Most Popular
1. Banking Crisis is Stocks Bull Market Buying Opportunity - Nadeem_Walayat
2.The Crypto Signal for the Precious Metals Market - P_Radomski_CFA
3. One Possible Outcome to a New World Order - Raymond_Matison
4.Nvidia Blow Off Top - Flying High like the Phoenix too Close to the Sun - Nadeem_Walayat
5. Apple AAPL Stock Trend and Earnings Analysis - Nadeem_Walayat
6.AI, Stocks, and Gold Stocks – Connected After All - P_Radomski_CFA
7.Stock Market CHEAT SHEET - - Nadeem_Walayat
8.US Debt Ceiling Crisis Smoke and Mirrors Circus - Nadeem_Walayat
9.Silver Price May Explode - Avi_Gilburt
10.More US Banks Could Collapse -- A Lot More- EWI
Last 7 days
Stock Market Volatility (VIX) - 25th Mar 24
Stock Market Investor Sentiment - 25th Mar 24
The Federal Reserve Didn't Do Anything But It Had Plenty to Say - 25th Mar 24
Stock Market Breadth - 24th Mar 24
Stock Market Margin Debt Indicator - 24th Mar 24
It’s Easy to Scream Stocks Bubble! - 24th Mar 24
Stocks: What to Make of All This Insider Selling- 24th Mar 24
Money Supply Continues To Fall, Economy Worsens – Investors Don’t Care - 24th Mar 24
Get an Edge in the Crypto Market with Order Flow - 24th Mar 24
US Presidential Election Cycle and Recessions - 18th Mar 24
US Recession Already Happened in 2022! - 18th Mar 24
AI can now remember everything you say - 18th Mar 24
Bitcoin Crypto Mania 2024 - MicroStrategy MSTR Blow off Top! - 14th Mar 24
Bitcoin Gravy Train Trend Forecast 2024 - 11th Mar 24
Gold and the Long-Term Inflation Cycle - 11th Mar 24
Fed’s Next Intertest Rate Move might not align with popular consensus - 11th Mar 24
Two Reasons The Fed Manipulates Interest Rates - 11th Mar 24
US Dollar Trend 2024 - 9th Mar 2024
The Bond Trade and Interest Rates - 9th Mar 2024
Investors Don’t Believe the Gold Rally, Still Prefer General Stocks - 9th Mar 2024
Paper Gold Vs. Real Gold: It's Important to Know the Difference - 9th Mar 2024
Stocks: What This "Record Extreme" Indicator May Be Signaling - 9th Mar 2024
My 3 Favorite Trade Setups - Elliott Wave Course - 9th Mar 2024
Bitcoin Crypto Bubble Mania! - 4th Mar 2024
US Interest Rates - When WIll the Fed Pivot - 1st Mar 2024
S&P Stock Market Real Earnings Yield - 29th Feb 2024
US Unemployment is a Fake Statistic - 29th Feb 2024
U.S. financial market’s “Weimar phase” impact to your fiat and digital assets - 29th Feb 2024
What a Breakdown in Silver Mining Stocks! What an Opportunity! - 29th Feb 2024
Why AI will Soon become SA - Synthetic Intelligence - The Machine Learning Megatrend - 29th Feb 2024
Keep Calm and Carry on Buying Quantum AI Tech Stocks - 19th Feb 24

Market Oracle FREE Newsletter

How to Protect your Wealth by Investing in AI Tech Stocks

Take Control of Your Debit and Credit Card Debts and Get Back in the Black

Personal_Finance / Debt & Loans Nov 24, 2015 - 03:31 PM GMT

By: MoneyFacts

Personal_Finance

Consumers who are hoping to snap up a great deal in the upcoming Black Friday sales need to make sure they don’t lose their heads when its comes to their finances, warns Moneyfacts.co.uk.

Millions of shoppers are expected to take advantage of offers both in shops and online this Friday (27 November), but the cost of using an overdraft or a credit card to bag some goodies could kill the buzz of the bargain hunting.


While interest-free credit cards and fee-free buffers on overdrafts certainly exist, the majority of credit cards, store cards and high street bank accounts do in fact have high charges borrowers would be wise to avoid (see table below).

Rachel Springall, Finance Expert at Moneyfacts.co.uk, said:

“While it’s tempting for shoppers to go on a wild spending spree, they would be wise to take a moment to consider the actual cost of using their credit card or overdraft, particularly if they know they won’t have sufficient income to get back in credit in the short term.

“It’s so easy to borrow money using an overdraft or credit card, and contactless payments are making this process even quicker. However, buyers need to be careful not to overspend as they could end up being hit with costly charges.  

“Some banks have moved away from charging interest on their overdrafts and have instead turned to daily charges. While this does give customers greater transparency, it also means that many are now paying more. Some banks charge customers £1 a day to borrow from a planned overdraft and up to £5 daily for exceeding the limit. So if £300 is borrowed for half a month, this could end up costing borrowers an extra £75 in charges.

“Store cards are a convenient method of payment, but they can charge up to 29.9% APR on purchases. As a result, they should only ever be used for the upfront signing-up perks because better cards can be found elsewhere.

“If borrowing can’t be avoided, there are simple ways to reduce costs. For example, by using a competitive money transfer credit card, customers can redit their bank account to save them the pain of excessive overdraft fees. Customers can also use an interest-free balance transfer card to avoid credit card charges and gain a bit of breathing space to pay off outstanding balances. Some of these deals have no fee to move debts, which will also help to keep costs down.

“To control debt, consumers must digest the importance of paying more than the minimum monthly repayment on credit cards, or they could become embroiled in a vicious cycle of debt. Tackling the problem early is the best way to get back in the black as the longer the debt remains, the harder it is to pay off.”

www.moneyfacts.co.uk - The Money Search Engine

Moneyfacts.co.uk is the UK's leading independent provider of personal finance information. For the last 20 years, Moneyfacts' information has been the key driver behind many personal finance decisions, from the Treasury to the high street.


© 2005-2022 http://www.MarketOracle.co.uk - The Market Oracle is a FREE Daily Financial Markets Analysis & Forecasting online publication.


Post Comment

Only logged in users are allowed to post comments. Register/ Log in