Debit when credit’s due...

In January, for many, the letterbox becomes an enemy. When it flips open it contains a bill. And the worst of those for many are credit cards. If you’ve debts you can’t repay, there are two key things to do: stop borrowing more and cut the interest rate.

By cutting the rate, more of your repayments clear the actual debt rather than just help add profit to the lender. The main weapon to clear credit and store cards is a balance transfer, where you get a new credit card(s) that repays debts on existing cards for you, so you owe it, but at a far lower cost, for a small fee.

The good news is right now there’s white hot competition in this market. So sort it now and stop paying more than needed.

How to choose the right balance transfer card deals

There are a vast range of cards to choose from, ranging up to 43 months 0%. But it isn’t quite a simple as just go for the longest. 1. Go for the lowest fee in the

time you’ re sure you can re pay.

Most cards charge a oneoff fee on the amount of debt transferred. So, for example, 3% is £30 per £1,000. Generally, the longer the 0% period, the bigger the fee.

So what you need to do is calculate how long you think you’ll take to clear the debt, add a few months for safety, then pick the lowest fee within the time you need.

For example, the longest card available at the time of writing is the www.MBNA.co.uk up to 43 mths 0%, with a 3.29% fee. The longest no-fee card is www.Halifax.co.uk up to 26 mths 0%.

You need a PERSONALISED best buy table.

Each lender credit scores you differently. Best buy tables just list the best offers available, but what really counts is what you can be accepted for. Worse still, the only way to find out what you’ll actually get is to apply, and that marks your credit file.

A new range of tools show your likely chances of acceptance before applying, protecting your credit score. Some card firms have their own or my Eligibility Calculator (www.mse.me/ BTeligibility) shows your chances for most top cards.

Many cards are ‘up tos’. With these cards, only 51% of accepted applicants need get the advertised 0% length, the rest could get a shorter deal. So, in many cases, the cards that aren’t ‘up tos’ can be better. The longest non-up to 0% deal is www.SainsburysBank.co.uk 42mth 0% for a 3.5% fee, and it also has the longest fee -free deal at 25mth 0%.

This is especially important when you do a eligibility comparison. If all your accepted cards are ‘up to’ cards, then the likelihood is you won’t get the full 0%. So even if there’re one or two non ‘up to’ deals there, they may be worth looking at. THE 3 BALANCE TRANSFER GOLDEN RULES

Getting the right card’s only half the job. Once you get it, you need to use it the right way.

Repay at least the set monthly min, or you can lose the 0% deal. The same can be true if you bust your credit limit.

Always clear the card or shift again before the 0% ends, or rates jump to the representative APRs, typically 18% to 20%.

Don’t spend or withdraw cash on them, it’s rarely at the cheap rate. Instead, shift your debt to these cards, then put it away somewhere not to be used.

A final thought on this. The best way to clear debts is to re pay as much as you can and be wary of only re paying the minimum repayments. These are set to only just cover the interest, so repayments drop as debt drops, prolonging the debt period.

For example with £3,000 on a typical card, repaying minimum repayments it’d take you 27 years to repay, costing £4,000 in interest. Now you may say tome“I can’ t afford to pay more ”. Yet in the first month the minimum repayment would be about £70, and if you fixed your repayment at that rather than letting it drop, you’d clear the debt in five years.

If you’ve multiple debts, order them in terms of interest rates, and throw all spare cash at repaying the one with the highest rate (as its growing fastest). Once that’s clear, focus on the next most expensive and so on. Are you in debt crisis?

The solutions above are for those who can manage their debts. Yet if you a) can’t meet even the minimum monthly payments b) have non-mortgage debts bigger than a year’s salary or c) can’t sleep or have depression/ anxiety due to debts, then you’re in what I define as debt crisis.

Forget the above and get free, one-on-one debt-counselling help from www. CitizensAdvice.org, www. capuk.org, www.StepChange.org or www. NationalDebtline.co.uk. They’re there to help.