Q – With Christmas coming up, where is the best place to borrow to clear off some debts – I have a credit card balance of €9,000, a credit union loan of € 9,600 and an overdraft of € 7,000 – € 25,600 altogether. It is costing me over € 1,100 per month.. I own my own home – it’s worth € 235,000. Any advice ? Thanks Patrick – Cobh Co Cork
A – Thanks Patrick for the question but the real question is have you got your finances under control now ? If you have good credit history ( check first with www.centralcreditregister.ie the government Credit Agency recently set up – its free and only takes a few days ) you could transfer the credit card debt to one of four credit card companies – An Post Money ( the best at 12 months ) Permanent TSB ( 6 months ) and Bank of Ireland ( 7 months ) – who allow the transfer at 0% at their time threshold. This gives you breathing space and ideally if you were able, clear the credit card debt with say An Post Money over 12 months at € 750 per month – a tall order ? The overdraft technically has to be in credit for 30 days every year and obviously you may be under pressure by your bank to adhere to those terms and conditions. Before seeking that new lender, have you considered your immediate expenditure and made allowances for it ? Borrowing via equity release i.e. a mortgage on your home, say € 30,000 over 20 years will cost you at 3.5% ( 4 year fixed ) a monthly payment of € 173.99…nearly € 1,000 cheaper per month… I recommend you first do a budget, look at these options on a once off basis but seek professional advice.