money for what I need. They'd only help me once I have written notice that i have to move - and that could be months away yet, depends on how long it takes for the reponseesioni to go to court.

It's a similar story with the council housing list - I have now (finally) filled on the form and sent it in as a back-up - but I'm way down the list, and will be until I'm actually homeless then I'll shoot to the top, but I really don't want to be sitting nervously waiting for wheneer it is that the court says "right the bank is having the house back" I'd rather move and get the DS's -e-settled before all of that happens.

Oh, I'm sorry FAQ. Wish I could help you...

it's ok SeaShells .

it's shit and crap and poo and all that. But I can at least manage to save money to move (before the bank says I have to) - and my main dilema at the moment is whether it's worth accruing interest at that rate for 3 months in order to save a substantially larger amount extra each month.

Which I know makes me very lucky - as many in my position (of being forced to move) struggle to find the money to do it.

My balance on Littlewoods at the moment is £261 atm, and i only paid the minimum last month and they charged me £6.31 in interest, apr is the same as yours.