Urgent advise needed - Please

damo2k

Have put my limits on the SOA - Thanks

auntymabel

I would use the #20 emergency savings towards paying off one of your credit cards. You can always use a credit card if you have an emergency but it may never happen. In the meantime you will have reduced your balance and paid less interest. Good luck!

OberonSH

Morning love, welcome to the first day of the rest of your life.

First off, have a cuppa, today will be busy! Go round the house, and gather all the unwanted stuff. Then ebay or do a carboot sale. larger items on small ads, esp if they're free. This will not only bring in a bit of cash, but also help make a clean break - you mentioned you'd just come out of a relationship. A bit of a declutter might help you feel better about your whole situation.

You've done your SOA, and that's a great help. I would take each item, look at it objectively. Is it essential? Can you reduce it? Car - can you get train or bus to work, or cycle even? This sometimes works out cheaper, especially with fuel going up and up and up.

Food can def. be reduced - I spend £50 a week on 2 adults, 2 kids including nappies, and rarely hit the £50 mark. Do a menu for the week, then look round the house for stuff like loo rolls etc. Make a list and stck to it!! I find it cheaper to buy online, as I don't get tempted by stuff I didn;t plan on buying.

Have you remembered to claim your single person discount on the council tax? You simply have to do your spending diary - you'll be shocked at how much that paper and choc bar actually costs you.

And let's not forge the mental state you need to have - try not to panic, it's all sortable. You haven't defaulted, so that's a big plus. Get into the habit of throwing everything you have at your debts - then transferring whatever you have on interest cards to your 0%, every little helps. You'll soon be cackling over elaborate spreadsheets like the rest of us

damo2k

Well made a step and emailed my details to payplan - is this the best organise to deal with first as there is a lot of threads reference payplan/cccs?

In anticipation

oh yeah - got offered a massive loan repayable over 25 years...........am i right in considering this as a no no?

Ames

Definitely a no no! You'll be paying more back with the interest, and getting into more debt. Also there's always the chance that you'll just rack up the credit cards again, that's what I did.

SouthernSoftie

damo2k wrote: »

Well made a step and emailed my details to payplan - is this the best organise to deal with first as there is a lot of threads reference payplan/cccs?

In anticipation

oh yeah - got offered a massive loan repayable over 25 years...........am i right in considering this as a no no?

Yes you are right:T , see you're learning already;)

I'm dealing with CCCS so can only praise them, but I'm sure someone with experience of Payplan will be along.

ikkle87

Definite no no to the loan hun. I am with CCCS did you visit their website? You can do a debt remedy online. Then it will tell you the best result for you. Payplan do the same though i think.

As for groceries defo look at at reducing it hun, switch brands to supermarket own, meal plan etc.I've managed to lose 10lb in a month by changing my eating habits financially. x

Bismarck

damo2k wrote: »

Well made a step and emailed my details to payplan - is this the best organise to deal with first as there is a lot of threads reference payplan/cccs?

In anticipation

oh yeah - got offered a massive loan repayable over 25 years...........am i right in considering this as a no no?

tempting as it is...no....a lot can change in 25 years...you need to address this on an ongoing basis and do what's right for you on a daily/monthly basis...a loan will give you certainty but you'll be in a strait-jacket and committed to a shed load of interest and it'll be secured on your property.....

Bismarck

Description....................Debt......Monthly.. .APR
First Direct...................3000......90........17.9 Limit 3000
Barclaycard....................2500......52....... .14.9 Limit 4220
Virgin.........................4000......110...... .0 Limit 4800
First Direct Loan..............9000......212.......0
Egg Loan.......................5500......166.......0
Egg............................5250......130...... .0 Limit 5250
MBNA...........................3000......55....... .0 Limit 3000
CAP1...........................500.......12....... .0 Limit 800
Total unsecured debts..........32750.....827.......-

are Virgin, Egg, MBNA & Cap One all really at 0% and if so, where do those minimum payments come from....if any of these are coming to an end, it's as well to know that now.

there is a bit of space in this but not a lot and applying for another card is one possibility but not one that I'd particularly recommend...do you have any overdraft facility to use to help shuffle some of this around....

damo2k

Hi there

Sorry - no these are not at 0 percent APR - i need to calculate these and post them, sorry for any confusion - newbie here - thank you for your attention