Please help me!

Rosek

Hi all,

So I'm finally pulling my head out of the sand and facing upto my debts! I have old credit card debts and not sure what my best course of action should be. I have bad credit rating so I can't take advantage of 0% credit card offers and be a 'credit card tart'. Should I get a low interest loan to consolidate my debt that I will be tied into for a number of years or is there better course of action?

Look forward to hearing your thoughts as very confused!

Thanks

malkie

Evening Rosek,

Well about the CC's I am no expert but they say a loan only works for about 10% of people, As people say that you will start spending on the cards again and end up in a bigger mess, I know I did. What they will say is to list an SOA so that people can help you and see where and what to start paying off first...

So all in all a loan is not the answer pay the debt and tighten the purse strings. I havebeen doning this for the past 9 months and it really works..

All the best

Hales82

malkie wrote: »

Evening Rosek,

Well about the CC's I am no expert but they say a loan only works for about 10% of people, As people say that you will start spending on the cards again and end up in a bigger mess, I know I did. What they will say is to list an SOA so that people can help you and see where and what to start paying off first...

So all in all a loan is not the answer pay the debt and tighten the purse strings. I havebeen doning this for the past 9 months and it really works..

All the best

I completely agree with this. We consolidated (about 3 times) and always ended up spending on the cards again.

Post an SOA to see if anyone can help where to cut back a little. We spoke to the CCCS and have entered into a DMP. Might not be the best option for you but a debt charity will be able to advise on your individual situation.

Good luck x

fatbelly

Yes, we'll need a statement of affairs to get the big picture.

For now, are you making payments to the credit cards? If not, when did you last do so?

Rosek

Hello,

Here's my statement of Affairs.

I have moved back with my parents so I luckily have low rent and relatively low bills to pay.

Statement of Affairs and Personal Balance Sheet
Monthly Income Details
Monthly income after tax................ 1200
Partners monthly income after tax....... 0
Benefits................................ 0
Other income............................ 0
Total monthly income.................... 1200
Monthly Expense Details
Mortgage................................ 0
Secured/HP loan repayments.............. 0
Rent.................................... 200
Management charge (leasehold property).. 0
Council tax............................. 0
Electricity............................. 0
Gas..................................... 0
Oil..................................... 0
Water rates............................. 0
Telephone (land line)................... 0
Mobile phone............................ 40
TV Licence.............................. 0
Satellite/Cable TV...................... 0
Internet Services....................... 0
Groceries etc. ......................... 0
Clothing................................ 50
Petrol/diesel........................... 125
Road tax................................ 10
Car Insurance........................... 30
Car maintenance (including MOT)......... 0
Car parking............................. 0
Other travel............................ 0
Childcare/nursery....................... 0
Other child related expenses............ 0
Medical (prescriptions, dentist etc).... 145
Pet insurance/vet bills................. 0
Buildings insurance..................... 0
Contents insurance...................... 0
Life assurance ......................... 0
Other insurance......................... 0
Presents (birthday, christmas etc)...... 0
Haircuts................................ 10
Entertainment........................... 80
Holiday................................. 0
Emergency fund.......................... 0
Gym..................................... 33
Total monthly expenses.................. 723

Assets
Cash.................................... 0
House value (Gross)..................... 0
Shares and bonds........................ 0
Car(s).................................. 1000
Other assets............................ 0
Total Assets............................ 1000

No Secured nor Hire Purchase Debts
Unsecured Debts
Description....................Debt......Monthly...APR
Credit Card ...................7500......326.......16.8
Overdraft......................1500......0.........0
Student Loan...................9000......25........0
Total unsecured debts..........18000.....351.......-

Monthly Budget Summary
Total monthly income.................... 1,200
Expenses (including HP & secured debts). 723
Available for debt repayments........... 477
Monthly UNsecured debt repayments....... 351
Amount left after debt repayments....... 126
Personal Balance Sheet Summary
Total assets (things you own)........... 1,000
Total HP & Secured debt................. -0
Total Unsecured debt.................... -18,000
Net Assets.............................. -17,000
Created using the SOA calculator at Reproduced on Moneysavingexpert with permission, using IE browser.

Rosek

Yes i pay my credit cards monthly. Generally its just the minimum payment but i try to pay more where i can afford it. Getting nowhere though with the interest

[Deleted User]

Hi there, well done on pulling your head out of the sand- I've just done the same myself- hard isnt it. I joined MSE yesterday and am in the process of adding up my debts, its scary. Cut up all my cc's over weekend and today was my first day without them, wasnt as bad as I thought it would be.
I agree with previous posts about consolidating- I've tried that several times and doesnt actually tackle the problem, just hides it for a while.
As a result of my 'consolidations' I have ended up with a £20k and £15k loan, plus huge mortgage and I still have two large cc's- consolidation has got me into a bit of a mess.
Good luck with your journey, try to take advantage to the cheap rent and bills at your parents for as long as you can to pay off as much debt as you can.
very best wishes, will follow your progress x

jellybean09

Rosek wrote: »

Hello,

Here's my statement of Affairs.

I have moved back with my parents so I luckily have low rent and relatively low bills to pay.

Statement of Affairs and Personal Balance Sheet
Monthly Income Details
Monthly income after tax................ 1200
Partners monthly income after tax....... 0
Benefits................................ 0
Other income............................ 0
Total monthly income.................... 1200
Monthly Expense Details
Mortgage................................ 0
Secured/HP loan repayments.............. 0
Rent.................................... 200
Management charge (leasehold property).. 0
Council tax............................. 0
Electricity............................. 0
Gas..................................... 0
Oil..................................... 0
Water rates............................. 0
Telephone (land line)................... 0
Mobile phone............................ 40
TV Licence.............................. 0
Satellite/Cable TV...................... 0
Internet Services....................... 0
Groceries etc. ......................... 0
Clothing................................ 50
Petrol/diesel........................... 125
Road tax................................ 10
Car Insurance........................... 30
Car maintenance (including MOT)......... 0
Car parking............................. 0
Other travel............................ 0
Childcare/nursery....................... 0
Other child related expenses............ 0
Medical (prescriptions, dentist etc).... 145
Pet insurance/vet bills................. 0
Buildings insurance..................... 0
Contents insurance...................... 0
Life assurance ......................... 0
Other insurance......................... 0
Presents (birthday, christmas etc)...... 0
Haircuts................................ 10
Entertainment........................... 80
Holiday................................. 0
Emergency fund.......................... 0
Gym..................................... 33
Total monthly expenses.................. 723

Assets
Cash.................................... 0
House value (Gross)..................... 0
Shares and bonds........................ 0
Car(s).................................. 1000
Other assets............................ 0
Total Assets............................ 1000

No Secured nor Hire Purchase Debts
Unsecured Debts
Description....................Debt......Monthly...APR
Credit Card ...................7500......326.......16.8
Overdraft......................1500......0.........0
Student Loan...................9000......25........0
Total unsecured debts..........18000.....351.......-

Monthly Budget Summary
Total monthly income.................... 1,200
Expenses (including HP & secured debts). 723
Available for debt repayments........... 477
Monthly UNsecured debt repayments....... 351
Amount left after debt repayments....... 126
Personal Balance Sheet Summary
Total assets (things you own)........... 1,000
Total HP & Secured debt................. -0
Total Unsecured debt.................... -18,000
Net Assets.............................. -17,000
Created using the SOA calculator at Reproduced on Moneysavingexpert with permission, using IE browser.

Realistically you could pay off more than your minimum payment on the CC quite easily. By cutting back or cancelling (for the time being) on some things like clothing allowance, entertainment etc for as long as possible you could use those savings to pay larger amounts off your CC. I know you dont want to read that. Trust me I have issues and hate reading those sort of replies. But the only way to reduce your debt is by paying it off. Paying minimum payment on a CC doesnt really get you anywhere.
Your medical expenses are very high. Im sure they are necessary but have you reviewed what you are paying for?