# Credit card Balance transfer, Confused to whats my best move!



## DaveDesign (May 6, 2008)

Okay the background.

We are working hard to pay off our debt, all now on credit cards and paying a consideral amount each month to clear the lot within 2 years.
we have XXX to spend each month on cards, paying the 7% cards first.

We have 4 cards, 2 of them at aprox 7% interest, 1 at 0% for 24months and the last has a balance of zero as i transfered out to the o% card.

But now that card is clear I had a letter saying i can balance transfer for 0% variable for 9months with a 3 % fee.

So I think, coo, l transfer an amount i can fully pay in 9 months which obviously takes a chunk away from a 7% card. But, then i think, surely it will then take me longer to clear the 7% card as some of the money i would have been paying on that would have been diverted away to paying the 0% for 9month card.

A little ackward I know without me putting up my finacial information, But didnt fancy flaunting that around a public forum!

So would I be any better off moving some to the 0% for 9 months and lower the monthly amount I was paying on a 7%, or forget about 0% for 9months and keep paying the most i can into a 7% card?


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## ottostein (Sep 11, 2012)

Depends on if you can afford it, would seem silly to keep paying 7% when you can clear the debt and just pay what is owed.

Good luck with it though. Can be very hard


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## DaveDesign (May 6, 2008)

I can afford it as i have a fixed amount i want to pay each month that's a total to spend on all cards, obviously making miniumum payments where I can and ploughing as much into the 7%'s as i can. Thats were i'm confused. So as is for example i wanna pay 300 a month on one of the 7%, If i moved some to 0% i Would need to pay that in 9 months so my £300 a month on 7% card would drop to say £200 a month while im spending £100 a month to clear the 0% transfer in 9 months.

This where im not sure if I would be any better off by doing it.

Yes it is hard, Half way there now though and I can see the light at the end of the tunnel in 2 years. We want nothing more than to get rid of this, Even looking into evening work to help clear it, All overtime goes straight into clearing it also. 

We will be considerly better off a month when it's all gone, I spend more than 50% of my wages on this!
But there we go, that's what a habbit of spending above your means for a good period of time does!


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## ottostein (Sep 11, 2012)

Confusing lol.

So let me get this straight. 

you want to do 300x9 = 2700 on the 7% card. If you move some or all of the debt to the 0% card.

Seems to me that it would be alot of hard work to change it, you may be paying more off on the 7% card but at least you know what is what. 

If it was me i would leave it as is but i recon you could end up paying around £50 less if my calculations are correct but im not banker so might aswell blow advice out my ass lol


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## DaveDesign (May 6, 2008)

yea kinda, that works for an example.

In a nutshell i can save on interest by moving some debt to 0%

But on the flipside it means paying less on the 7% card so would take longer to clear, thus more interest. No chance of clearing one of the 7% cards in a 9month period either.

I do not have a clue if it would cost me more or less in interest!


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## Mark Chandler (Nov 7, 2011)

You need to shop around, 9 months interest free is not that great, you can get up to 18 months, I think the M&S and sainsburys cards are offering this.

So close off the empty cards, go against what feels wrong and get a new card with a longer interest free period and put your largest dept against this and pay the minimum each month or they stop the interest free.

Now throw every penny left over at your other high interest card, effectively the APR over 9 months with diminishing debt will be less than the 3% transfer fee.

Once hammered off close down the card, put all the money you would now be paying into the interest free card into a savings account, carry on with the minimum payments then on the last day of the 18 month period (if you managed to secure this) pay the card off at one hit. The interest on the savings account will then offset the 3% initial transfer fee.

The secret is to be fully focused, make sure you allow enough personal money during this to have a little fun/extras or it will make it even harder to face which raises the risk of giving up.

Everyone at some point has debt, as you get older it becomes easier to manage it better. As you have made the commitment to pay it off you are already ahead of the game  congratulations.


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## DaveDesign (May 6, 2008)

Already made a start with some of that.

I got card with 0% for 24months, Transfered my most expensive to this and some of a less expensive card, So that card is now full.
Making minimum payments on this by DD

Leaves me 2 cards at around 7% each which one is minimum payment and the other i'm throwing all the money possible at.

This other 0% card I keep talking about is what my most expensive card was, Now it's empty they sent me an offer for 0% transfer for 9months.

We are truly comited to debt free, going without alot of lifes luxuries, sold my nice vw passat, brought a run around which knocked 3K off a card with what I had left over.

I like the idea of a saving account earning interest while 0% debt ticks over, But in reallity for me that 0% is 2 years and it's going to take 2 years to clear the debt.


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## carl robson (Nov 16, 2011)

Have a look at Martin Lewis site I'm sure there is a card that is 15 months at 0% for transfers not sure what the % is after that but either way you'll be ready to swap or the card will be clear. Good luck it's not nice owing I know I'm there:-(


Sent from a better phone than my last bag of crap


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## DaveDesign (May 6, 2008)

To be honest, I doubt i would be accepted for another card.
I only got the 24 month 0% card a month ago. To be completely honest i was shocked I was approved!

Re the savings account, Just had a quick look on my snowball calculator, After the debt at 7% is gone it should still leave me with around 6 months worth of debt at 0% to pay. This may be an opertunity to make the minimum payment on that whilst putting the rest of the money into savings and clear the 0% debt on the last month of the period.

mind you, it might only earn me £7!!!!!


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## PaulN (Jan 17, 2008)

lol No wonder your confused, your making sound so complicated!!! 

Bottom line if the 3% balance transfer fees is less than the 7% interest over 9 months then its worth doing regardless of how you change paying things.

But bear in mind, you wont get 7% affter the 9 months is up so only do it if you can clear it.

My advice look around get a new card if need be with a long 0% period and wack it all onto one youll beable to get 12 months then fingers crossed one of your old cards will offer another 12months 0% after that.


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## nickvw (Jun 24, 2007)

Dont know if you have tried barclaycard but my father in law had about £14,000 on five different cards and paying nearly £350 a month in interest, he applied to barclaycard and was amazed they accepted him and his entire balance to be transferred. He now has £14,000 on 0% for 24 months on the barclaycard so just one payment each month and whatever he has left at the end of the 24 months he can transfer to someone else until it's cleared.


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## shinyporsche (Oct 30, 2012)

One thing to watch when contacting card companies is that they don't do you a deal but file a default against your name without you knowing about it.

I cleared all my cards a few years ago. I called all the card companies and suggested that I would pay 50% of the balance if they'd close the account. Some haggled to 80%. I was really chuffed with the outcome until I found Barclays and RBS had both stamped 'default' on my credit record meaning it was 6 years before I could get any credit.

Not a bad thing as it happens because by then I was totally debt-free - but it'd have been good of them to have told me what they were going to do.


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## Ravinder (Jul 24, 2009)

shinyporsche said:


> One thing to watch when contacting card companies is that they don't do you a deal but file a default against your name without you knowing about it.
> 
> I cleared all my cards a few years ago. I called all the card companies and suggested that I would pay 50% of the balance if they'd close the account. Some haggled to 80%. I was really chuffed with the outcome until I found Barclays and RBS had both stamped 'default' on my credit record meaning it was 6 years before I could get any credit.
> 
> Not a bad thing as it happens because by then I was totally debt-free - but it'd have been good of them to have told me what they were going to do.


Yeah, but isn't that only if you can't pay the balance off due to financial hardship for instance and they offer a settlement? If that is the case, then I would expect this to leave a default against your name as the credit card couldn't be paid and an alternative arrangement had to be made due to the circumstances.


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