Jonathan said: “You’d be amazed at the difference this can make. For example, if you had a credit card debt of £4,476 at an APR of 21.9 percent, your next minimum payment would be £119 (assuming the terms are one percent of balance plus interest or £5, whichever is greater).
“If you just keep paying the minimum, even with no further borrowing, it would take 30 years and 10 months to pay off and cost £7,125 in interest alone.
“But, if you fixed your repayments at £119, you’d knock off 25 years and nine months from the total time to repay and save £4,513 in interest (provided you don’t continue to borrow).”
Moreover, debt is not just for Christmas time. More than one in five UK borrowers say they typically buy something on credit and worry about how to pay for it later and over a quarter typically feel guilt or regret when buying using credit.
Jonathan urged Britons to shop around and compare terms if they need to borrow. Some cards can charge high-interest rates, but provide interest free periods or discounts, for example.
