This is a guest post from The Money Charity, the UK's financial capability charity. If you would like to receive its monthly statistical report The Money Statistics, sign up here. This paper was written as background research for The Money Charity’s responses to the Financial Conduct Authority consultations on the short term credit market. As a reference document it may be of interest to … [Read more...]
Articles about credit cards
Credit cards can be really useful but they can also be dangerous - if you just hand over that piece of plastic it can be too easy to run up bills which will take you many years to clear. So how can you make the best use of them? The articles here look at
make sure you get the benefits - practical steps you can take so that the banks don't make huge profits from you;
what's new and whats changing with credit cards in Britain?
too much credit card debt - how can you tackle it fast?
The credit card suggests you pay more … but what if you don’t?
Have you had a letter from a credit card, store card or catalogue suggesting that you should increase what you pay each month? Hundreds of thousands of these letters are going to people who have only been paying the minimum amounts for a long time. Here is one: If you're still paying more in interest, charges and fees than you're repaying your credit card debt in nine months' time, we'll … [Read more...]
Credit cards – to close or not to close?
If you have a credit card with a zero balance, should you close it? Would cancelling it improve or harm your credit score? This is important to get right if you are trying to clear your debts as fast as possible or if you are hoping to get a mortgage soon. It also applies to catalogue accounts. Here are the main arguments for and against closing the credit card: Four reasons to … [Read more...]
Credit cards – the minimum payment trap
Do you only make the minimum payments on your credit cards? If money is tight, you may feel minimum payments are your only option, but do you know how much they are costing you and how long it will take to pay it all off? And do you know that there is a simple alternative that will speed up debt repayments a lot and not cost you any more? Read on! How long does it take to clear the … [Read more...]
Not so many 0% balance transfer deals in 2019 & they are shorter
For two years the 0% balance transfers on offer have been getting slowly less good. Here is how they have been falling over the past two years: back in May 2017, you could have got a 43 month deal in May 2018 there were 37 month deals on offer in February 2019 the longest offer was 32 months in March 2019 that had dropped to 29 months in June 2019 29 months is still the longest … [Read more...]
“What’s the best way to clear credit card debt?”
A reader has a very common situation: I have £12,000 of debt on a couple of credit cards and a catalogue. Is a loan the best way to sort this out as soon as possible? It's not possible to answer that without a lot more details... but let's explore the options and see what makes some ways better for some people. Why do you want to do this? There are three main reasons: you are fed up with … [Read more...]
Off to uni in 2018? Time to plan your finances!
You have the A level grades - well done! There are now just a few weeks to get organised for uni in September 2018. What should your top priorities be for managing your money? And what should you avoid? Living on a student loan is hard You will probably get more money in your bank account than you have ever had before. But most students find it harder to manage than they expected. It’a not … [Read more...]
Vanquis increases minimum monthly payments
People with Vanquis credit cards are getting texts and letters saying their minimum monthly payments will be increasing as the calculation is being changed. This is happening from July 2018. The new minimum payment calculations At the moment Vanquis calculates the minimum monthly payments as the highest of three figures: 3.5%, 4.5% or 5% of the balance on the account (depending on … [Read more...]
What to do if you can’t pay a debt this month
Are you facing a debt problem? Don't feel guilty, with prices going up more than wages and benefits being cut, millions of people will be in this position in January 2019. So if you can't pay all your bills and debts this month, what should you do? Here is a practical list - starting with things you shouldn't do, as they will make your life harder next month! Don't panic Many of the … [Read more...]
Persistent credit card debt – lenders must do more to help
UPDATE - in 2019 many people are getting the "warning letters" as a result of the new rules that are discussed in this article. See The credit card suggests you pay more … but what if you don’t? for details. In 2017 the Financial Conduct Authority (FCA) is proposing a definition of persistent credit card debt and a set of actions credit card lenders will have to take with people who are in … [Read more...]