Self Employed with debts to clear - where to start?

gazraa

First off, hello to you all, this is my first post but thought it was about time I started to tackle my debts.

This is my situation.

As the subject says, I'm self employed, so a regular income is not a luxury I have, but the field of work I'm in, has the potential to earn a lot more than if I was doing it full time for a company (I'm a web developer). My decision to go full time freelance was based on not only the 'being your own boss' thing but also the financial side of things as I've been doing a similar job for the last 6 years and have hardly dented my debts. Since going freelance I have never felt so stress free and although money can be a bit tight at times, it's been better overall than working full time.

So, my debts. Well I have the following:

- £9k Cahoot loan, currently paying off set amount of £200 per month about 9%
- £3.5k Credit card currently on 0% with another 7 months left. min payment each month
- £2.3k Credit Card Halifax Visa currently on 14.9% (I think). min payment each month
- £2k Overdraft

Outgoings:

for rent, bills and current debt repayments I have to find just over £1k per month. That doesnt include food bills or petrol which probably total about £45 per week (I work from home so don't get out much)

Currently this is managable, but only just so I'd like to try and reduce my monthly out goings as well as set up things to pay off debts as much as I can manage.

I am in the process of looking at my household bills, especially electric (don't have gas) as I think I can get a better deal, but need to work out the figures first.

I am looking for a 0% card to transfer my halifax balance too, but haven't always been accepted for cards in the past.

I was wondering if anything could be done with my loan, to get a lower rate, but I have a feeling that will not be possible.

So, what should I start with? Any advice from other self employed people that have used it to their advantage?

I'm open to any suggestions, as long as they are practical.

I look forwward to your suggestions.

cornerclose

Hi gazraa, welcome to the forums. Well done for making a start and posting your finances. You will get loads of help here.

I am self-employed, but I must admit it is often not an advantage when it comes to applying for credit. I would certainly try to get another 0% card to transfer your Halifax balance to. If you are also paying interest on your overdraft it might be worth considering a card which does super balance transfers so that you could get 0% for that as well - see

http://www.moneysavingexpert.com/cgi-bin/viewnews.cgi?newsid1076883546,34894,

although this would obvously depend on the size of your credit limit. This is not a permanent solution as you will eventually have to start paying interest again, and of course you will still have minimum payments, but at least it will be interest free.

I don't know much about loans, so I will leave that for someone else to tackle.

Keep reading through these forums as they are packed with practical money-saving tips. The old style board is great for saving on food and household stuff.

Best of luck.

bitza81

Hiya
My partner is self employed and has previously been turned down for credit. Just wanted to let you know that he was recently accepted by Virgin credit card (offering 9 months 0% on balance transfers). I know its not just based on employment status but might be worth mentioning.

As suggested on this site.. shuffle your debt to the lowest possible interest rate.

Good luck
Helen

sa1

Just a tip

never, never, never ever be self employed unless you are a limited company which you can set up yourself for £35 isg at https://www.companieshouse.co.uk

if things go wrong and you are not limited you will probably lose your house, marriage, not see your kids much, be forced to take a menial job at min wage and worse case scenario be declaed bankrupt by a creditor.

8 out of 10 businesses go out of business within 6 years according to gov figures , those that think it wont happen to them are burying there head in the sand, business is tough

for freelancers who want to bis for work weather thats web design , writing, graphics, speech writing any thing you can think of to earn £10 to maybe £100,000 go visit https://www.elance.com and bid on the projects posted there e.g.

i am a vet and want a 10 page website built and have a budget of 500 dollars

i wanta sales manuls writing and have a budget of x dollars

you get paid into your bank account by elance all is lefite and they are a multi million dollar usa company

gazraa

i've heard several things about elance, one being it's very hard to get work that's worthwhile. what i mean is there are plenty of 'script kiddies' sitting in their bedrooms with nothing else to that can charge beer money to do work whereas people who rely on the income can't bid low enough to get the work. I haven't really looked into it too much because of that.
Luckily for me, I seem to be making new contacts left right and centre, most without trying and I have a good stream of work coming in. Obviously I can't rely on that so I'm always on the look out for opportunities.

Becoming a ltd company, well I may go that route in the future, simplicty is key for me at the moment while I'm still in the early stages of freelancing and being a sole trader works for me..... but I know what you mean though.