The Golden Goose's Quest For The Golden Egg - AKA A Debt Free Life!

The_Golden_Goose

First and foremost I have had a strong cup of coffee.

Secondly, I LOVE Glee, have been watching it from when it started!

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On a much more serious note:

CC1 - M&S - 988.42 - LOB @ 3.9% - Min pay 25.22 - 3yrs & 6mths to pay
CC2 - Tesco - 2080.65 - 15% APR - Min pay 42.00 - 6yrs & 3mths
CC3 - Halifax - 5725.96 - 15.9% APR - Min pay 57.83 - Over 100 yrs
CC4 - Citi - 3054.43 - LOB @ 5.8% - Min pay 69.98 - 4 yrs &1mth
CC5 - Virgin - 3939.05 - 24.9% - Min pay 79.89 - 11yrs & 6mths

I would go down the loan route and I would DESTROY all my cards with pleasure. To be fair, all except Virgin have been cut up and hidden away. The Virgin card is in tact, but hidden away anyway. Typically its the one with worst APR. I called them a few mins ago to find out the APR and the lady on the phone said that the standard APR on my account was 18something% and that the cash advances were 24.9% and I asked how much of the balance was cash and she said most of it! Que - sick feeling to pit of stomach.

Posting my SOA won't really help as I don't earn enough to cover my outgoingswhich I know, as my job doesn't pay anywhere near my previous role and I am struggling due to my debt. All my compulsory DDs come to £500 a month. Only thing I could cut back on would be cancelling my contact lenses as I have not been using them much and it would save me £15 a month. Everything else on my DD list is stuff I have to pay: repaying debt, my share of the bills for the house and paying an insurance policy.

The reason for spending is clear, I didnt have the money to spend and I saw my CC as a way to get what I wanted without thinking it through, more like a card that I would never have to repay. Bit like when you go on hols and its a foreign currency, easy to hand it over without thinking about the true value and we all know that if you were handing over your hard earned cash that you would think very carefully about how you spent it.

Am so very foolish and my CC habit started very early in life, in my late teens/early twenties. Such a waste to think how much I spent and how much I am now having to repay and the effect its having on my life. If only I knew then what I know now. Hindsight really is priceless.

I need some serious help as I am too [STRIKE]thick[/STRIKE]confused to work it out for myself.

mooomin

What is the insurance for and could it be cancelled?

Could Mr GG pay more towards bills if he knows how much you're struggling?

You should maybe get a quote for a loan to see if it's viable in terms of giving you more breathing space. I only have my loan left to pay (Thank the gods) and can't overpay, so pay into a savings account and will repay it early, maybe you could do something similar?

Happytogetdebtfree

could you possibly transfer some of the debt to the m and s card, it sounds like if doable a loan maybe the other option aslong as you get rid of the cards and pay the loan, a big big hug coming your way, if you cant get a loan we will do our damdest to help you out , the other option is to try and ask for a reduced intrest rate for a few months explain you are struggling, can you take a mortgage payment break? could a family member loan you the cash i know not advised but there must be someway we can help you sort it out hugs and hugs sent x

The_Golden_Goose

flying_fresian wrote: »

What is the insurance for and could it be cancelled?

Could Mr GG pay more towards bills if he knows how much you're struggling?

You should maybe get a quote for a loan to see if it's viable in terms of giving you more breathing space. I only have my loan left to pay (Thank the gods) and can't overpay, so pay into a savings account and will repay it early, maybe you could do something similar?

Cant cancel the insurance, its for vets etc.

Mr GG can't really, bless him but I have talked to him today about it all and he has told me not to worry about it but blinking hell I cant help but worry.

I am thinking about a loan and over 4/5 years but I cant figure out if I wille end up paying loads more than I would if I stuck with the CC's?

Need to find out if my loan bods would allow me to extend the loan I have maybe? Though its at a low rate and I can't see why they would let me keep that rate and lend me another £16k. Though this figure will go up as I need to pay for car insurance/tax soon too. Man, what a mess!

:mad::mad: At myself for being a total dimwitsillygirl.

Happy - you are lovely, as is F_F! Thanks gals for being uber supportive.

Can't approach parents and can't add more to M&S as I asked them already and they said [STRIKE]pee-off-no-chance[/STRIKE] its not something they are able to offer me.

Going to feed my chops with a £1 pizza.

Happytogetdebtfree

ah curse the stupid credit card people they dont want to help when we need it, if worst comes to worst offer token payments and unplug the phones, or write a standard letter to each company explain your position and say some crap like can you see it in yourself to reduce my intrest rate for 6 months, i have not yet missed a payment but am struggling with the minimum payments and its causing me alot of distress, i want to keep on top of my payments that is why i am contacting you now to see what help you can offer me... if that fails you can offer token payments i think and if anything occurs you can say you did send letters asking for help to avoid the token payment route but customer service were unwilling to help... ive just had a free tea at mummys x

The_Golden_Goose

Thanks Happy.

Free teas are great aren't they! We are getting a free tea tomorrow, which I am looking forward to.

I will see what MrGG says when I show him all the figures and we can look online for a loan, maybe I can get one that also would be thru a cashback site? I can dream can't I?!

A part of me is pleased about having my mini LBM as its got me to have another look at my finances again, what I should have done is thought about it when I was offered this job. I would have had to take this job as its a salary after all. If I didnt have any debt I would be ok, I am sure.

Our mortgage is up for renewal later in the year which is good, I am hoping it will drop by a few quid as its on a rate of 5.89% I think. Will be highly embarrassing when applying for a new one as obviously we have to run through our personal income and expenditure, and the thought of having to tell someone about my debt is already making me cringe and feel totally embarrassed.

I do worry about calling the CC up and telling them I can't afford it, as I expect they will all start getting massively aggressive? Understandably, I spent their money they are owed it back and I intend to pay it. Being made redundant has caused me so many issues financially it really has.

Going to look into getting a PT job, though how, when and where I could even fit it in is beyond me and I think completely unrealistic.

OK so I should be pleased my overall debt has reduced and for that I should be pleased and really I am. Using the MSE repayment calculator has given me a reality check and one that I was not prepared for. Esp the 100 years and the Virgin 11 year repayment period. Got to change that and toute suite.

Happytogetdebtfree

hey they say ring us we are here to help, you havent missed a payment you are merely ringing for some help dont be scared i will kick there asssss, i now have the joy of reducing my essay word count by a 100 and some arghhhhhhhhhhh is life ever easy... 20 k will not be sniffed at look at me im in 60k thats both of us i cringe all the time haha but life is life so dont be ashamed half the worlds in the same place the sooner credit companys realise this the sooner debt would be paid if intrest was reduced they are just fat robbing b******s haha xx

claire0788

GG, I dont have much to contribute money wise but you are clearly trying to clear it so please dont be too hard on yourself !

The_Golden_Goose

True indeed!

I think that if MrGG's debt was added to my debts... well I dread to think! I think we be closer to £40k. I am having a bad enough time coming to terms wiht my own foolishness and I can't spare, admittedly selfishly, anything to worry about MrGG's finances. For a start, he won't tell me anything, so I know he is [STRIKE]hiding[/STRIKE] protecting me.

As I can't increase my payments and I am struggling, maybe a loan would be the route to take..... food for thought.

PS I am watching Take Me Out and the guy on at the minute is called Nathan (I think) and I can help but wonder if he was at one time perhaps a she?! Or he is simply a feminine looking bloke.......

The_Golden_Goose

claire0788 wrote: »

GG, I dont have much to contribute money wise but you are clearly trying to clear it so please dont be too hard on yourself !

Ta. Great to have brilliant support.

Difficult to see light at the end of the tunnel at times, finances are in a right mess and I have.... ermmmm... no disposable cash. Not even 50p. That's scary.