Might be of interest to those looking to finance a new purchase

[GMLS]

Having been brought up to avoid borrowing (unless for a mortgage) so was intending adding my annual bonus to the cash I had from selling our last van to pay for the new one (whenever that comes) but then I saw an email advertising Ratesetter. I'd not realised personal loads were still so cheap but was aware of the high APR's being advertised from credit cards, car dealers etc.

I've managed to borrow £15k over 4 years at 2.8% The view of some financial experts is that interest rates will increase to 2.25% towards the end of September when the BoE make their (now delayed) next announcement so now could be a good opportunity if anyone is looking at their financing options. I'll drop my bonus into my pension and benefit from the tax relief which will be far higher than the interest rate. I think inflation is going to remain high for a while so the burden of the loan and repayments over period will effectively be eroded.

 

[nicholsong]

Having been brought up to avoid borrowing (unless for a mortgage) so was intending adding my annual bonus to the cash I had from selling our last van to pay for the new one (whenever that comes) but then I saw an email advertising Ratesetter. I'd not realised personal loads were still so cheap but was aware of the high APR's being advertised from credit cards, car dealers etc.

I've managed to borrow £15k over 4 years at 2.8% The view of some financial experts is that interest rates will increase to 2.25% towards the end of September when the BoE make their (now delayed) next announcement so now could be a good opportunity if anyone is looking at their financing options. I'll drop my bonus into my pension and benefit from the tax relief which will be far higher than the interest rate. I think inflation is going to remain high for a while so the burden of the loan and repayments over period will effectively be eroded.

Did you have to put up any co-lateral?

Would they do £250K for a new Morelo?

E

 

[Fulham Dave]

My wife and I took out 13 zero % credit cards to fund the full purchase of our £127,000 van!

With up to 29 months to repay, we just paid the minimum each month, meaning the bulk of our money was earning interest over that period

 

[Spriddler]

I've managed to borrow £15k over 4 years at 2.8% The view of some financial experts is that interest rates will increase to 2.25% towards the end of September

An increase? From 2.8% to 2.25%

Maybe you should've waited a couple of weeks.

 

[Minxy]

Just a thought ... if you can get a loan at say 2.8% and then get a fixed rate Bond at 3.5% or more then you could make some nice dosh for doing nothing!

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[Minxy]

My wife and I took out 13 zero % credit cards to fund the full purchase of our £127,000 van!

With up to 29 months to repay, we just paid the minimum each month, meaning the bulk of our money was earning interest over that period

How on earth did you managed to accrue 13 of them! We managed to get a fair few but not that many!

 

[GMLS]

An increase? From 2.8% to 2.25%

Maybe you should've waited a couple of weeks.

2.25% would be the base rate

 

[Fulham Dave]

How on earth did you managed to accrue 13 of them! We managed to get a fair few but not that many!

We did it in the matter of a couple of hours one afternoon Minxy. In fact, our total could have gone to £155,000 had we maxed out all the cards!!!

We both applied for single cards, not joint, from the same providers and were accepted by them all

 

[Portland]

You folk must be financial wizards, I could never keep up with the repayment times so that I didn't have to pay interest. I do think Minxy's idea looks good, however, if I change motorhome, if I can't put my hand in my pocket and pay for it then I'll leave it there.

 

[On the road again]

You folk must be financial wizards, I could never keep up with the repayment times so that I didn't have to pay interest. I do think Minxy's idea looks good, however, if I change motorhome, if I can't put my hand in my pocket and pay for it then I'll leave it there.

Just set up a D/debit to pay off the minimum each month - but don't forget to pay off the whole amount when the interest free period ends.
I've been borrowing 'free money'for years

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[Minxy]

We did it in the matter of a couple of hours one afternoon Minxy. In fact, our total could have gone to £155,000 had we maxed out all the cards!!!

We both applied for single cards, not joint, from the same providers and were accepted by them all

I'm intrigued still ... a lot of dealers will only take a deposit on a credit card due to the fees they pay, so how did you managed to get the dosh 'for real'? Were they 0% money transfer ones where you can draw the money off them and put it into a bank account? We've only had purchase and balance transfer ones.

 

[Minxy]

Just set up a D/debit to pay off the minimum each month - but don't forget to pay off the whole amount when the interest free period ends.
I've been borrowing 'free money'for years

That's the way to do it, we used a similar method when we had to pay off our mortgage from 'funds' rather than from our planned selling our rental bungalow due to housing market being stagnant due to covid. We put all our bills on them and used the freed up money to pay down the mortgage then saved enough afterwards to put into savings accounts so that when the cards become due we can pay them off if necessary if we can't transfer the debt again which is what we're doing if we can especially now that the savings rates are improving.

 

[GMLS]

Another tactic I've deployed is to get a new car with an element of dealer finance to secure maximum discount then get a personnal loan at a much lower APR and then pay it off with 14 days

 

[bobnick]

Wish some of you would sit with me for a couple of hours to sort my lot out.
I know i'm losing out big time.
Reason, over the decades the only time i've lost money big time was the 3 times i've used official financial advisor's so do not have any confidence in them.
You lot appear to be so much more realistic.

 

[The Wino]

Having been brought up to avoid borrowing (unless for a mortgage) so was intending adding my annual bonus to the cash I had from selling our last van to pay for the new one (whenever that comes) but then I saw an email advertising Ratesetter. I'd not realised personal loads were still so cheap but was aware of the high APR's being advertised from credit cards, car dealers etc.

I've managed to borrow £15k over 4 years at 2.8% The view of some financial experts is that interest rates will increase to 2.25% towards the end of September when the BoE make their (now delayed) next announcement so now could be a good opportunity if anyone is looking at their financing options. I'll drop my bonus into my pension and benefit from the tax relief which will be far higher than the interest rate. I think inflation is going to remain high for a while so the burden of the loan and repayments over period will effectively be eroded.

Are you sure its 2.8% Apr?. Most loans quote a flat rate the apr is roughly double that. It would seem strange to be able to borrow on a fixed rate that low at the moment if it was good going!

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[Fulham Dave]

I'm intrigued still ... a lot of dealers will only take a deposit on a credit card due to the fees they pay, so how did you managed to get the dosh 'for real'? Were they 0% money transfer ones where you can draw the money off them and put it into a bank account? We've only had purchase and balance transfer ones.

We did it all over the phone with the dealer, it was during lockdown. We gave him the numbers etc for each card, he entered into his keypad and after about 10/15 mins, all were through except one, HSBC if my memory serves me right, as it would not allow him to enter the details. Quick phone call sorted that issue out.

We spoke with the dealer, told him what we intended to do so we were not knowingly charged anything 'extra' for using this. I suppose he was already making a profit on selling the van

 

[Portland]

I ca

Wish some of you would sit with me for a couple of hours to sort my lot out.
I know i'm losing out big time.
Reason, over the decades the only time i've lost money big time was the 3 times i've used official financial advisor's so do not have any confidence in them.
You lot appear to be so much more realistic.

I agree with you on that, although we do have a really good chap now , lots of them are only interested in lining their own pockets. Smiling crooks as my beloved calls them.

 

[The Wino]

I ca

I agree with you on that, although we do have a really good chap now , lots of them are only interested in lining their own pockets. Smiling crooks as my beloved calls them.

It took me years to find someone I trust. With all the others you could feel their hand sneaking in your wallet!. I don't think we get fantastic returns but then he has invested following our risk profile chosen which as we're retired is fairly cautious.
I'd beware of anyone promising too much in the way of returns unless the market as a whole goes up. They generally say that managed funds produce better returns but strangely enough I've yet to find any that only charge if they beat the index!

 

[GMLS]

Are you sure its 2.8% Apr?. Most loans quote a flat rate the apr is roughly double that. It would seem strange to be able to borrow on a fixed rate that low at the moment if it was good going!

Yup in black and white

 

[Lenny HB]

Would they do £250K for a new Morelo?

You only going for a very basic one then?

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[Lenny HB]

At only 2.8% it's still nearly 2 grand you are giving them. 11% of the borrowed amount.

 

[1ten]

Another tactic I've deployed is to get a new car with an element of dealer finance to secure maximum discount then get a personnal loan at a much lower APR and then pay it off with 14 days

We have done this few times to get the best deal and quite often 3 years free servicing. The last one we paid it off the same day!

 

[Crazylegs]

Having grafted away for many years to pay off mortgages, loans and cards we thought we were done with debt. So this year we purchased a newer Hymer, we were about 9k short of the purchase price, take a bit from the pension we thought.
Some years ago we took out a tax free lump sum for an extension, we were advised that to take any more from the pension we would have to pay 20% tax. So we have taken the additional money we need from a 0% card.
Back in debt! It’s a funny old world.

 

[SpeedyDux]

Every now and then I consider buying a newer and bigger MH. The Duxette would like that. I could use credit cards to bridge that financial gap, or take out a fixed loan while interest rates are still low, but I am very hesitant.

Debt has a funny way of messing with your head. Being in debt becomes a part of your self-concept. Paying off the debt creates a void, making it difficult to resist taking on a new debt unless you have strong self-discipline. Unless you were brought up to regard getting a mortgage to buy your house as the only acceptable type, and all other debts as falling under the saying "neither a borrower nor a lender be".

After I redeemed my morgage completely I had a weird feeling of unease. Being debt-free seemed unreal, abnormal even. For a while. I think I am over it now. I will carry on with the current PVC and its compromises but that itch is still there.

 

[bobnick]

The last "Debt" i we paid off was our mortgage some 25/30 years ago.
What a relief.
I vowed never again. And to date we have not taken finance for anything. If the money ain't there in the bank already we cannot afford it.
Now then free money that some talk about, would love to learn more about that.

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[On the road again]

Every now and then I consider buying a newer and bigger MH. The Duxette would like that. I could use credit cards to bridge that financial gap, or take out a fixed loan while interest rates are still low, but I am very hesitant.

Debt has a funny way of messing with your head. Being in debt becomes a part of your self-concept. Paying off the debt creates a void, making it difficult to resist taking on a new debt unless you have strong self-discipline. Unless you were brought up to regard getting a mortgage to buy your house as the only acceptable type, and all other debts as falling under the saying "neither a borrower nor a lender be".

After I redeemed my morgage completely I had a weird feeling of unease. Being debt-free seemed unreal, abnormal even. For a while. I think I am over it now. I will carry on with the current PVC and its compromises but that itch is still there.

You can look at it another way though , particularly with regard to obtaining a newer/bigger/better. more expensive Mhome.Just look at it as a depreciating asset which will have a sale value when you dispose of it.
The way I looked at it ( we only bought ours since being retired) was by reducing my investments by the 45k we paid for our 1st one we could sell it after say 5 yrs for,say, 25k, which would then add back into our available cash pot effectively paying 4k per year -which was well within the amount we had planned for our leisure time anyway- as the cost of holidaying (plus the spending /annual charges etc obviously which was also bubgeted for in our leisure time spend).
After a year we upgraded as we liked the lifestyle and I simply took another 30k out of our investments( and/or become creative with credit cards/loans as the thread suggests) and, upped the expected sale price from 25k to 50k investment pot a year further down the line so, effectively,we'd spent 25k for 6 years holidaying.

Of course the theory will be tested when it comes to selling although, ATM, with resale values, it could become a way fo making a few bob!

 

[On the road again]

The last "Debt" i we paid off was our mortgage some 25/30 years ago.
What a relief.
I vowed never again. And to date we have not taken finance for anything. If the money ain't there in the bank already we cannot afford it.
Now then free money that some talk about, would love to learn more about that.

The 'free money' refers to not paying interest but, when interest rates are higher you can make a few bob depending on how much you load the credit card.
Basically you keep the money you'owe' on the c/c in the account you are earning interest on and, depending on the interest rate you earn, you can have , say, 15k owed to an interest free credit card, in your own account earning, say 2% a year, which after 2 years will total £606 return
You then pay off the 15k at the end of the interest free period ( which you will have been paying the minimum on each month so are left with an end bill of say £14,400) and you have £606 in your pocket- which will feel like a bit more because the amount outstanding on the C/card is only £14,400!

Obviously this depends on interest rates available which, happily for some of us, are starting to rise upwards again-albeit slowly.

 

[jako999]

We are in the lucky position to pay for everything we buy but what most people don’t realise is there is very little point in saving up, money looses about 50% of its value every 7 years due to price increases and so on. So it actually works out far cheaper to borrow the money in the long run.

 

[The Wino]

We are in the lucky position to pay for everything we buy but what most people don’t realise is there is very little point in saving up, money looses about 50% of its value every 7 years due to price increases and so on. So it actually works out far cheaper to borrow the money in the long run.

It might work out cheaper than the cost of borrowing if there were no inflation but it will still cost more than paying cash unless you can realise more in interest than the loan interest costs

 

[Minxy]

The 'free money' refers to not paying interest but, when interest rates are higher you can make a few bob depending on how much you load the credit card.
Basically you keep the money you'owe' on the c/c in the account you are earning interest on and, depending on the interest rate you earn, you can have , say, 15k owed to an interest free credit card, in your own account earning, say 2% a year, which after 2 years will total £606 return
You then pay off the 15k at the end of the interest free period ( which you will have been paying the minimum on each month so are left with an end bill of say £14,400) and you have £606 in your pocket- which will feel like a bit more because the amount outstanding on the C/card is only £14,400!

Obviously this depends on interest rates available which, happily for some of us, are starting to rise upwards again-albeit slowly.

Exactly what we're doing now, the money we're not using to pay off the 0% credit cards totally and just paying the minimum amount each month, is earning a nice bit of interest in the banks etc.

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