Whats the best thing to do to get out of this??

LearningToSave. · 14 February 2005 at 7:47AM

hello,
to cut a long story short me and my husband have a lot of debt.
here's a breakdown of what is where so you have some idea......
1) £12,500 egg loan......to run until 2011

only just taken out for consolidation purposes.
2) £2100 egg credit card.....0% until march.
3) £675 argos card.....299=0% for 12 months (about 8 months left) and £259 of it 0% for 6 months (5 months left.

we ran up these debts trying to live somewhat beyond our means by renting our own property(was off family so buried our head in the sand and used credit for things for longer than we should have done)......the poop hit the fan rather spectacularly and after some very hard times we now find ourselves extremely grateful to be in a council house.
we are trying to cut our normal budget through things found on this site mainly........fantastic site!!! dont know what i'd have done without it so far

anyway my main question is what is the best way to either reduce in anyway or pay these debts off more quickly?? my husband works (in a secure job) so we have a definate set income there....i am 7 months pregnant with a two year old already so unable to work,indeed my husbands shifts make it impossible for me to work anyway.....i do ebay here and there to make a bit extra.
we recieve child benefit obviously and child tax credit but as far as we know arent entitled to anything else and to be honest dont really want to claim anything else,feel embarrassed enough about the situation we find ourselves in....we got ourselves into it we want to get ourselves out of it.
any ideas please??
thanks.

Spendless · 14 February 2005 at 9:51AM

Hi

I'm sure someone else will be along shortly to suggest ways of reducing your debt, in the meantime here are a few little things i've thought of.

Don't forget to tell tax credits when your new baby is born. You are entitled to an extra £545 for the year until baby is one.

You should have a maternity exemption certificate, this gives you free perscriptions and free dental charges until your child is 1. Make sure you get any dental work done and any perscriptions you might need.

Have you worked since your eldest was born. If you were working when you became pregnant with your second baby there may be some maternity pay you can claim (from memory something like if in the 66 weeks before baby is due you've worked 26 earning at least £30 you can claim- but double check if this applies for current criteria ).

Do you use vouchers when shopping? Asda and Tesco take vouchers even if you don't buy product as long as they stock it. Again check your local store cos it varies store to store.

Are you signed up to the baby clubs, eg Huggies,Pampers to get money off coupons?

The March edition of Prima baby costs £2.20 but has inside a voucher for a free pack of newborn huggies or some wipes There's also a £1 coupon of a mam toothbrush, both at Boots and a 75p off voucher for cordysol which you could use off tesco/asda shopping.

Have you checked out the family and oldstyle boards for ideas on making your meals go further etc. There's currently a february grocery challenge running for example.

Good Luck

LearningToSave. · 14 February 2005 at 10:17AM

hi spendless,
thanks for replying.
i will let tax credits know when new baby is born--thanks!! i do have my exemption certificate so have been making the most of dental treatment

no i havent worked since my daughter was born.....my husbands shifts really do make it impossible for me,we have no childcare from family etc that i could use regularly and again his shift pattern makes it impossible for childminders or any other means of proffesional childcare......as much as i love my daughter and my bump i actually feel i should be working and would love to have a part time job.
as for this site and things i have started doing.......i've started using 18866 for me phone,started to use coupons and send off for freebies and samples making use of everything.trying to get together a menu plan to make shopping cheaper etc and cook from scratch and im in the process of putting down a very detailed budget so i can see everything....erm i think there might be a bit more but not sure
thanks again for replying and thanks in general for the help ive recieved so far from this site....it really is fantastic,a real lifeline and eye opener.

nearlyrich · 14 February 2005 at 1:58PM

Hi LTS good to see you are working together to reduce your debts, to help with that budget try HERE for a really easy to use spreadsheet.

Make an appointment with the Citizen's Advice Bureau and get them to check your entitlement to benefits, your husband is working and paying tax, if there is a way of getting more money into your household then you should claim it.

You also need need to work out a way of reducing your debts, starting with the biggest interest rate, but be aware that the 0% deals may revert to extremely high rates when the due date arrives. You need to ensure that doesn't cartch you unaware, sign up for Martin's Tart Alert to remind you about 6 weeks before they end. If you can still get credit at 0% that's the time to move it on. If the Egg card 0% ends in March 2005 you need to get moving on that as soon as possible. Whatever you do don't use a 0% Balance transfer card for purchasing.

I see you have just consolidated with a loan from Egg, but haven't paid off all the debts, perhaps that's because it was 0%? Hopefully you have cut up your credit cards and are both resolved not to use them?

Without definite figures from your budget it is impossible to advise a quicker way to pay off your debts, how much money do you have left after allowing for all your essentials? You should be able to pay that off your debts each month. If you want to post more info you can,or get Citizen's Advice Bureau to help you.

Whatever you do don't worry too much, being 7 months pregnant is hard work with a 2 year old as well, make sure that you are looking after yourself and eating properly. Once you have had the baby you might want to look into jobs you can do from home, perhaps childminding or ironing.

Good luck with sorting it all out.

LearningToSave. · 18 February 2005 at 9:28AM

bumping back up....

Whats the best thing to do to get out of this??

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