Need to end the Shuffle..

nzmegs

reading your post could have been reading my own. Our debt is much less than yours but we got it in the same way. A very good income, high limits on cards then a lower income and just paying the minimums.

We have managed to get all our credit cards onto life of balance rates of between 4-7% by paying off one card - they then send you a good deal offer, transfer another card and witr for them to send you an offer too. As long as you have not been inarrears then paying off a card will normally result in them trying to win back your business.

Obviously this means getting one card paid off. But concentrating on one card is a good place to start. If you have space on other cards consider moving the balance of one to the others. Obviously getting another card is an option too.

We know that paying our debt is going to take a seriously long time - but at least we know the interest rates are fair.

GeorgeUK

Not too sure how your experian report can state how much credit you should be able to get if they don't even know your salary. Is this the amount of unused credit you currently have?

If you have no credit checks in the last 6 months then i think it should be okay to apply for the Virgin card. I was just concerned as you had said that you'd had 2 applications rejected - was this a while ago now?

Kid71

GeorgeUK wrote: »

Not too sure how your experian report can state how much credit you should be able to get if they don't even know your salary. Is this the amount of unused credit you currently have?

If you have no credit checks in the last 6 months then i think it should be okay to apply for the Virgin card. I was just concerned as you had said that you'd had 2 applications rejected - was this a while ago now?

Yes they where in January this year - I was less rejected as opposed to - " we can't offer you this deal - but you are applicable for this high rate secured one" (I guess this is a common tactic).. Not sure how they found out I have £13000 worth of credit somewhere? It would be nice to know where it is.. Will read through my Credit report carefully to see if any of the limits are wrong..

Kid71

Been doing some research into my Endowments - I was amazed that they are actually worth something! :j

I have to wait a few days for a true surrender value - but the cash injection will really help and the reduction in monthly premium outgoings will really have an impact - why didn't think of this before?? :mad:

Reading around there are a lot of companies offering to beat your surrender value if you sell the endowment to them - anyone got any experience of this?

BeautyandtheBeast_3

Hi have you considered swapping lidl for aldi - how can you spend that much in lidl??? xx

Tixy

Might be worth posing the endowments question on the Mortgages & Endowments board? Its not a board I use but I would assume there may be some posters on there with more experience in these things -
http://forums.moneysavingexpert.com/forumdisplay.html?f=15

It does sound like it might be a good option for you and would certainly help your SoA look at lot better.

Kid71

Tixy wrote: »

Might be worth posing the endowments question on the Mortgages & Endowments board? Its not a board I use but I would assume there may be some posters on there with more experience in these things -

It does sound like it might be a good option for you and would certainly help your SoA look at lot better.

Took your advice Tixy and posted there.. Many Thanks;)

GeorgeUK

Just saw this and thought it worth mentioning - you may be able to use it as a rule of thumb guide as to whether you may be able to get more credit.
http://www.moneysavingexpert.com/news/cards/2009/09/barclaycard-application-checks-coul?utm_source=forum&utm_medium=sidebar&utm_campaign=box

Katie-Kat-Kins

Kid71 wrote: »

This is a good warning tale to anyone "playing" MSE great credit card shuffle who isn't 100% sure they can pay deals in the time specified.

A few years ago -I was self employed contractor through an umbrella company and had 2 years of very erratic good month/ bad month earnings. Needing "just get me through" loans and reading MSE - it became clear that the clever move was to obtain low interest CCs. After several shuffles I'm left with 5 cards with repayments I can afford - but with (now) prohibitive interest rates.

When applying for loans (unsecured) to transfer these to more manageable rates - 2 applications are rejected and I am "referred" to secure hi rate loan providers. I have a good credit rating (920 experian) but I think because I owe a lot no one is prepared to lend me any more - So I feel trapped.

As I am now stably employed with a good income I do NOT want to borrow any more money - but pay off my unsecured loans as a efficiently as I can.

CCCS Suggested a DMP - but I do not want to seriously damage my credit rating. (Will it??) Yes very much and possibly that of your spouse.

Loan companies suggesting a secured loan... Avoid it if you can but probably preferable to a DMP if you are confident of being able to repay reliably.

Or I could just grit my teeth and "Snowball" the CCS - but this would take me 8 years - and the interest I am paying (up to 27%) is terrifying. That would be my suggestion, no adverse effect on your credit rating and once you make some progress you may be able to switch a few to lower rates as the financial position improves.

Any advice would be really appreciated! My SOA is below..

Household Information[/b]
Number of adults in household........... 2
Number of children in household......... 3
Number of cars owned.................... 2

Monthly Income Details
Monthly income after tax................ 3200 Ok that is a good amount so there should be scope to sort this.
Partners monthly income after tax....... 0 Is there a prospect of her doing some work, maybe evenings or weekends or work from home so childcare isn't an issue? It would make a big difference.
Benefits................................ 201
Other income............................ 0
Total monthly income.................... 3401

Monthly Expense Details
Mortgage................................ 786 I assume this is repayment, could you switch to interest only for a year to allow you to over pay some debts?
Secured/HP loan repayments.............. 0
Rent.................................... 0
Management charge (leasehold property).. 0
Council tax............................. 107
Electricity............................. 100 That is high if you have gas too, try to cut your usage.
Gas..................................... 39 Doesn't look bad if that is your heating and hot water but you can probably cut back. Turn the thermostat down and wear more clothes, get thicker blankets etc, read the threads on cutting heating bills.
Oil..................................... 0
Water rates............................. 53.53 Rates or meter? If it is meter try to to save water and save money.
Telephone (land line)................... 35 You can probably cut that a bit by shopping around and being careful with your usage.
Mobile phone............................ 30 How many phones? Why not go PAYG and just use mobiles for emergencies?
TV Licence.............................. 12
Satellite/Cable TV...................... 0
Internet Services....................... 0 Really????
Groceries etc. ......................... 400 You will be able to make savings on this, visit the O/S board for help and try cutting your brand by one level to save. As your wife is a SAHM you should be able to be quite frugal here, with shopping around, meal planning and batch cooking.
Clothing................................ 100 That can be slashed. Wear what you have. Only buy absolute essentials. The kids should have hand me downs, things should only be replaced when worn out and ditch brand names, primark and asda are great!
Petrol/diesel........................... 100 Could you be more careful about car use???
Road tax................................ 33
Car Insurance........................... 53 Compare switch and save
Car maintenance (including MOT)......... 33
Car parking............................. 5
Other travel............................ 0
Childcare/nursery....................... 0
Other child related expenses............ 100 What is this? It is high!
Medical (prescriptions, dentist etc).... 0
Pet insurance/vet bills................. 9
Buildings insurance..................... 10 Compare switch and save
Contents insurance...................... 13 Compare switch and save
Life assurance ......................... 100 Compare switch and save
Other insurance......................... 0
Presents (birthday, christmas etc)...... 75 You could cut back here, it really is the thought that counts. Make a budget for every gift you need and stick to it. Examine what you normally spend, if you cut £5 off each gift what would you save? You could probably save £5 on each gift with out the recipient ever noticing.
Haircuts................................ 30 You can save here. Go a week longer between cuts, use training colleges and cut the kids hair DIY at home.
Entertainment........................... 150 Too high, reduce it.
Holiday................................. 150 Would it hurt to go a year without a holiday to get your debts under control? Or at least to cut this back to a cheap one week break booked last minute or spent in the UK? £1800 is a lot to spend on an unnecessary luxury.
Emergency fund.......................... 100 Use this to target your debts for now. If you really want an emergency fund, cream off the top of it to over pay your debts. Use it only for genuine emergencies not just as a suppliment and each time it hits £800, take half out and over pay a debt.
Total monthly expenses.................. 2623.53


Assets
Cash.................................... 0
House value (Gross)..................... 195000 Is it worth considering downsizing and paying off a big chunk of debt??
Shares and bonds........................ 0
Car(s).................................. 6000
Other assets............................ 30000 What is this and could it help you get out of debt?
Total Assets............................ 231000


Secured & HP Debts
Description....................Debt......Monthly...APR
Mortgage...................... 140000...(786)......0.73
Total secured & HP debts...... 140000....-.........-

Unsecured Debts
Description....................Debt......Monthly...APR
0000 barclaycard...............2297......46........22
0007 barclaycard...............3212......71........18
7485 halifax...................11406.....114.......5.94
egg............................14000.....275.......27 Ok so that is your priority, target any spare cash on overpaying this debt as much as possible and make minimum payments on the rest.
9761 lloyds....................10620.....212.4.....20
Total unsecured debts..........41535.....718.4.....-


Monthly Budget Summary
Total monthly income.................... 3,401
Expenses (including HP & secured debts). 2,623.53
Available for debt repayments........... 777.47
Monthly UNsecured debt repayments....... 718.4
Amount left after debt repayments....... 59.07 You have a surplus, so a DMP is not appropriate and is unlikely to be accepted, snowballing is your cheapest and best option for now. This surplus needs to be used to over pay your most expensive debt. If you don't actually have a surplus in cash then a spending diary will help you track down where your money is going.

Personal Balance Sheet Summary
Total assets (things you own)........... 231,000
Total HP & Secured debt................. -140,000
Total Unsecured debt.................... -41,535
Net Assets.............................. 49,465

Looks fairly easy to me, you have a surplus already so can meet minimum payments and overpay without changing a thing, but you also have scope to make lots of cut backs and should be able to make some massive overpayments and bring that debt free date forward.

Have a play with the snowball calculator and see what would happen if instead of having a holiday next year you put all your holiday money into overpaying your most expensive debt. Might make that holiday look less attractive!