Another 'help me' thread.

alan1886

Hi,

Wasn't sure which board to put this in but think I'm in the right place.

Basically I can't afford to pay my credit cards or rent this month and it's getting hard to see how I'll catch up with payments. The problem is I gambled the rent away.

I am living with my girlfriend paying £550 for a furnished flat and have managed fine so far. Last month she had to pay everything because I gambled a couple of hundred pounds away as well as going to France to watch my football team play in the UEFA cup. She wasn't happy to say the least, and I don't think I can tell her that I've done it again.

I know what I've done is stupid and it's eating away at me but I can only say 'thats me finished' and get on with things. However it now means I can't afford to pay my credit card minimum repayments or the rent.

I have not long since left university where I had a £2750 interest free overdraft (maxed out) and two credit cards (again, maxed).

I was wondering if I called the bank if they would increase the overdraft as a normal current account? Or is there a way to get CapitalOne and Barclaycard to freeze my balance and make small payments where I'm not being charged much interest?

I was also considering a loan or new credit card (according to CreditExpert I have a credit rating of 721, or fair) to shift money onto so I can make easy repayments. But I am worried because I really need a couple of grand to sort it out and with the credit crunch I don't know where to begin. I don't want to have loads of searches on my credit file though.

Help?

10past6

Hello Alan :hello:

Welcome to the forum, having read your post I doubt having further credit will solve your problems, in fact it will only add to them.

Take a look here, have a go at completing your SOA (Statement of Affairs) lets see if we can reduce your outgoings, also, take a look at my signature, contact one the the charites listed, they will give you good advice.

Good luck

alan1886

No I understand why more credit wouldn't help but my problem is that I've thrown money away... With our wages we can afford to live and treat ourselves once in a while but I've got us in a bit of bother that will just take a little bit of time.

For the time being, I was just looking for a little extra to cover the costs for now. It may sound a bit silly but we're in a sound financial state when I don't waste our money!

Ames

In the short term can you ebay or car boot anything to raise enough for the bills?

There's a gamblers support thread on here that you might want to read -
http://forums.moneysavingexpert.com/showthread.html?t=1090463&highlight=gamblers+support

Hope that helps a bit.

stapeley

You should thank your lucky stars she did not kick you out the first time! Sorry to be blunt . But theres no reason for her to know you won,t do it again . In the meantime the rent has to be paid , leave the cards to last .You need to hand control over to your girlfriend , and justify ever penny you spend to her .

cat4772

Alan

hello and welcome to MSE.

First things first, it would be really helpful if you posted up your SOA (statement of affairs) to see what is happening with your money. next stop is to visit what'sthecost.com and enter details of your credit cards (balances, apr etc) and this will give you an initial debt free date.

If you can't make the minimum payment on your cards this WILL affect your credit rating and make obtaining a new prime card more difficult. Could you call them and ask them to shift your due date so that you can make the payment?

consolidation seldom works simply because the reason for overspending hasn't been tackled. Ways to tackle this are to keep a spending diary to see where your money is going.

Finally, talk to your gf. My DH kept his debt secret from me and the longer he kept it secret the harder it was for him to tell me (I eventually found out and blew that can of worms right open)!

Good luck

Cat.x

alan1886

Cheers for that, having a wee read through it just now. I'm really annoyed at myself just now, thinking I'll be borrowing from relatives again to get through the month.

I don't really have anything I can sell unfortunately. I'm never late with payments and I'm going to have to be a week late with the rent. I'm a bit worried!