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What Should I Do?

Paulos84
Paulos84 Posts: 5 Forumite
in Debt-free wannabe
Hi,

I've been a bit silly with money in the past and im still paying for it. I have a credit card which i owe £4500 intrest free till november, I owe argos, uni fees, the bank, pc world and staples a combined total of £4000. Some im paying interest on and some I'm not.

Do you think I should get a loan to make them all (except for the credit card) into one so its easier to pay and do you think this will get rid of the debt qiucker as i'll be solely concentrating on the loan and credit card?

Please help.

Thanks,
Paul.

Comments

  • lxpeanut
    lxpeanut Posts: 8,728 Forumite
    Part of the Furniture Combo Breaker
    No deffinatly not. Consolidating your debts is a bad idea that only helps a very few people out of debt. You end up paying back more.

    Work out how much you can afford to pay in total each month. Then use the snowball calculator to work out how to use that money to clear your debts faster.

    http://www.whatsthecost.co.uk/snowball.aspx
    "You are entitled to your own opinions but not your own facts" - Arthur Schlesinger

    Proud to be have dealt with my debt :D Debt Free Sept 2012
  • Merlinexcalibur
    Merlinexcalibur Posts: 1,699 Forumite
    What LXPeanut said. It's also what some of those with their heads screwed on in debt advice would likely say, too. Don't ever borrow your way out of debt. Yes, attractive now but ... you can't plug a hole in a bucket. ;)
    Any help, opinions, views I may hold those are my own. Respect them as you would expect the same in return. Offered freely, is gleaned from a lifetime of experiences, knowledge gaining. Passed on to benefit others. I may be direct, ask you questions but those are to help you. Up to you if you choose to take it. I won't judge you either way.
  • RAS
    RAS Posts: 36,183 Forumite
    Part of the Furniture 10,000 Posts Name Dropper
    hi

    Put an SOA and we might be able to help you.

    http://www.makesenseofcards.com/soacalc.html
    If you've have not made a mistake, you've made nothing
  • DoWhatULove-LoveWhatUDo
    DoWhatULove-LoveWhatUDo Posts: 393 Forumite
    If you are currently not paying interest on some of the debts then it seems silly to start.

    The universally agreed fastest and cheapest way to pay off any debt is The Snowball calculator: http://www.whatsthecost.com/snowball.aspx
  • Paulos84
    Paulos84 Posts: 5 Forumite
    nice thanks for your help :)
  • Merlinexcalibur
    Merlinexcalibur Posts: 1,699 Forumite
    Well, I can be nice when I want to be. I have a bit of a policy you see. Well for a while now. Don't take any frakking feldergarb and say as I see. Hope that makes sense. :D
    Any help, opinions, views I may hold those are my own. Respect them as you would expect the same in return. Offered freely, is gleaned from a lifetime of experiences, knowledge gaining. Passed on to benefit others. I may be direct, ask you questions but those are to help you. Up to you if you choose to take it. I won't judge you either way.
  • Teacher2301
    Teacher2301 Posts: 407 Forumite
    Just heard that student loans interest rate has gone down to 1.5% - this may help uni fee's. Keep switching the 0% loans to other 0% deals (although you'll pay a transfer fee) but each time try to make sure you pay off a chunk of the debt to decrease the amount transfered - I'd did this 3 years ago with a £6600 debt - now down to £1200 - paid about £150 in fees or so - which is a lot less than the interest I would have been charged over that time.
    'Proud To Be Dealing With My Debts' : Member number 632
    Nerds rule! :cool:
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