Unsure whether to consolidate - please advise

debtfreeby2020_3 · 24 February 2018 at 9:49AM

Hi Zippy.

New to these parts. This is my first MSE post and I must say that you are a complete inspiration. I came on here to see what advice you got about consolidation, as I was thinking the same. Now I see that it is a complete mistake. I have read every single comment and I can't wait to celebrate with you at the end of the journey, which must be a matter of months away?

Thanks so much for sharing x

zippygeorgeandben · 28 February 2018 at 9:59PM

Well hello there everyone. It's time for my monthly update!

First of all, thank you to debtfreeby2020 for the kind words. I didn't realise the answer at the time to all my worries was to change my mindset and I know it's difficult and people's situations change through no fault of their own, but to know I'm going to be debt free sooner rather than later is an amazing feeling to have. It could be months away but I'm sticking with the direct debits whilst building an emergency salary fund. I took all the advice on board, whether I agreed with it or not.

So anyway, as those of you who know I went to Dallas, TX for 5 days and I splurged on an upgrade coming back but you know, it's all costed in. The Halifax clarity card worked really well with no fees/charges throughout my stay. I've managed to sell some more candles for £200 and about £100 of Elemis stuff however we also bought a new bed and headboard which was LONG overdue.
I've paid another £244 off my student loans which I've never classed in my debts (because I didn't ever think I'd get round to nearly clearing them and they just came out of my PAYE) but I think this will be cleared in around 9/10 months. I could add this to my signature I guess.
I've paid another £140 off the Sainsbury's CC but yet again, ANNOYINGLY, my SO to my sister hasn't come out. I really shouldn't have debts coming out on the last day, as plenty of times it just doesn't happen and screws my budget.
I've only three months left on my iPhone which I really like and won't be changing so I should save the £20pm handset cost and go just sim only.
I underspent by about £800 this month again so this has gone towards the emergency fund.

So, in conclusion, everything is going well. Nearly into March and I'll chip off the debt even more. If there is anyone reading my diary who is a regular reader (or indeed if you aren't), could you perhaps point my way into somewhere to put this emergency fund? i.e high interest account preferably with a link?!

Thanks everyone,
Zippy

Dobbibill · 1 March 2018 at 8:18AM

zippygeorgeandben wrote: »

could you perhaps point my way into somewhere to put this emergency fund? i.e high interest account preferably with a link?!

Nationwide FlexDirect account - pays 5% for the first year. (criteria for interest paying in £1k)

Referrers board may have a refer a friend link if you have an account you wish to switch to it (£100 each if you have 2 x DDs on the account)

Regardless of whether you open as new or switch it will still give you access to their regular saver which also pays 5% (can pay in max of £250 pcm)

zippygeorgeandben · 1 March 2018 at 11:33AM

Thanks Dobbibill - I knew you'd come up trumps! How are you? Still proud of me!?

Dobbibill · 1 March 2018 at 7:29PM

zippygeorgeandben wrote: »

Thanks Dobbibill - I knew you'd come up trumps! How are you? Still proud of me!?

You're welcome and yes very proud.....look back to your first post - Wow! how far you've come and all without consolidating. It's brilliant.

shreya · 6 March 2018 at 8:43AM

zippygeorgeandben wrote: »

Hello everyone,
First of all, I can't believe I still remembered my username and password. It's quite a while since I've logged into MSE!
Anyway, here are the facts.
I currently have three debts I am paying off
1) £5727.54 loan(started at £11k)with Zopa @ 4.8% - I pay £230pm
2) £7568.74 loan(started at £12k in 07/2014)with Tesco @ 4% - I pay £222.61pm
3) £4211.19 credit card with Virgin Money @ 0% until June 2017 - I pay £200pm (which is more than the £50pm they ask for)
Total debt equals £17,507.47.
Total monthly payments are £653pm

I wish to reduce my monthly direct debit outgoings to give me more flexibility for stuff I want to buy.
After having a brief search, Sainsbury's have a loan for £18k (so this covers all the debts written above) @3.1% which would mean me paying £323.89pm.
TSB have a loan for £18k @3.5% which is £328pm. I'd be paying £1621 in interest for this deal.
Both these loan repayments per month are roughly £330 less than I currently pay off per month at the moment (which as I've said above, are £653pm)

I can't seem to find the wood for the trees here. What would you do?
Would you just continue to pay the three original debts off? I can afford these repayments (just) but it doesn't give me lots of flexibility.
Or would you consolidate all three debts, pay them off, and take out a new 5 year loan where the monthly payments would be reduced by over £300?
Or is there another option I should consider?
Thanks for reading,
Ben

That is an excellent question. I know I am a little late on this post, but could you tell me what option did you choose finally and where do you stand today?

zippygeorgeandben · 11 March 2018 at 3:38PM

Hi shreya, it would be more helpful if you grab a cup of tea/coffee and read my whole thread. Then you'll see which of the loans I went for

[Deleted User] · 11 March 2018 at 8:51PM

zippygeorgeandben wrote: »

I've only three months left on my iPhone which I really like and won't be changing so I should save the £20pm handset cost and go just sim only.

This post is purely to shame you into not buying a Samsung S9+

You know it's for your own good

http://forums.moneysavingexpert.com/showthread.php?t=5808893

zippygeorgeandben · 13 March 2018 at 8:31PM

COLIN!!! How mean of you!

zippygeorgeandben · 30 March 2018 at 12:42PM

Monthly Update

Hello everyone,
Time for my monthly update.
First of all I was incredibly annoyed with Sainsburys as they charged me nearly £50 interest in a transaction. What happened was that I put our Summer holiday on the CC and paid it off in full the next day. Sainsburys decided that they would take that full amount of my promotional balance transfer and not the new purchase. Apparently I paid too quickly. I would have thought that as, let's say £2304.47 went on the CC and I paid the next day the amount of... £2304.47 then it would have seemed obviously, but alas no! To give them credit they did sort it out for me and reversed the process.
I've paid another month of my debts but I must say I'm seriously tempted to just pay off the whole debt now to my sister, sainsburys and my student loans (SLC). I could then say that I am officially debt free!
I'll await to see with the SLC statement is, it normally arrives in about June for me and I'll see what the balance left is. I'm calculating that it'll be about £1500.
Best update the signature.

PS For all those people thinking of consolidating and getting all the advice from MSE not to, just take a step back and think about whether it is the best course of action for you.

Unsure whether to consolidate - please advise

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