what can he do at 19yrs

andykim

my son is only 19yrs works full time got himself in to det in overdraft 1500 he hasnt appied for a credit card do you have to be over 21yrs?
he cant aford to pay much off a month and is always in the overdraft by 1000 or more
whats his best opption as he cant see any light at end of tunel

milliemonster

His best option is not a credit card, all that would happen is he would probably end up overspending on that and still have the overdraft and end up in more debt.

He needs to open a new bank account with no overdraft and then start paying this one off and not using this old account anymore.

Clark80

How much does he earn, what are his outgoings (How much and for what?)

He needs to cut back on some things if possible and pay something towards the debt every month.

It will take time but a good learning experience early in life.

opinions4u

andykim wrote: »

my son is only 19yrs works full time got himself in to det in overdraft 1500

Hopefully he can learn a lesson in life at an early age. That time of life where you live with parents but work full time is a time where you should have more disposable income than any other point.

Basically, he needs to learn to spend less than he earns and save the difference. But he should probably defer the saving until he's brought his current account back in credit.

he hasnt appied for a credit card do you have to be over 21yrs?

You can have a credit card at 18, subject to acceptance. But this would be a truly awful idea for somebody who is yet to learn financial sense. Do not, under any circumstances, suggest he applies for a credit card. He'll max out on it within weeks and end up with more than double the current debt.

he cant aford to pay much off a month and is always in the overdraft by 1000 or more

I'd suggest he uses the Debt-free Wannabe resource on this forum to identify ways of reducing outgoings and increasing income.

My eldest is going through a major readjustment of his finances at the moment and, for the first time ever, is beginning to save whereas in the past it's been all overdrafts and bank charges.

A key change was staying in for a month (the pub's profits fell, but so did the overdraft - significantly) and then returning to a slightly less exciting social life afterwards.

Don't pay his debts off for him - that just teaches him to rely on you. Don't reduce rents or treat him to anything to see him through - that just rewards his behaviour. Support him, encourage him etc when he's doing the right things. When you see him wasting money call him on it though.

Where does he spend his money? Gettting an answer to that can identify ways to spend a lot less!

Could you increase his rent on the understanding that you will save the amount of the increase for his future? That way at least he's getting something behind him!

CLAPTON

get him to fill in this budget sheet and find out where his money is going
and then post up the results

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

RobertoMoir

andykim wrote: »

my son is only 19yrs works full time got himself in to det in overdraft 1500 he hasnt appied for a credit card do you have to be over 21yrs?
he cant aford to pay much off a month and is always in the overdraft by 1000 or more
whats his best opption as he cant see any light at end of tunel

If he can't pay off / reduce an overdraft on a month by month basis then how could he possibly pay off a credit card or a loan as these will want to be paid off on that basis (and are likely to be stricter about it than an overdraft)?

I think the first issue is for him to figure out why he is living beyond his means and to address that, without the further potential debt of a credit card or a loan; more debt is not the answer to a debt problem for the same reason you don't try and put out a fire with petrol.

I think going a bit mad with money when you get a full time job is something a lot of young people do. I know I did, I know my brother did, I know a few friends who did. As he's told you he has a problem while it's at the (relative to some we see here) low amount of £1500, this could be a great chance for him to work on his money management now and learn a valuable lesson that will do him good service for the future. You can support him and help him (but don't solve the problem for him) and he'll eventually be glad he learnt now rather than when he's 25 with both a mortgage and loan for a fancy car.