o% credit cards??

[startingagain]

I have stupidly run up quite alot on a o% credit card, never done this before but i had an offer sent to me just before xmas last year and i was desperate so took it. Anyway the o% finishes at the beginning of october and my sister told me to look about for a new one to swop it to.....I haven't a clue where to begin on this.
I am really hoping i can find something as i just don't know how i will pay it all back at normal rate...

Virgin are doing one which is interest free for 16 months on balance transfers

Go to here and have a look

If you go onto Money Supermarket on the web it'll tell you what deals are out there. You can open a new card then transfer the balance (so make sure it's 0% balance transfer as well as 0% on purchases). Beware though, I wanted to do that, got okayed for Sainsbury's but changed my mind as the interest rate after the 0% was very high. Then I applied to somewhere else and was turned down. The only reason seemed to have been I'd applied for another card recently (even though I hadn't accepted their offer of it). So don't apply until you're sure who you want and work out how long it'll take you to clear it.

Good luck and try not to take the other card out unless in an absolute emergency. I think it's a downward spiral otherwise. In fact I'm now just paying off my credit card and haven't used another (didn't want to apply again and ruin my chances when about to buy a house) which is crap in some ways but the interest I've had to pay (£20 max) has given me a great incentive!

Thank you so much for your help. I will have a look at virgin and moneysupermarket. I am so worried as i forgot to pay a payment on another credit card i have (very small amount, nearly gone now) last month. I really did just forget and paid immediately but am so worried that will go against me. Like you said, if i get turned down by one because of that then the chances are i won't get one somewhere else

How big is your debt? Is there anyway you can pay it off without moving it? If it's big enough, a loan may be the wiser thing as it'd be a lower rate.

Can you talk to the people who's credit card you forgot to pay, explain it's a small mistake that you will never make again (even better if you can pay it off) and ask them to 'correct' your credit record? You can use experian to get a credit report but beware after your 'free' go they'll try to charge you for it.

And cut up any credit cards you really don't need! Try to only have one too. That way you only have one to remember and keep on top of.

You are all being so helpful I am worrying so much at the moment i can't sleep.
My main credit card debt, with halifax, is £2500.00. I do have £1000 that i was so so lucky to receive from an elderly relative recently. I haven't spent this money and i am not quite sure what to do with it. Should i pay off £1000 from my credit card bill taking that down to £1500 or should i use some of it for the other credit card bill, i owe about £300 on that but it is a high interest one.
I am newly single and although i am working now i am not earning much and i am so worried that when this o% finishes there is no way i can afford to pay the installments. Anyone no what the monthly payments would be with a £2500.00 credit card debt?

Thank you mrsj.

Ok, i will pay the higher rate card off, about £300 then pay the rest to the card i have now. Then i will apply to transfer the balance, which will be smaller because of my payment of about £600. I would love to keep abit to cheer myself up
Thank you for letting me know what your payments are etc., so i kind of know what situation i am in!

How i wish i had never got the card in the first place! I keep worrying about this Christmas already though!

Good luck with going back to work My original plan was similar, when i got the card i wasn't too worried as i knew i had a new job to go to. I hadn't realised my dh was going to leave us so the new wages i planned on paying my card off with now have to go on general living/housing costs etc.,
Best laid plans and all that.....Thank you again.

I agree with MrsJammi - pay off as much as you can or you're paying for nothing. Especially pay the higher interest card off first. Then cut it into tiny pieces and feel more in control. If you desperately need money in the future, at least your credit card company know you're working towards paying it off.

I used to give myself £50 a week 'spending money' for food, things for DSS, presents, 'school money' etc and put it down to £40 to pay an extra £40-50 off a month. I've paid off a hell of a lot more and if I have any 'left over' at the end of the week I pay that in too. It's amazing how much quicker it's going down (this is after my salary was decreased by 10% and I loss the will to live on how I'd ever afford to pay it off)!

If you're newly single, have you let benefit related people know? DH has 'lost' £6k a year by marrying and moving in with me, so you may be able to get help which wouldn't mean you'll be rich but might mean you can scrimp an extra £50 towards your card a month.

Yes, i have told benefit people. But i recently got this extra job and i am in a situation now, whereas the more i earn (which isn't much!) the more i pay on council tax and rent etc., So i actually feel worse off now!! No money really left hanging around in this house!! I want to do more work but not sure how i can fit it in!!

Will pay off the small higher rate credit card and a lump sum off the bigger one and then move to virgin, if they;ll have me (!) then chip away at it!!

Randomtask, you have done so well budgeting to pay yours off, i hope i can do the same

My budgeting was after months of not sleeping. When the 10% pay decrease came in I really panicked that I'd never pay it off as we were planning on buying a house too. DH has never had a credit card which makes me feel even worse.... Once I've paid it off, it'll be for internet buys only.

Is it actually cost effective for you to have the extra job? I'd be the last person on earth to recommend living off the state but if it makes your costs higher, does it mean you're left with more money or less? Also, do you get money from your ex-DH?

As for presents, how old are your children? Would they understand having 'one' present instead of a few or, would they appreciate lots of little presents instead of a 'big' one. My DSS (aged 8) always seems to prefer the cheaper ones and has no concept of the value of them.

Also, as a general save money tip, borrow The Thrift Book by India Knight from your library (they can order in for free or 50p in some cases). My MIL's friend bought it for us for Christmas (we got married/moved in together last summer) and it's been amazing. It's written from a 'I'm rich but have no money as I like spending' point of view but is actually helpful for thinking of ways of saving money. We're going to a Haven park in a few weeks for £300 less than their cheapest 'static caravan' in a much nicer one as we used a website she suggested. It covers every area of your life, including presents. I got so inspired that I made my Mum smellies for Mothering Sunday at the cost of £5 (for masses that she still hasn't worked her way through) instead of buying something for £25-she loved the thought and time I'd put into it. DSS also made presents for people at Christmas which meant I didn't have to spend so much... So you don't need to worry about Christmas if you plan ahead.

I pick up the book whenever I need to be inspired to save money!

Thanks random, good to hear your side of things and tips etc., Would like to get hold of that book!

Tbh i don't think it is worth me working, only a little better off and most of the time i am exhausted. I just hope this leads to a better job so i am reluctant to give it up.

Like you were, i am now suffering sleepless nights and getting abit depressed, problem is everyone seems to need paying at once. If i could do it bit by bit it might feel easier and less stressful.....

My kids are teenagers, which i think is worse than having little ones. Yes, they can understand the money situation but everything they want is so expensive. They also eat so so much!!!!!!!

Thanks for listening today.

startingagain, sorry to hear of your money worries.
I got into terrible debt in my early twenties, after much nagging from my mother my father bailed me out to the tune of about 10k
However he drew up a contract, made me sign it with a solicitor and it stated that if I defaulted on payments for any reason I would be taken to court.

Sounds harsh, but it worked. I paid back every penny.

I now write all my outgoings for the month in a book every month, i then write down what is coming in, obviously then take one away from the other, then with the amount thats left I divide it by 4 for the month so I know how much I have to spend each week and I have to stick to that. I always make sure I clear anything ive spent on my credit card, and I card tart every year so that its 0% interest on purchases, but even then it never has a balance of about £100.
This morning I destroyed all my old cards, which were empty, but worth about 10k in credit, it felt really good

Just wanted to let you know that with careful planning and budgeting you can work it out, and as others have said moneysavingexpert is a great place to start, full of ideas and tips and I even use it for vouchers for us to eat out as a family.

My DSS is 8 but eats more than me. Plus his 'lunchbox food' is always the most expensive. On the back of the Thrift Book I bought a book about feeding your family for less but TBH, if you add in breakfast, lunch and cleaning products, my food bills are less! I am veggie though so that helps.

I wrote a list of what I owed and what cost me the most. Definitely helped. My parents (when we were teenagers) set a limit on what they'd spend on us and I think that was fair. We didn't get as much as our friends but we did have a much nicer home life. I think it depends on what they value.

If you put all your debts together, is it cheaper to get a loan to cover them all then swap credit cards? That would mean you only have one thing to worry about and it may be a lower interest rate.

Hope that helps, I got myself in a bad enough financial pickle and at least I have DH to rant at talk to. I think feeling panic is always helped by being able to talk to someone, rarely matters who!

everybody - make sure you cancel your old cards with the companies, not only keeps it all nice and tidy but just safer in general.

I had a new card sent to me at an old address once, £6.5k worth of credit! Thankfully the new tennant had the sense to send it back unopened and they contacted me to check address details. could have been awful.

sorry random I dont agree with your statement about getting a loan to cover existing debts (and ML always advises against this on his site).

If you pooled all your debts together how much would it come to?
You can do something called a super balance transfer. You get a 0% balance transfer card, but they give you the cash (with a fee obviously but is only slightly higher than normal balance transfers). You then pay off all debts with that cash and then clear the balanmce transfer card.
However ML only advises this if you are 100% certain you can pay off the balance in the agreed 0% interest period on that card.

A loan is never cheaper, and certainly not at the moment, and certainly not if you are not earning a great deal or have poor credit

here is ML advice on super balance transfers

Oh! I will go off and look at that link moss, thanks

Has been great 'talking' to you all and getting different ideas etc., I think i am particularly low today, just letting everything get on top of my Hopefully i will be more positive tomorrow!!!

At the end of the day i think you have all made the point that i need to focus and start sorting this and stop worrying so much but not actually doing anything! Thanks again.

starting again, a little hint for you, don't apply for more than one card at a time because that can also affect your credit rating - ie it looks as if your getting as much credit as poss or/and are desperate. If I was in your shoes I'd apply for another card, 0% balance tfr for as long as poss, transfer all your debt to it, and continue to pay it off until clear or the deal runs out (whichever is quickest)

Thanks Ambi, i am going to apply for the virgin one i think, although my sister mentioned a different one today, must check what that one was! I am a little worried they will turn me down and then i will be in abit of a state!