Debt management advice welcome

rikwatson

I am a 25 year old graduate living in East Sussex. After 5 years at university, I have managed to rack up some fairly good debts and now really need to get my ar*e into gear and get myself back in the black. Hence this post, for a little advice from the incredibly knowledgable folk on this forum. It mainly revolves around prioritisation of the debts.

Student Loan ~ £15,000
Halifax current account £1250 O/D
RBS Graduate account £2000 O/D
RBS Credit Card £1700
Lloyds TSb Graduate account £2000 O/D (Pay goes into this one)
Egg Credit Card £3000 - just reached end of 0%
Lloyds TSB Loan £1000 - repaying £87/month - just to get me out of a postqualifying/preworking hole


Right, thats all the damage. I'm taking home about £1230 a month after taxes inc student loan repayment (at the current rate, its going to take me 40 years to pay it off).

How would some of you guys tackle this situation?

Many thanks in advance,

Rick

PS I don't pay rent but do pay rates, council tax etc

sarah_elton

Ok, here goes standard response:

Post your exact income (after tax, student loan etc).

Then list all outgoings - council tax, utility bills, food etc. Show where all your money is currently going including to debt repayment.

Also post interest rates on each of your debts.

I take your point about 40 years for student loan, but bear in mind your repayments go up if you get a pay rise, as it's a percentage. Plus you can make overpayments on it by sending them cheques. However, in all likelihood it's a lower interest rate than your other debts so will probably come low on the priority list.

Second job after the above - move the Egg balance to another 0%!

Jim_B_3

The interest rate on my student loan is lower than the interest I can get in a savings account, so rather than pay it I'm putting the money in savings; I don't know what your situation is, but it's worth checking.

southernscouser

You need to be hitting the debts with the highest APR first so you pay the least in interest.

If your credit rating is OK apply for a 0% card to transfer over.