Debt Advice

someone_else

iv found the SOA now so i will get it sorted tomorrow now.

my main reason for having no money is since oct when i had a lot of expenses i am constantly overdrawn even on payday!

Butti

Hi Someone Else,

I can kind of see what others are saying and I can exactly see what you are saying, and both points of view make sense to me. People on here are concerned about you just shifting your debt rather than actively reducing it, BUT if you have debts on HSBC and Virgin I am guessing you are paying 18-19% and 25% on debts you could be paying 6-9% on if you had a loan. But you would have to have another credit check to test whether this was true which may damage your score.

So;

1. Claim your credit card charges back - its your money so get it
2. Do a statement of affairs so we can advise where you can cut expenditure
3. I would suggest putting your £2600 and your credit card charge refund towards your highest APR card, which I think will probably be my favorite card of all time the lovely Virgin :mad:
4. Do A LOT of work on where your money is going?
This is the bit I find most disturbing in your whole post. The fact that you can't see where the money has gone. Look for clues; what is your weakness, what is your hobby, are you a latte here/magazine there person. Mine was holidays, DIY and motorbikes but a lot of crap also.

As part of this process I would recommend getting out of the library;
Alvin Hall 'You and your money' and the rather charmingly titled 'What's wrong with me' by Benjamin Hall. Keeping a journal or a spending diary will also help you pinpoint situations that are particular issues for you.

I hope this post isn't too harsh. You're still young so you get time to mess up and sort it out. It's a bit more crap when you're trying to dig yourself out of it at the age of 42!

B

Choo_Choo_4

SOA = Statement of Affairs (basically how much money you have coming IN each month and exactly what you're spending )

There are general guidelines of what you SHOULD be spending and if you're paying too much for something or other you might get advice on how to reduce this ..

Generally speaking you will find that most people who consolidate into one loan, it can just end up spiralling out of control. You get the loan to pay off the exisiting loan / credit cards - that's great for a month or two but once you know that there is space on that card again slowly it starts to build up.

You might just put on the grocery shopping with the intention of repaying it next week and before you know it you're left with the consolidation loan that might only be 5 months old AND a NEW £5k debt from God knows what

It's not a big amount of debt BUT big enough to be causing you problems.
Certainly speak to creditors - all they can say is NO, then we'll try the next step but in the meantime don't make any drastic decisions ....