Credt Card help

creditmunched

Hi,

I am a little new to this.. I have recently applied for a loan to consolidate existing debt.. for which I was not accepted. I already have a loan which expires in Apr 2012... However I am getting fed up of trying to juggle 3 credit cards on top of this and not being in a position to pay of a chunk each month, i AM SICK OF BEING SKINT
Please can anyone offer an suggestions as I am not in a position to apply for a 0% at the moment as I am up to the limit on my 3 cards - hence me getting refused on the loan I mentioned
iTS GETTING ME DOWN..
Any suggestions welcomed:)

bargainbetty

Hi and welcome,

Everyone here is lovey and willing to help, but we all tend to start with the same thing - a statement of affairs. Use the sticky at the top to access the spreadsheet, and then list - honestly- all your outgoings. People will help you save money where you can, and come up with ideas about how to manage your debts too.

Good luck x

Tixy

Hi and welcome

Like betty says the starting point is to write out a monthly budget to see whether you are spending more than you earn each month. Then from this you can see how much you can afford to pay to your creditors.

Here is the statement of affairs link - http://forums.moneysavingexpert.com/showthread.html?t=107280

creditmunched

Ok I have carried out an SOA.. as per your advice..
My mine concern is that I am not in a postion to apply for a 0% card at the moment - but keen to pay off debts asap!!:cool:

As a new user apparently i am not allowed to upload the full SOA report ..


No Secured nor Hire Purchase Debts
Unsecured Debts
Description....................Debt......Monthly...APR
Credit Card....................4000......80........16.9
Credit Card....................3200......70........15.9
Credit Card....................3800......90........17.9
Loan...........................5000......234.......10.9
Total unsecured debts..........16000.....474.......-

Tixy

Hi

You should be able to put on your full SoA, all you need do is remove the website page address link right at the bottom.

creditmunched

Household Information[/b]
Number of adults in household........... 1
Number of children in household.........
Number of cars owned.................... 1
Monthly Income Details
Monthly income after tax................ 1500
Partners monthly income after tax....... 0
Benefits................................ 0
Other income............................ 0
Total monthly income.................... 1500
Monthly Expense Details
Mortgage................................ 0
Secured/HP loan repayments.............. 0
Rent.................................... 400
Management charge (leasehold property).. 0
Council tax............................. 77
Electricity............................. 30
Gas..................................... 70
Oil..................................... 0
Water rates............................. 25
Telephone (land line)................... 17
Mobile phone............................ 22
TV Licence.............................. 12
Satellite/Cable TV...................... 0
Internet Services....................... 0
Groceries etc. ......................... 100
Clothing................................ 40
Petrol/diesel........................... 120
Road tax................................ 10
Car Insurance........................... 25
Car maintenance (including MOT)......... 5
Car parking............................. 0
Other travel............................ 0
Childcare/nursery....................... 0
Other child related expenses............ 0
Medical (prescriptions, dentist etc).... 18
Pet insurance/vet bills................. 0
Buildings insurance..................... 0
Contents insurance...................... 0
Life assurance ......................... 0
Other insurance......................... 0
Presents (birthday, christmas etc)...... 10
Haircuts................................ 0
Entertainment........................... 50
Holiday................................. 0
Emergency fund.......................... 0
Total monthly expenses.................. 1031

Assets
Cash.................................... 0
House value (Gross)..................... 0
Shares and bonds........................ 0
Car(s).................................. 500
Other assets............................ 0
Total Assets............................ 500

No Secured nor Hire Purchase Debts
Unsecured Debts
Description....................Debt......Monthly...APR
Credit Card....................4000......80........16.9
Credit Card....................3200......70........15.9
Credit Card....................3800......90........17.9
Loan...........................5000......234.......10.9
Total unsecured debts..........16000.....474.......-

Monthly Budget Summary
Total monthly income.................... 1,500
Expenses (including HP & secured debts). 1,031
Available for debt repayments........... 469
Monthly UNsecured debt repayments....... 474
Amount short for making debt repayments. -5
Personal Balance Sheet Summary
Total assets (things you own)........... 500
Total HP & Secured debt................. -0
Total Unsecured debt.................... -16,000
Net Assets.............................. -15,500

Tixy

Great thanks for posting it.
I'll put some comments on your costs - these are just my suggestions if you want to clear your debt as soon as possible, and when you have paid some of the debts off you will be in a better position to apply for 0% or low life of balance cards to move your debt to.

creditmunched wrote: »

Household Information[/b]
Number of adults in household........... 1
Number of children in household.........
Number of cars owned.................... 1
Monthly Income Details
Monthly income after tax................ 1500 any chance of overtime? second job?
Partners monthly income after tax....... 0
Benefits................................ 0
Other income............................ 0
Total monthly income.................... 1500
Monthly Expense Details
Mortgage................................ 0
Secured/HP loan repayments.............. 0
Rent.................................... 400
Management charge (leasehold property).. 0
Council tax............................. 77
Electricity............................. 30 -
Gas..................................... 70 both look quite high for 1 person, have you checked you are with the cheapest supplier/best tariff? are you repaying any arrears? are you bills estimates or actual readings? can you try to reduce usage?
Oil..................................... 0
Water rates............................. 25 unmeasured? you might save half of this with a meter - have a look into if you might save.
Telephone (land line)................... 17
Mobile phone............................ 22
TV Licence.............................. 12
Satellite/Cable TV...................... 0
Internet Services....................... 0
Groceries etc. ......................... 100
Clothing................................ 40 reduce down for a while, only essentials for 6months, wear what you have already
Petrol/diesel........................... 120
Road tax................................ 10
Car Insurance........................... 25
Car maintenance (including MOT)......... 5 is this enough for MOT, servicing, tyres, parts etc?
Car parking............................. 0
Other travel............................ 0
Childcare/nursery....................... 0
Other child related expenses............ 0
Medical (prescriptions, dentist etc).... 18 is this prescription meds?
Pet insurance/vet bills................. 0
Buildings insurance..................... 0
Contents insurance...................... 0 you can get this pretty cheap by shopping around
Life assurance ......................... 0
Other insurance......................... 0
Presents (birthday, christmas etc)...... 10
Haircuts................................ 0 never anything?
Entertainment........................... 50
Holiday................................. 0
Emergency fund.......................... 0
Total monthly expenses.................. 1031

Assets
Cash.................................... 0
House value (Gross)..................... 0
Shares and bonds........................ 0
Car(s).................................. 500
Other assets............................ 0
Total Assets............................ 500

No Secured nor Hire Purchase Debts
Unsecured Debts
Description....................Debt......Monthly...APR
Credit Card....................4000......80........16.9
Credit Card....................3200......70........15.9
Credit Card....................3800......90........17.9
Loan...........................5000......234.......10.9
Total unsecured debts..........16000.....474.......-

Monthly Budget Summary
Total monthly income.................... 1,500
Expenses (including HP & secured debts). 1,031
Available for debt repayments........... 469
Monthly UNsecured debt repayments....... 474
Amount short for making debt repayments. -5
Personal Balance Sheet Summary
Total assets (things you own)........... 500
Total HP & Secured debt................. -0
Total Unsecured debt.................... -16,000
Net Assets.............................. -15,500

Hi what sort of place do you rent? could you find anywhere cheaper or could you get a lodger to share bills with?

Do you also have an overdraft? if so remember to include it on your list of debts.

Could you get any extra income from a second job or from selling items you no longer need or use?

If you could make some small cutbacks you could show a small surplus. If you do then you need to pay anything over the minimums to the card with the 17.9% APR.

Try the snowball calculator (on the same site) to see what it says about your estimated debt free date - that can be a great motivater to cut back where you can.

Good luck

creditmunched

Dear Tixy,

I really appreciate your feedback - I live on my own, reluctant to move out but it may be a needs must to clear some debt..
I am with EON gas/electricity provider - so will check the tariff, was high this last quarter as it was SO cold - I pay monthly and always provide an accurate reading.
My friend trims my hair in order o save £30.
The 18.95 is for a dental plan - I got sick of shelling out £200 everytime I had any work done at my dentist..
I do have a £2500 o/draft which I forgot to add..

Former_E.ON_Company_Representative:_Malc

creditmunched wrote: »

I am with EON gas/electricity provider - so will check the tariff, was high this last quarter as it was SO cold - I pay monthly and always provide an accurate reading.

Hi creditmunched

Thought I would just give you a quick heads up, as might be able to help reduce your energy costs a little.

Have a chat with our Energy Efficiency team. They specialise in helping customers cut back on their usage. Give them a list of your appliances and they will be happy to help.

Ask for a copy of a booklet called '100 ways to save money by saving energy.' It's free and contains lots of useful info to help you cut back.

Have a look at our website (there's a link in my Personal Profile); particularly the interactive house and energy survey. More good tips here. :cool:

You might also be interested in the 10:10 campaign. This is a climate change campaign aimed at helping people reduce their energy usage by 10 per cent by the end of 2010. Details are on our website.

You're absolutely right to check your tariff. There are additional discounts available for paying with a Monthly Direct Debit and for managing your account online. Again, the different options are listed on our website.

I would also pop you annual usage on to one of the independent comparison sites to see how we stack up.

Hope this helps a little, creditmunched. Give me a shout if you need any more info and good luck with reducing your debts.

Malc

DarkConvict

Just like to say Thanks to Malc, i wasn't expecting a company rep to post in this type of topic

Numpty_Monkey

creditmunched wrote: »

Household Information[/b]
Number of adults in household........... 1
Number of children in household.........
Number of cars owned.................... 1
Monthly Income Details
Monthly income after tax................ 1500
Partners monthly income after tax....... 0
Benefits................................ 0
Other income............................ 0
Total monthly income.................... 1500
Monthly Expense Details
Mortgage................................ 0
Secured/HP loan repayments.............. 0
Rent.................................... 400
Management charge (leasehold property).. 0
Council tax............................. 77 ask to pay over 12 months, are you getting single person discount
Electricity............................. 30 Some good info from E-On Malc, use comparrison sites and cashback sites
Gas..................................... 70 are you paying arrears or well in credit? are they doing the correct conversion for your meter M2 or feet2
Oil..................................... 0
Water rates............................. 25 look at getting a water you can try for 12 monthsand more than half this
Telephone (land line)................... 17
Mobile phone............................ 22
TV Licence.............................. 12
Satellite/Cable TV...................... 0
Internet Services....................... 0
Groceries etc. ......................... 100
Clothing................................ 40 reduce to £10 for needed for now, use charity shops
Petrol/diesel........................... 120
Road tax................................ 10
Car Insurance........................... 25
Car maintenance (including MOT)......... 5
Car parking............................. 0
Other travel............................ 0
Childcare/nursery....................... 0
Other child related expenses............ 0
Medical (prescriptions, dentist etc).... 18 check out insurance plans
Pet insurance/vet bills................. 0
Buildings insurance..................... 0
Contents insurance...................... 0
Life assurance ......................... 0
Other insurance......................... 0
Presents (birthday, christmas etc)...... 10
Haircuts................................ 0
Entertainment........................... 50
Holiday................................. 0
Emergency fund.......................... 0
Total monthly expenses.................. 1031

Assets
Cash.................................... 0
House value (Gross)..................... 0
Shares and bonds........................ 0
Car(s).................................. 500
Other assets............................ 0
Total Assets............................ 500

No Secured nor Hire Purchase Debts
Unsecured Debts
Description....................Debt......Monthly...APR
Credit Card....................4000......80........16.9
Credit Card....................3200......70........15.9
Credit Card....................3800......90........17.9
Loan...........................5000......234.......10.9
Total unsecured debts..........16000.....474.......-

Monthly Budget Summary
Total monthly income.................... 1,500
Expenses (including HP & secured debts). 1,031
Available for debt repayments........... 469
Monthly UNsecured debt repayments....... 474
Amount short for making debt repayments. -5
Personal Balance Sheet Summary
Total assets (things you own)........... 500
Total HP & Secured debt................. -0
Total Unsecured debt.................... -16,000
Net Assets.............................. -15,500

I've left a few comments, I live on my own (1 bedroom flat)
My gas and electric are now £25 a month in total, swapped in October and got £40 cashback (its higher now)
Water on a meter averages about £12 a month
Try to reduce your mobile contract if your not using the free mins/texts
Just doing them few things can free up £70-£80 a month to start paying of your highest APR debt first and snowballing http://www.makesenseofcards.com/snowcalc.html

HTH