Debt free by Summer 2012 (if not sooner!)

Kepp

DebtFree2012 wrote: »

Hi beccie - How are you? Thanks for your thoughts re posting on here everything.

My CC debts are as follows:

Cap1 4386.06 @ 26.48% year (as at today)
Virgin 7281.06 @ 17.23% year (new statement due 22nd and not paid last months payment so will go up
Tesco 2533.04 @15.76%

These are the ones I feel out of control with - my loan to barclays is fixed a month and will pay off last as can't get out of it. My OD is 500 OD and I am unsure whether to use this to pay debt (currently maxed out until March according to budget forecast) as the charges aren't much as agreed overdraft, not one of those stupid reserves which is also a reason I am in this situ.
(This time last year was 1k OD and being charged £22 every 5 days for being more than 500 OD.)

So really the decisions I need to make are:

1. Do I use OD to pay cards or should I stay in the black and pay less to cards?
2. How to attack cards. highes apr doesn't have highest balance etc etc. Was thinking do I split my "spare" cash 3 ways each month or pay min on 2 and rest to 3rd or spend 6 months reducing virgin (this would bring interest down to less than 100 month) then 6 on cap 1.

I have done some number crunching and to pay min to virgin (2nd high APR but highest bal) for a year i would pay over 1k in total but only shave less than 200 off debt!

Feel free to say I am indecisive!

x

Hi DF,

With regards the O/D its a bit of a weird one - if it's costing you the least in interest then that should be the last one you pay - however it's a small balance that can be paid off quickly and it does seem to help mentally to see your bank in a positive balance so that could be a good one to shift quickly.

With the CCs you really should hit them with highest APR first. I know it sounds bad that you will have only paid that much off Virgin if you make minimum payments but in the long run you will save yourself so much money if you hit the card with the highest APR first.

It took me a while to get going at the beginning - I had about 7.5K on my highest CC which was at 29.9% with late fees etc as well, and all my other CCs were high too. I went all out on this card to start with and once that one had gone things def got easier.

I now have all but 6.5K on 0% and that's less than a year one and it does make it easier to breathe.

So...that's my (sorry, very long-winded!) advice!

Hit the highest APR first and just keep sticking with it, after a few months you really will begin to feel the difference xxx

Woowoo

Hi DF

I definitely agree with Bec's on this one.

Lloyds was my highest APR and highest balance at £10,200 - I wish I had tackled this first now, but the prospect was too scary at the begining!

DebtFree2012

**Kat** wrote: »

I hate Jan too Woo - I get paid a week today but got paid soooooo early last month!

DF- I can totally relate to the reserve, I am in that trap. Slowly paying it off (only slowly as the amount of charges I get each month are ridiculous).

It's a nightmare isn't it. In the end I was that sick of it (this is pre maternity leave for me thankfully) I went into the bank and asked for help - they said erm, no, we'll keep ripping you off thanks. I'd gone in on pay day ( thinking might look good as in credit lol) and DD etc come out the following few days so I had a strop and told them to remove it there and then and I'd pay for the late fee's on my cards instead which for me in the long run was cheaper as 3 * £12 late payment fees opposed to £22 every 4/5 days until next pay day. It actually turned out I could pay (council tax free months etc) my min balances and although I am permanently left with nothing now at least it's "normal" OD charges opposed to their absolutely crimial charges.

Keep going at it, you will beat them in the end, I have full faith in you xx

DebtFree2012

rachelww1 wrote: »

Hi DF2012

Hope you don't mind me subscribing to your diary.

I had my LB moment last month, and also have a lot of debt to shift, which I would love to do by 2012. I did tell my DH the extent of debt, but that is because some of it is joint, and some is mine that has been used to pay off his IYSWIM. If it was purely mine who knows if I would tell him. What he doesn't know about are my posts on here.

I've done quite well so far, but that's only because DH had an insurance payout for an accident he had at work last year. All of this went on paying the NW CC in full £2500(actually I overpaid by £200 and have to wait 6 working days to get it back :mad:). Another £2500 went to Barclaycard, leaving a balance of c£4300, and £330 went on a full service for the car. the remaining £120 went towards the OD.

We also scrapped DH's car last weekend as it wasn't worth repairing, so that will save us on petrol, insurance and repair costs. I'm the one who's left without a car though, and now walk to school and work.

I think I can manage £1215 a month repayments, but that still make my DFD 2013 according to my snowball. So any inspiration from you would be great.

Hope you don't mind me plodding along quietly beside you xx

Hi rachel - lovely to have you along on my journey - do you have a diary?

That's great news you have been able to pay off so much already but not great as to the reason why you got the cash - ie DH had accident. So is your CC here the only one you have now?

Re the car - petrol costs are what's annoying me at present - since returning to work at the beginning of Jan I've used all spare cash in petrol cost - feel like I am working to pay to get me here!!!

I get inspiration from the diaries I read - there's always someone doing something that you think you could try or that makes you smile if you are having a down day. I hope you read mine and feel this sometimes and if you have a diary i will do with yours too.

xxx

DebtFree2012

Hello to another day everyone.

Thanks to everyone who posted advice re which of my debts they would pay first. I have been thinking and thinking about it.

With regards to the overdraft, the charges currently are low APR compared to everything else. So what I was thinking is that I will use £450 of it a month leaving me with a £50 lee-way (sp?) in case of emergencies. I will review it constantly to make sure the charges aren't going up - if they are I will re-assess.

So based on that I then will tackle Cap1 for a number of reasons, mostly because I HATE them and want them gone but also as their APR is the highest as ppl have said. I can't shake off the Virgin thing though (sounds dodgy!) that I won't have paid more that £200 off from 1k plus payments SO I have told myself to reassess in 6 months. It's not like i won't be on my spreadsheet daily anyway! In 6 months I will decide what to do - I may even be able to get 0% then as will have cleared some of my debt owing.

Every spare penny I have will go to paying debt off and anything left over from petrol money will also go to it, same for groceries. My budgets are very tight for these so I am worried that there may be nothing or budget's not enough but only next month will tell me that.

Ok so that's looking forward decided. There here and now is poop! I need petrol for the rest of the week as in desparately - light's flashing not just on - and my CHQ hasn't cleared yet so I can't put any in. I have £5 in purse which I need basic food with. If the chq doesn't clear tomorrow i don't know what I will do. Shall I deal with that tomorrow if it happens?

Also on way to dropping DD off at lunch time to nursery i got a text off cap1 collection dept to call them straight away as owe £11.90 from last month. Sigh. I will have to call them this afty to tell them will pay tomorrow if chq clears so they don't call me tonight at home. Plus the stupid insurance company have taken my DD early (set it up last month to come out after 25th) and now and said amount OD in that bills account which doesn't have agreed od so will be charged another £10 fee!!!! I wish it was Tuesday so I was paid. I sound depressed butI am not - am more frustrated and annoyed with myself lol.

Still smiling though

DebtFree2012

I can't call them at the mo as all bloomin offices are taken with meetings so can't go anywhere private. I think I am also going to call them and close the account off- in the sense of once balance is paid it closes. I think I will feel better for doing this.

rachelww1

Hiya

I think that's a good idea to close the account. That way it's no longer a temptation and also they can't put the rate up anymore. I had a lovely letter from Barclaycard on Christmas Eve saying they were going to put my rate up to 22.9%! So, I called them and closed the account. Unfortunately they wouldn't reduce the rate so I'm stuck with the balance at 19.9%.

I am in the process of starting a diary, and will probably put all my history on it tonight (as I'm meant to be working at the mo ).

And no, unfortunately the Barclaycard isn't my only CC. I also have an MBNA card which I closed last June at 12.9% with a balance of c6k. The rest of the debt is 4k overdraft and 4 loans :eek:.
Hope that cheque clears for you xx

DebtFree2012

Rachel - we're in it together then ) every cloud etc! x

Little update - I have called Capital One and the guy on the other end of the phone I have to say was lovely. Although the comany sucks she tried to help me, am I being lulled into a false sense of security...?

So I told her I owe £11.90 to clear arrears and that I can pay it tomorrow (God I hope chq clears). Will check first thing in morning and pay online if it has. They they are "happy". I will be making the rest of the min payment on Tues when pay day and again that's ok.

She said I won't get a call off them tonight or again as long as I make the payments which I will be.

Then I called car insurance people who are a law unto themselves. Basically I was late with last months payment so they took that one again and then took the other one ealrier than told me but he said they told me 19th - i have written down 25th and wouldn't ask for ealrier as pay day 25th, anyway - no point arguing as won't help me. So again this guy seemed ok and he's flagged the account as paid until 25th when flag removed and i need to call and pay - if i don't (which i will) they call me back.

I think that's all re that lol.

Feel worn out today now - early night in order I think after a nice long hot shower on my own with no one to get at me and lots of time to get my houghts in order! Refusing to do any jobs except packed lunches and the washing (will only stress me if i leave it).

xxx

DebtFree2012

Forgot to say - in my excitement of them agreeing not to call me lol - I forgot to close the account - they would have to put me through to someone else though so will just call back once arrears payment has cleared.

Woowoo

Glad you got everything with Cap 1 sorted x