Help & Advice needed to reduce large debts, pl

frazz

Thanks again guys will consider writing a letter if barclaycard dont let him do the balance transfer, my fiancee went back today and spoke his bank, he told them that he had applied for and recieved a capital one card and that he was going transfer the balance of his cards to his new capital one card as well as change banks to my bank and what do you know all of a sudden they tell him that yes they were mistaken before that having 2 identical credit cards from the same bank makes no sense and if he pays in a few hundered pounds to his highest balance card which will bring it 10% below its limit they will transfer it to his other card !, so at least thats a start, once the two cards are one it will be alot easier for us to concentrate on paying the balance by transfering as much as we can to the two barclycards at 2%, just as much as we can whenever we can, its £6500+ of credit card debts but weve agree to concentrate on getting this paid, realistically it will take around 3 years but at least all our debt will come to an end all at the one time with his loan and the car all finishing in 2008 !

Thanks again
Frazz.

johannamse

thats great news frazz.

But still get Martin's book... The reason we all say it, is becasue it really is as good as we say, and may give you some ideas that you had not thought of.

Milky_Mocha

I admire your determination. Keep going and dont give up. It looks like things have started to improve for you and the bank has started to listen.

I almost feel ashamed at myself because when i first read your post my first thought was, "for God's sake, woman, don't marry him!" Now my thought is, "Hopefully he will appreciate this and when all is done and the money troubles have blown over he will remember and love you forever and you'd live happily ever after etc etc etc" I would be wary though of transferring his debts over to your cards when you are not married yet. Anything can happen at the eleventh hour. I don't mean to sound negative but one has to be realistic and make sound decisions. It is of course your decision at the end of the day. It's just that I have three close solicitor friends and watch too much Judge Judy!

However, do not create a joint financial situation for a long time. I don't mean to sound cruel or anything but seriously no joint accounts, they're not necessary. Most people use the excuse that a joint account is opened to save for their children. I don't think you need a joint account for that. Maybe a separate account in the child's name. Anyway all that is in the future. When things get much better I guess one can't avoid having a joint mortgage with the house prices these days.

You mentioned that you are in a job in finance, yes? Which aspect? There are usually quite a few options for climbing up the career ladder with finance related jobs. Will your company sponsor you to take up a relevant qualification? Is there a way you can better your job prospects?

You mentioned that your fiance is in a low skilled/paid job. Does he show the willingness to improve that situation? I do not know if there are some courses offered more or less for free but it is worth contacting your council or Learn Direct or some other agency. Some courses can be self taught using tools online.

When I was a student I did a bit of cleaning work to get by. By a bit I mean I only did it once and then thought to myself there must be another way as I only got something like £4.50 an hour. I got myself a second-hand typing tutor CD for next to nothing (Mavis Beacon typing CD) and learnt to type. Luckily I learnt a bit of word, excel and powerpoint at uni and improved this by practising at home. You can actually teach yourself the bsics of these packages using the "help" tools. I believe you have a computer from which you both have access. At the end of it I was still a beginner level typist but marched into Adecco Alfred Marks. They offered me a job as a secretary/administrator for £6.50 an hour which rose to £7.00. It was a struggle for me at first but with the practise I got by. After graduating I got a much higher paying job due to my degree etc but my point is degree or no, there are always ways of improving one's income through self-empowerment. Mind you, you are not alone. After all this talk I've got fairly large debts too as I'm sure many young couples do.

I wish you every success. Your efforts deserve to be rewarded and they will.