New here, epic debt and suprisingly calm!

Lazerium1

Hello, Im new here and well I guess Ive just had my lighbulb moment! I got a (very friendly) letter from Barclaycard today enquiring about my financial wellbeing so Ive totted up my debt and its horrific!

Loan 1 = £8,182
Loan 2 = £3,475
Loan 3 = £15,223

Barclaycard 1 = £11,300
Barclaycard 2 = £0
Barclaycard 3 = £14,500
Amex CC = £655
Virgin CC = £18,825

Total debt (excl. mortgage) = £74,302

At present rate of progress I should be debt free by Sept 2020!

Looking at other postings it appears that my debt is somewhat substantial, although I'm fortunate that my earnings have kept the wolf from the door and any payments from being missed.

There, said it! :-) Feeling happier already

Ames

If you post your SOA (list of all your income and outgoings) then people can find ways for you to cut back and start tackling the debt, or suggest if something more radical, like a debt management plan, might be a better idea. There's a template here:

http://www.makesenseofcards.com/soacalc.html

the_drifter

Well you have made a good start by totting it all up.

Like Ames said - SOA is next step and listing the APRs on your debt to work out what can be moved to lower cost debts.

Tixy

Hi lazerium

Welcome to DFW. Good first step to actually work out what you owe, I think there are loads of people out there who simply have no idea. Also good to hear you have so far been able to keep up with your repayments but now you need to work on getting your debt down.

As others have said write out a SoA so you can work out how to start making some inroads in to this debt - and once you have the info you can work out a Debt free date. Then you can start looking at what changes you can make to bring that date forward.

Good luck.

pepe2008

Gives you a lovely, warm feeling to know that Barclaycard REALLY CARE!:p

As the book says, 'Keep Calm and Carry On'...theres always a way through it. Plenty of good info on here.....but please double check before action.
NEVER pay for advice.
IVA is very rarely the solution.

Good Luck.

edit, Of course your first question should be....Can I afford to pay back my debts and LIVE without the facility to borrow more?
YES....try an arrange cheaper borrowing and throw your cards away.
NO...contact your Lenders and then speak to CCCS etc to arrange a sensible solution.

Trollfever

my earnings have kept the wolf from the door

But........................................

How many days a month do you have to work just to pay the interest on all your debts?

Katie-Kat-Kins

Well done for facing up to it, you now need to work on getting your debts down rather than incurring more. You can also maybe work on bringing that debt free date forward. You need to ensure you aren't spending more than you can afford or you will keep digging yourself deeper into debt.

The only way to know whether you are starting your journey to get out of debt or whether you are still digging deeper is to complete a full and honest SoA. When you do lots of people will comment and try to help you get debt free as quickly as possible!

Lazerium1

Thanks for all your support guys. I guess Im fortunate in that so far I havent defaulted on any of my credit agreements. Where possible Ive shifted the debt onto a 0% card and taken out loans to repay some of the CC debt.

Ive worked out my cashflows and hopefully things should all work out OK without having to resort to anything too drastic.

When I ger a few mins I'll have a go at the SoA thingy too!

Hughesy84

You also need to work out the worst interest.

Look at your amounts that you owe, what the minimum is, and what % that works out at. You also want to know what % of interest goes back on each month (most important).

Shift the highest rate % ones first.

BeautyandtheBeast_3

welcome!!!!

ZarZar1990

Welcome
And Good luck!