Newbie with not unmanageable debt

bad_doo

Hi all firstly I would like to thank all the posters on other threads, I have found many to be helpful and some to be confusing.

Right a little about me, jsut so you realise Im not a complete idiot only half of one. Just under 2 years ago my wife and I seperated, she wanted greener grass I didnt want the village bicycle, so simply put I walked out with my computer, clothes and tools (gotta get your priorities right) and a credit card with a couple of thousand on it . She got everything else, savings the lot.
:mad: :mad:
So I moved into my sisters, roof over my head, no big starting out costs, all mod cons.Next was a trip to the bank, I need transport to and from work so I got a loan for a car (4x4 actually) :j and to pay credit card (too tempting to spend on it).

I then sat and thought about things, if I have any money when we get divorced she'll probably get half... so a masterplan is hatched, spend all ive got she cant get any then. So I start spending, nothing too radical, got a loan for christmas shopping and bought nice presents for everyone, pc packed up so spent £700 with dabs buying top spec stuff for a new one (we gamers like our pcs to be good) and used their online finance deal.
So now ive got a car I love for the first time since coming back to the UK, a good pc, friends and family have had a good christmas and I feel pretty good.

So a year passes Im merrily paying my debts and spending the rest, then the car packs up £1700 to repair, so another loan... the banks tell me im too high risk for a low rate, so they offer me one at a higher rate, need the money now so I take it (hang on I though I said I wasnt an idiot???)

Now 7 months later Ive moved back to Mums cos shes on her own and Its my sister had a friend from South Africa move in. Ive still got nothing apart from a cheery disposition, a still decent computer after a year, a car that gets me to and from work cheaply and a 4x4 thats in for a new clutch and an MOT it will fail, my hobby of off roading is hard on the 4x4 so its gonna cost me an arm and a leg to keep it on the road but the fun is worth it.

2 weeks ago I decided to get everything sorted, to budget properly and get rid of the debt sooner rather than later and save a little too if possible,

My total debt today is £ 6543 all in loans at interest rates which are way to high (19% and above ) and have an end date of 2011. :eek:
I've no chance of lowering the interest, Ive made a few enquiries and basically get told Im a high risk. Makes me laugh with a credit rating of 931/1000 (Experian) but its probably because Ive moved around a fair bit this last 2 years, my name is still on the mortgage even though she pays it (im not paying for somewhere I dont live and Im certainly not signing it over to her without some pound notes coming my way) and I take my overdraft to just below its limit every month (thats a mere £250 )

So Ive looked at my expenses, decided I spend way to much on junk and have done a tight budget to suite a little snowballing on my debts but which allows me to keep the 2 cars, keep smoking (even if it is less) and save a little for a good holiday later in the year.

Based on the snawballl calculator I will be debt free December 2008, I put it closer to Feb/Mar 2009 because of the 4x4 repairs, rather than the 2011 if i let them run their natural lives.

So for everyone who has helped me reach the point Im at now Thank you and this is for you :T :T :T :T :T :T :beer:

bonnie_2

your post made me laugh, nice to see someone so happy.

moozie_2

I liked your post too

You are obviously doing something right. Keep it up!

Xbigman

Have you checked out the legal situation on your partners house / joint mortgage? You might want a solicitor to register your interest. Also, what is your ex's take on things. Is she paying the mortgage thinking the house is her's. Your debts are, as you say, manageable so sorting the status of the house is much more important.
Regards



X

8pnoodles

Regards you being a credir ik, I wpuld leave it six months, make sure you are on the electoral roll where you are actually living, and then apply again.

Being on the elecoral roll where you say you live is essential. Plus if you do several applications in a short time they think you are desperate and tend to turn you down.

Give it six months and try again.

Egg tend to be quite good, their flexible loan is 7.9% and can be overpaid without penalty. They gave one to me! (Says a lot!)

But give it six months.

If you still get turned down, give it another 3-6 months before applying for anything else.

Also order your £2 experian AND £2 equifax (there are two companies which hold separate info on you) statutory reports to double check there is nowt else on your records that shouldn't be there.

Lastly ask both for a dissociation form. You may well be financially linked to your ex so they will be taking her score into account. I had to do this when I got divorced.

Never say never.

bad_doo

Ok figure, I might as well answer 2 posts in one go (thrift at its best )

I am on the electoral roll where I live, but I wasnt while living at my sisters which is probably not helping matters, I will follow your advice and wait a while though before looking at consolidating for a lower interest rate.

Regarding the house, I sought legal advice quite some time ago regarding the house, the summation is as long as it is in joint names I have an interest in it and nothing can be done without my consent (by this I mean remortgage / sell) and I am still liable for the mortgage should she not pay it. When we finally get divorced the court will decide how much of an interest I have in it by adjusting the ownership, they could turn around and say I have a 20% stake and not 50% for the sake of argument.
She will then have the option of either buying my 20% of it or we sell the house and split the profit (me getting what % is decided by the courts)
It gets complicated because I have a daughter (and shes a sweet little angel let me tell you) with her so I cant force a sale until she is at least 16 or my ex has another man living there who is working etc. The plus side is she has a bloke there so come June when we file for the divorce it should be fairly easy to resolve, even though she refuses to get a mortgage and doesnt want to sell. Thanks to the courts she will have NO choice and must do one or the other.
So I could be debt free by September 06 woohoo!!!!! :T (with house prices as they are we should make a killing considering there was only £28000 left on the mortgage over a year ago and the house should sell for at least £60000 on a bad day :cool: )