Credit cards can be both a blessing and a curse. They’re great for building your credit score and grabbing extra protection for online purchases. Section 75 of the Consumer Credit Act covers you when spending between £100 and £30,000 if things go wrong. The curse? People can end up sinking into expensive interest debt that keeps growing month after month. If that sounds familiar, you’re not alone.

In September, credit card borrowing in the UK reached £700million, according to the Bank of England’s latest report. What’s worse is, according to Experian, 83% of UK borrowers (around 34 million people) are carrying revolving credit that isn’t ‘optimised’, which means they could be paying more interest than they need to.

This is often the result of having multiple cards to juggle, which can be stressful and increase the risk of missed payments and late fees. If you’re in this situation, debt consolidation can help by combining multiple balances into one monthly payment at a potentially lower interest rate. Experian’s latest research suggests that UK consumers could save an average of £1,257 a year by consolidating high-interest debts. Not only can this put more money back in your pocket, but it can also help you manage your monthly budget a bit better.

Like everything else, this route should be carefully considered. There may be upfront fees, or you may not qualify for a favourable offer. In some cases, consolidating debt can actually increase your monthly payment, rather than lowering it.

Another route to consider if you’re swamped with high interest payments is a balance transfer card. The average UK household carries around £2,572 in credit card debt, with average rates of nearly 24.7% as of October 2025.

Moving that money to a 0% balance transfer card could save you hundreds of pounds in interest alone. According to MoneySuperMarket, the average saving using one of these cards is £398 per year. Some banks, like Barclaycard and HSBC, currently offer 0% interest on transfers for up to 35 months.

There’s usually a one-off balance transfer fee of around 2% to 3%, but the interest savings over the promotional period often more than make up for it. Just be sure to meet the monthly payment requirements or you risk losing the 0% rate. And whatever you do, avoid spending on the new card unless it comes with a 0% purchase offer. Mixing old debt with new spending is a recipe for confusion and potential extra charges.

You can compare balance transfer cards on comparison sites like MoneySuperMarket. And if you’re really struggling, the charity StepChange offers free debt advice on 0800 138 1111.

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DEAL OF THE WEEK

If you’re in the market for festive chocolate, Tesco is currently selling 550g tubs of Quality Street and Celebrations for £3.95 to Clubcard customers, or £6 full-price. Asda offers the next cheapest deal, with full-price tubs at £4.42 each.

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Ofgem hit us all with some more bad news last week – the energy price cap is set to rise again in January. The hike will see energy bills for households on standard variable tariffs increase by 0.2%. While this may only equate to a rise of around 28p per month for the average dual fuel family, it’s still an increase nonetheless. 

Industry experts widely expected the energy regulator to reduce the price cap, so the news has come as a surprise to many. According to Ofgem, the price cap change is driven by Government policy costs, such as extending the Warm Home Discount to more households (resulting in around 57p per month added to bills) and funding for its new nuclear project, Sizewell C (which adds around £1 per month to bills).

Including these policies in consumer bills is a separate topic for debate. But regardless of where you stand, there is one way to sidestep the uncertainty of rising costs every three months when the price cap is reviewed. You can opt for a fixed rate tariff instead, which allows you to lock in specific – and often lower – gas and electricity rates for a set period of time. 

Experts at comparison site Uswitch say households can save an average of £177 per year when switching to one of these many tariffs, which are currently undercutting the latest price cap. In fact, its research shows there are as many as 26 energy tariffs offering rates that are cheaper than the current price cap. 

As Will Owen, energy expert at Uswitch, says: “If you haven’t fixed in a year or more, you’re probably on a standard tariff and paying more than you need to.”

Running a quick energy comparison on a website like Uswitch or MoneySavingExpert is the best way to determine if you can lock in a cheaper rate.