# Don't know how to pay my rent this month - trying to avoid CC cash advance fee



## e04 (6 Apr 2010)

Hi, I'm just in sort of a pickle here:

My  rent was due on *5th April*.

My portion of the rent to be paid is  *375 euro*. My landlord's account is with AIB.

I only have *190 euro* in  my BOI current account. I won't get paid again until *15th April*.

I  don't yet have any sort of overdraft facility set up on my account, but  would be open to getting one if it would help me here.

I have a  BOI 2-in-1 (I think) MasterCard credit card. There's currently around  *1,000 owing* on the card and a limit of 2,000.

I have Online  Banking 365 set up for my current account _and_ have the credit  card account set up as a beneficiary so I can transfer from my C/A to  pay off the card.

I have a paypal account (on the slim chance  that's _any_ help).


I only just applied for a PIN number  on the credit card so I can take out a cash advance if need be. I  should get the PIN tomorrow.





I'm still not 100%  sure how it works but I understand that if I take a cash advance from my  credit card I'll have to pay almost 20% interest on _the amount of  the advance_, until _the whole 1,000 or so_ is paid off on my  credit card. It would take me 6 weeks or so to be able to afford to pay  off the whole balance on the card. 

Do I only incur the 20%  interest at the end of the month if it's not all paid off by then, or  will I incur some kind of charge regardless of how soon I pay off  everything on the card?

I could take 100 - 150 out of my current  account and scrape by on 50 euro for the next week or so 'til I get  paid.

Does anyone know of a better way for me to somehow pay my  rent within the next day or two?

As I understand it, it's not  possible for me to transfer money from my credit card to another bank  account. Which is what I'd need to do to pay my rent.



Thanks  a lot.


----------



## Mel (6 Apr 2010)

Assuming you're usually on time with the rent, could you ask the landlord for an extension on the portion that you can't pay? 
You could transfer say, €175, leaving you with €15 for a clever grocery shop in lidl/aldi, then settle the €200 balance when you get paid.


----------



## claire.ezo (6 Apr 2010)

Agreed with your landlady to pay on 15th April when you get paid. Going forward try to pay the rent weekly. Try to transfer you credit card to interest credit card for 6 month so to pay back the outstanding balance.


----------



## e04 (6 Apr 2010)

Yeah, I can try that as a last resort. I was hoping an overdraft might be a possibility so I could pay all or nearly all of the rent.
Thanks. Gonna have to be more careful in future and keep the money off the card...


----------



## D8Lady (7 Apr 2010)

Give your  bank a call.
In the great scheme of things a small overdraft of 250- 300 should not be a big problem to arrange.

Or with BOI, you can [broken link removed]e for it
"An overdraft facility provides extra flexibility when you need it  most. It's an ideal way to handle those short-term changes in  your cashflow and avoid unnecessary charges for being over your limit.
Once  you have this credit facility on your current account, you can overdraw  up to an agreed limit and use your overdraft for any purpose."

Also, would suggest getting a copy of Family Finance 2010 by Colm Rapple (or similar) to get to grips with the basics of financial products. 



Best of luck, lets know how you get on.


----------



## denise2007 (7 Apr 2010)

Hi, explain your situation to your landlord.  I'm a landlord and would be okay with a delay of a just over a week.  Particularly if you're usually on time with payments.

Don't be paying CC charges !

Good luck.


----------



## TarfHead (7 Apr 2010)

e04 said:


> I'm still not 100% sure how it works but I understand that if I take a cash advance from my credit card I'll have to pay almost 20% interest on _the amount of the advance_, until _the whole 1,000 or so_ is paid off on my credit card. It would take me 6 weeks or so to be able to afford to pay off the whole balance on the card.


 
I'm not sure that the cost is as high as you suggest.

If you were to withdraw cash from your credit card, you'll pay an up-front cash advance fee. After that, the amount of cash withdrawn will clock interest at a monthly rate that would, if not paid off, work out at 20% in a year. Not 20% in a month.

In a month, you'd be charged €1.50 interest per €100 withdrawn and not repaid. In month 2, you'd pay €1.52 interest on the outstanding €101.50 interest & principal.

Getting cash this way can be very expensive.


----------



## UFC (8 Apr 2010)

TarfHead said:


> If you were to withdraw cash from your credit card, you'll pay an up-front cash advance fee. After that, the amount of cash withdrawn will clock interest at a monthly rate that would, if not paid off, work out at 20% in a year. Not 20% in a month.
> 
> In a month, you'd be charged €1.50 interest per €100 withdrawn and not repaid. In month 2, you'd pay €1.52 interest on the outstanding €101.50 interest & principal.


 
This is correct.

Sorry to sound harsh, but there is no excuse to not pay your rent on time. It's not your landlords fault you have money problems.


----------



## Furniture (8 Apr 2010)

Agreed with your landlady to pay on 15th April when you get paid. Going  forward try to pay the rent weekly. Try to transfer you credit card to  interest credit card for 6 month so to pay back the outstanding balance.


----------

