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I need a credit card but only work 10hrs a week so have low income

Hi! I'm a stay at home mum & work from home so i have a low income :-( I need a credit card basically to pay off my £500 catalogue bill as i'm paying 32.9%!!! Can anyone reccomend one?? I've never had one before & unsure what i need to look out for?? Can anyone help plz?? Thanx x

suziecarter Sat 28/06/08 21:48

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Ethel
Sat 28/06/08
21:53

In today's nervous credit climate you may have difficulty getting a credit card.

However, MBNA and Citibank may give you one.

If you get one, use it to pay off your current debt and don't use it again. It is a steep and slippery slope.

~max~
Sat 28/06/08
21:56

You'd be better off asking for a loan from your bank. A credit card would be too much trouble for what it's worth.

Postdog
Sun 29/06/08
09:56

DO NOT exchange one form of high credit for another - if you get a card, chances are you will end up paying about the same or (if you withfraw the cash on it to pay your bills) more than you are paying now. Intersest on all cards works out higher if you get cash rather than goods.

Try and find some other way round your problem, like see a debt counsellor - it may be that you can get the interest frozen or something like that.

Ethel
Sun 29/06/08
09:57

There's nothing wrong with getting a credit card with an introductory offer of 0% interest - provided you only use it to pay off that debt and nothing else.

raysparx1
Sun 29/06/08
10:01

Good advice from Ethel, another thing to remember is, if you have credit card and only pay the minimum amount each month and say you had £1,000 on that card, it would take nearly 20 years to pay it off, so never ever be tempted to only pay the minimum, and if you miss a payment you will pay an extra £12 for each late payment.

weggiewabbit
Sun 29/06/08
23:16

32.9% is a diabolical rate! As Ethel says, have a look on the web for 0% introductory offers. If you only want to transfer £500 and make that sort of sum your credit limit you might have some luck. You can get 0% for 10 months or so in some cases. They usually charge something like 3% for balance transfers these days, but that’s a lot better than 32.9%.

weggiewabbit
Sun 29/06/08
23:24

Once the 0% period runs out, you might be able to transfer the balance again to a different card for another 3% for quite a few months, and so on ....

weggiewabbit
Sun 29/06/08
23:43

Don’t forget to move it on if you can after the interest-free period ends, because it could jump to 18% or 20% after that.

Some cards are cheaper than others though ... I believe CapitalOne has one of the lowest regular rates after the offer expires.

It’s worth asking; they can only say no.

I wish you luck – and try not to spend so much in future!

EverClean
Mon 30/06/08
15:08

On a low income 32.9% isn't that uncommon.

You may be able to get another crad or loan at a cheaper rate. A loan would ensure that you don't spend any more (a credit card would allow you to spend) and would keep the discipline of repaying.

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