Hi All

MartinJolsBaldPatch

Hello,

I have been browsing this site for a couple of months now and have been touched by some of the stories and also how willing people are to help each other out.

I just wanted to explain my situation, apologies if this is not the right place. I am aware that in comparison, my debts are manageable, but i feel that writing them down will help me to deal with them more effectively

I finished university a few months ago and how have to deal with the fact it has left me in debt....Discounting my student loan of £12,000 which will sort its self out over time (its the cheapest loan ill ever get) i owe £6,000. This breaks down as

£1,800 Overdraft (0% for three years, although it does gradually decrease)
£3,200 Abbey CC (about 15% APR)
£1,000 Amazon CC (About 13% APR)

I am starting a job next week on £18k and hopefully will be living with my parents paying £160 rent a month (theyve put up with me for 22 years, another couple wont do any harm)

My plan is to be debt free in 52 weeks and then spend another year saving up to go travelling.

In addition, im contemplating getting a graduate loan to pay of the CC - Any ideas!

Anyhoo, thanks for letting me get all this written down

CLAPTON

seems very feasible but depends upon what you will be spending over the next year..living at home should give you plenty of spare money to repay the debts.

is the graduate loan interest free?...and by the way loans dont pay off debts they merely transfer them.(end of lecture)

post an SoA i.e what you expect as income and what you expect to spend over the next year ...it will help focus your mind..

Molanole

Hi there. Well done for addressing your financial situation now as you leave uni rather than putting it off like I did!!

A couple of things.

1) Graduate Loans aren't always flexible enough for you to make overpayments as and when you need to and will often charge you two months interest if you try and settle the loan early. Shop around and choose very carefull if you go down this route.

2) What about balance transferring your cards to a 0% card or a low LOB card instead? This might give you more room for manouver.

3) If you do decide to transfer your credit card debt to other facilities then MAKE SURE YOU CUT UP AND CANCEL your existing cards. Sound so obvious but there are too many stories of people on here who have fallen into the consolidation trap and ended up spending on their cards again. Don't let it happen to you.

Why not pop up an SOA (statement of affairs) so that we can advise accordingly. Remember that you will probably need to be factoring in student loan repayments if you are earning above the threshold.

Sorry for the lecture and good luck with everything!

Queen.Bess

Well Done on being so organised and so focussed in knowing what you want! I wish you well. Keep on here though as you will get loads of advice and help in maybe getting debt free sooner and saving for your travels!

Luke

Switch the two credit cards to 0% deals, shouldn't be too difficult with your new job. It won't be too bad at all then it will just be a matter of paying as much off as possible. But post your full SOA to see where else you can make savings.