Options for clearing down credit cards

[razor842]

Ok Finally trying to get my fianances in order starting with clearing
down my credit cards.

i have two cards,
an EBS/MBNA card which i opened to get 10 months ago to get the interest free blance transfer. Ive never used this card for purchases.
been paying it off bit by bit and i have 3500 left currently on this card. APR 19.30% i think.

A BOI Advantage Mastercard which ive had for years and has 4500 euro on it. APR around 16% i think.

Whats the best way to clear these down?

I was thinking of geting a 2 year BOI Personal loan for 12.4%.
Clear them off totally in one go and cut up the cards.
Is this the best option?

thanks

 

[horusd]

If your doing an overhaul on your finances it will be worth seeing where the money is going with a budget spreadsheet. You might just want to address the CC problem, but its likely that it is the result of poor financial management (no offence intended !) overall and you will want to get a full handle on your financial affairs. See the attached link for a thread on AAM website. I've been using the one Brendan B.gives the link for and find it excellent.http://www.askaboutmoney.com/showthread.php?t=148686 It's an excel document,, so you'll need that application to use it. I also have made a habit of recording daily where the money goes on this by simply adding an add'l page to the spreadsheet. This gives me a level of control over my spending that's brilliant - I can account for every cent, and there are no surprises. It also takes little time to just get into the habit of using it. Getting a handle on your money means understanding where it's going, budgetting to get out of unwanted debt and crucially staying out of it. As for the "best buys" on personal loans, see that keypost from mugsgame in the banking forum.