2 separate loans with credit union..should I combine?

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Hi all. My wife and I have 2 separate loans with our local credit union. I did some rough maths myself, and assumed that it would be cheaper in the long term to combine the 2. The credit union tried to fob me off saying that it involves alot of paperwork, and there is no great saving to be made anyway. So I am doing my own bit of research here to make sure. If I include all facts and figures, I would greatly appreciate if someone could advise me on what to do.

Loan 1: Balance as of 8 Oct 2009 is €8999.72. (Just got a top up on this date.)
This involves 259 weekly payments of €43.57 and 1 final payment of €39.91. (We pay €45 per week if this matters)
Total amt repayable is €11298.64.
Cost of Loan is €2298.92.
APR is 9.93%
Interest rate per annum is 9.48% variable.
Loan finishes on 2 Oct 2014

Loan 2: Balance as 30 Jan 2009 was €11927.41. (loan started on this date)
This involves 257 weekly payments of €58.06 and 1 final payment of €20.65. (We pay €60 per week if this matters)
Total amt repayable is €14942.07.
Cost of Loan is €3014.66.
APR is 9.93%
Interest rate per annum is 9.48% variable.
Balance as at 14 Oct 2009 is €10,455.72
Loan finishes on 10 Jan 2014.

Thats all the info!! No seriously, any help appreciated or if more info is neened, let me know.
Thanks
 
There are a number of ways in which you could potentially save move by amalgamating loans but there is no evidence from the above that any of them apply in your case:
1. The amalgamated loans would have a lower interest rate
2. You have a payment protection policy and a single policy would be cheaper than two policies.

Assuming that the rate does not change and there is no insurance involved, the way to reduce the cost of borrowing is to pay off the loans quicker by paying more each month.

Given that the dividend on your savings in the credit union is likely to be very low, it would be worth requesting that the majority of your savings be taken off the loan, as this would save you money. Ensure that all the money you put in every week goes against the loan as many credit unions put remainder in to shares / deposit which is not the best use of those funds when you have an outstanding loan balance.

Final option is to shop around, looking at the Best Buy section to see if you can get a loan elsewhere with a better rate and terms.
 
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