The Stoozing Calculator - Stoozulator

Stoozing Calculator Usage Notes

Although we believe this to be a very accurate stoozing calculator, we offer no warranty on its accuracy. It is provided on an "as is" basis. The following notes are provided to help you complete the form.

Balance to be transferred - enter the amount of money you are transferring from this card to your stooz pot. Don't forget that some cards only allow you to transfer 90% or 95% of your credit limit, so you may want to take that into account.

Balance Transfer Fee - Most lenders charge you a percentage of your balance transfer amount as a Balance Transfer Fee. Enter the percentage here. You can find it under "Charges" in the card features Summary Box on the lender's website.

Maximum BT Fee - some lenders have a maximum fee they will charge you for a balance transfer. Enter the maximum figure here in pounds. This is also shown on the Summary Box.

How many months at 0%? - enter the length of the introductory balance transfer period here. You may want to consider reducing it by 1 month to allow for money being in transit between your card and your stooz pot and vice versa.

Min monthly payment type - each month you have to make a minimum monthly payment to the lender which is either based on a percentage of the outstanding balance or is a fixed monthly amount. Select "Percentage" or "Fixed" from the drop down box.

Min monthly payment amount - If you selected "Percentage" for the payment type, then enter the actual percentage here (typically 2 or 3%). If you selected "Fixed" for the payment type, then enter the value in pounds that you have to pay each month. If you recycle your minimum payments (i.e. top your stooz pot back up each month) or if you make your minimum payments from your normal monthly spending money, then set the amount to 0 to see how much you will make.

Savings interest rate (AER) - Enter the annual interest rate (AER) that is payable on your stooz pot savings account. Check your account details to ensure that you get the AER. If you are using a stooz pot to offset your mortgage, enter your mortgage interest rate here.

Select Tax Rate - Select the tax rate that will be payable on the interest you earn. If you are a taxpayer, select "Basic" or "Higher" (as appropriate), unless you are using the stooz pot to offset against your mortgage or are saving the money in a non-taxable account such as a mini-cash ISA. If you don't pay tax, select "Not taxed".

Calculator Assumptions

In order to create a calculator that is simple to use and as accurate as possible, we have had to make some assumptions about the way your credit card and savings accounts work and how you use them. This means that our calculator will not be 100% accurate everytime but it will be close. The assumptions we use are listed below:

  • The credit card lender adds the BT fee to the credit card balance
  • Minimum payments (when using a percentage) are calculated against the credit card balance including the BT fee
  • Credit card interest is calculated against the credit card balance excluding the BT fee
  • That tax is payable on the Stooz pot interest at the end of the introductory period. This will be 100% accurate if you have a 12 month 0% card and if your Stooz Pot credits your interest annually. If interest is credited monthly then your profits will be 20p to 30p lower per £1000.
  • That you make the credit card minimum monthly payments directly from your Stooz pot. If you make payments from elsewhere then your profit will be higher
  • That you do not top up your stooz pot after making minimum monthly payments. If you do, then your profit will be a little higher.