Advice Required, trying to get things sorted

PhotoDave

Firstly, I apologise as I imagine there are probably hundreds of these types of threads, so sorry to anyone who is fed up reading them, and thanks in advance to anyone who replies.

In the current situation, I am probably quite fortunate, in as much that I have a job that is reasonably secure, but I also have a fair bit of debt.

£20,000 across 3 credit cards

£5,000 overdraft

£18,000 loan

I also have a car loan, but see that more as essential than the figures above, that's what I'm looking to clear.

At the moment, the figure seems almost too big to do anything about, but I know I need to face it, and do something about it!

All the credit cards have payment protection, should I cancel this?

I still have 8 years to pay on the loan, I was planning to just let that see it's time out.

That leaves the credit card and the overdraft, should I consider taking out a loan (if I can get one) or should I just pay as much as possible to the cards, starting with the lowest interest rate first?

Some months I can just afford the minimum payments, other months I can afford a bit extra, I also have my own small business (more of a hobby that occasionaly pays a bit), in the next year I hope to make a bit of extra cash from this.

Would any other solution suit me better, I have seen the adverts for debt management companies, but must admit to being suspicious of these!

Thanks for any help anyone can give!

Dave

GeorgeUK

Welcome to MSE Dave

First lets see what you can afford, if there are are any savings to be made from your current expenditure and then we'll see what the best way to tackly the debt is.

I think it would be best if you can post up a statement of affairs. This should give us a clearer picture of where you are financially. I doubt a loan would be a good idea - consolidation is usually an expensive way of dealing with your debts. PPI - not sure. A while ago i would have said yes, get rid of it, but now how secure is your job? It may be an idea to look at alternative methods of getting PPI instead of on each individual product.
http://www.makesenseofcards.com/soacalc.html

OliveOyl_2

Good evening and welcome on board

You're in the right place for advice and support. One of the first things anyone is advised to do is to post a SOA (statement of affairs) this lists your income and ALL your outgoings and commitments. A brilliant starting tool for getting yourself sorted. Not sure of the link, I'll have a look in a minute unless someone beats me to it!

As for the PPI (payment protection insurance) there is a lot of info on here about not only removing it, but also claiming it back if it has been mis-sold.
If you set it up at the time of opening the account then not only is it probably quite expensive, the practice, as of this week has been outlawed!
There are a few absolute proofs of mis-selling -if it wouldn't pay out in the event of a claim is one (yes really, they would sell PPI to self employed people, who were not covered if they made a claim!)
If you would like the protection of this insurance, then there are cheaper ways of getting it than through the loan provider.

There are companies that make money out of others debt - debt management companies. There are some charities who do the work for free, (CCCS, Payplan and CAP) No-one here would recommend paying a debt management company. But if you post a SOA people here may show you a way out of your mess without resorting to a DMP.

PhotoDave

Thanks very much for the information.

I'll get a detailed SOA sorted out and posted. Doing a very rough one shows me that I have more coming in than going out, I guess that's a good thing. I also should be able to make more savings, I have stopped going to the footy every week, but could still lower my satellite subscription.

I should get a chance at the weekend to sit down and write it all out.

I won't be able to claim back the PPI as I have claimed on it, that's part of the reason my finances are in such a state, had to pay privately for 2 back ops, but hey, that's water under the bridge, no point in dwelling on the past.

Even just reading through the posts on here makes a difference, it feels like we're the only ones with debt problems sometimes, don't really talk to my family or friends about it, so being able to talk, well type, to people in the same boat is a great source of help.

Dave