Please help i feel like im going down the debt road....... :(

abbie1988

My self inflicted debt is really starting to get on top of me now.
I am ADDICTED to spending money i haven't got... About 3 months ago i opened up my first catalog 'very' with an initial credit limit of £400, spent that within an hour then applied with 'littlewoods' who also gave me £400.. spent that within a hour. Few weeks later opened up an argos additions account with £200 and a kays with £500. All at the credit limit. Today i just applied for a empire stores account and they gave me a credit limit of £750!! which i have only spent £150 so far...

I only earn £950 a month, and £160 goes on rent, £85 on phone bill, £100 on car (petrol, insurance, tax mot etc) and £42 on my loan.

I am worried i will not be able to keep up with the minimum monthly payments. any advice please?

josephine82

Hi Abbie

Is there a particular reason you have opened all of these accounts? Is its stuff that you need or just stuff that you want to buy?

Can you return any of the goods that you have bought so far?

You need to add up exactly what you owe and sort out a plan for paying them off, and not spending again on the accounts.

Do you need your car? A spend of £85 on mobile is huge- is this because you are going over your allowance- can you check you are on the right contract?

Unfortunately, there is no magic answer- spending can be something you get addicted to, and you have to choose to not spend and to live within your means instead. A good budget with money for clothes etc means you don't have to go without, but you buy things that you can afford and NOT on credit.

Josephine xx

moneygoround

Well, firstly, stop spending on the Empire Stores account and phone them and cancel your order. If you can't do this, send the stuff straight back when it arrives - even better, refuse delivery of the parcel, then you won't be tempted to try any of it on

Work out how much it is going to cost to clear the £1500 debt you have already built up, not just make the minimum payments, and make sure you make the payments. You say you earn £950 and that just under £400 is outgoings. This should leave you plenty to buy food and pay off your debt, and maybe still have some left to buy one item a month with money that you own, rather than money you will owe.

abbie1988

josephine82 wrote: »

Hi Abbie

Is there a particular reason you have opened all of these accounts? Is its stuff that you need or just stuff that you want to buy?

Can you return any of the goods that you have bought so far?

You need to add up exactly what you owe and sort out a plan for paying them off, and not spending again on the accounts.

Do you need your car? A spend of £85 on mobile is huge- is this because you are going over your allowance- can you check you are on the right contract?

Unfortunately, there is no magic answer- spending can be something you get addicted to, and you have to choose to not spend and to live within your means instead. A good budget with money for clothes etc means you don't have to go without, but you buy things that you can afford and NOT on credit.

Josephine xx

I don't need any of the stuff as such just want it and because i don't have to pay anything upfront just spread it over the next few months i spend spend spend... i cant return ant of it as Ive worn it etc. i owe about £1800 and at the moment paying back around £250 which is a massive chunk out of my wages. I need a car as i work miles away from my home and there are no bus routes. the £85 is actually two contracts both with 18 and 22 months remaining .

I know its just trying to get out of this mess. thankyou xx

frasersmum123

You need to run very fast in the other direction, away from these catalogues! They charge very high rates of interest (40%) and the items in there are much more expensive than you can find elsewhere. The minimum payments are 5% of the debt.

Did you take out a BNPL deal with them - if you did that gives you some time to try and pay off the balance before they rack up the interest.

I am desperately trying to pay off my Very debt - please dont find yourself in the situation I am in

abbie1988

I know the items are like £10 more then on the highstreet!

No i didnt take out BNPL - wish i had!

arghhh nightmare, how much are you in debt and are you just paying the minimum payments ( if you don't mind me asking )

thanks

frasersmum123 wrote: »

You need to run very fast in the other direction, away from these catalogues! They charge very high rates of interest (40%) and the items in there are much more expensive than you can find elsewhere. The minimum payments are 5% of the debt.

Did you take out a BNPL deal with them - if you did that gives you some time to try and pay off the balance before they rack up the interest.

I am desperately trying to pay off my Very debt - please dont find yourself in the situation I am in

tallyhoh

Most of the stuff from catalogues cheap & crap @ over inflated prices. Send the lot back if you can, cancel your accounts & get some better quality stuff off ebay or charity shops for pennies.

Quality over quantity every time.

abbie1988

ha be sooooo hard not to try any of it on! good piece of advice though. its just difficult this month as Christmas is coming up so i want to have as much spare cash as possible. I dont know if its worth writing to them asking if they can freeze everything and put it into one debt and pay it off?

thanks

moneygoround wrote: »

Well, firstly, stop spending on the Empire Stores account and phone them and cancel your order. If you can't do this, send the stuff straight back when it arrives - even better, refuse delivery of the parcel, then you won't be tempted to try any of it on

Work out how much it is going to cost to clear the £1500 debt you have already built up, not just make the minimum payments, and make sure you make the payments. You say you earn £950 and that just under £500 is outgoings. This should leave you plenty to buy food and pay off your debt, and maybe still have some left to buy one item a month with money that you own, rather than money you will owe.

abbie1988

bit stuck on sending stuff back as ive worn most of it once, dont think they will take any of it back? ebay is the way forward

thanks

tallyhoh wrote: »

Most of the stuff from catalogues cheap & crap @ over inflated prices. Send the lot back if you can, cancel your accounts & get some better quality stuff off ebay or charity shops for pennies.

Quality over quantity every time.

frasersmum123

I owe £4100 - I moved into an unfurnished house with three children and needed to get furniture quickly. It was a bad choice and I wish I hadnt taken the 'easy' option

Some of the items are on BNPL deals, but my current monthly payment is about £110 - thats a minimum and I try and pay atleast £200 a month

Like I say - it seems like a great option but it isnt. A top that is £10 more than on the hight street, once you have added the interest could mean you end up paying nearly double.

frasersmum123

abbie1988 wrote: »

bit stuck on sending stuff back as ive worn most of it once, dont think they will take any of it back? ebay is the way forward

thanks

If its branded stuff you could try selling it on ebay to try and pay some of the debt back?

Ring Empire and cancel the order - you can do this now and it can be the first step.