hi i'm new - please help

6000_help

Hi i'm new here but 2007 is the year i stop spending on credit cards and pay them off.

I owe 5800 and want to get rid of the debt.

please help.

My partner doesn't know and i don't want to tell him as this isn't the 1st time i've done this and he will go spare as i promised to stop last time but didn't.

I'm so ashamed of what i've done.

nelly_2

you need to post your soa check this post

Your incoming/ outgoings what debts are on what cards etc.

People are happy to help but they need to know what to help with.

raq

Tell him, you might surprised just how he;ll react

I told mine 4 weeks ago as I sopped my heart out and he was fantastic and was wondering what else that was the matter. we have now cut up all the cards and looking at repay as much as we can.

good luck

nelly_2

raq wrote:

Tell him, you might surprised just how he;ll react

I told mine 4 weeks ago as I sopped my heart out and he was fantastic and was wondering what else that was the matter. we have now cut up all the cards and looking at repay as much as we can.

good luck

Martin advises not to just blurt out the problem, but to wait and have a plan to rectify it first, so you are producing a problem and a solution at the same time.

6000_help

I think this is what you're after.

I should be celebrating this year paying off my student debts but i'm not as i have got myself into this credit card mess (again).

As for telling my partner. I can't he'll be so disappointed it'll be terrible. I mean really terrible. I remember the pain last time. I know we have made vows for richer for poorer etc but this could be the end. We are trying to combine our finances but i keep finding an excuse not too as i don't want him to find out about my dirty secret.


Monthly Incomings:

My salary - £1800
Expenses - £100
Total - £1900

---

General to Joint Account - £900 (can't change this)
Mobile (virgin payg) - £10.00
Car Insurance - £31.00
Diesel - £150.00
Savings - £50.00
General Spending - £250

Graduate Loan - £202.25 last payment tomorrow!
Student Loan - 124.45 last payment March 2007
Egg Visa- £150
Egg Money - £30

Total: £ 1897.7

---

Egg Visa – Balance £3,424.88 (Limit £6,800) APR 16.9%

Egg Money – Balance £2342.92 (Limit £6,800) APR 16.9%

DawnW

What are you using the credit cards for? Is it all purely luxury spending on yourself (in which case why hasn't your OH noticed all your new clothes/shoes/car/gadgets/holidays, and wondered where they came from), or just day to day essentials or household bills that your partner ought to jolly well know about, and perhaps contribute to as well? Lots of we women tend to be too ready to shield partners/families from some of the realities of life IMHO, and get into debt trying to make ends meet so that they (partners, families) can continue having what they want. Don't be ashamed of yourself, we have all been in this position, or worse.
Can you transfer balances to the lowest APR card?
Concentrate on paying the debt with the highest APR first?
Get a new 0% card and transfer it all onto there, and get rid of the others?
Lower outgoings / household bills till it is paid off (it is not so very much)?

lynzpower

The one thats ripe for checking out is that 250 a month "spends" what does this go on exactly?

vivaladiva

Is your car insurance the cheapest you can get? You seem to do a lot of miles as your diesel bill is also quite high.
Keep a diary especially of your General Spending and find out where your money is really going - this will probably amaze you!
If you can chuck your Graduate Loan payment at your credit cards and cut/eliminate your General Spending you should be able to reduce your credit card quite quickly especially if you can get a lower APR one.
HTH

HazelEyes_3

Welcome - you will find lots of support and advice here

6000_help wrote:

I think this is what you're after.

I should be celebrating this year paying off my student debts but i'm not as i have got myself into this credit card mess (again).

As for telling my partner. I can't he'll be so disappointed it'll be terrible. I mean really terrible. I remember the pain last time. I know we have made vows for richer for poorer etc but this could be the end. We are trying to combine our finances but i keep finding an excuse not too as i don't want him to find out about my dirty secret.

Very understandable but in the long run keeping secrets is more damaging to relationships than almost anything else. As suggested if you can leave it until you have a plan for dealing with the problem it should help.

Monthly Incomings:

My salary - £1800
Expenses - £100
Total - £1900
Can you add to this even on a temporary basis by selling stuff on Ebay, Amazon etc?

---

General to Joint Account - £900 (can't change this)
Mobile (virgin payg) - £10.00
Car Insurance - £31.00
Diesel - £150.00
Savings - £50.00
General Spending - £250
Start a spending diary to itemise where this money goes - I found it to be very revealing

Graduate Loan - £202.25 last payment tomorrow! Well done - this shows what you can achieve. Can you now add this to the payments to the CCs?
Student Loan - 124.45 last payment March 2007
Egg Visa- £150
Egg Money - £30

Total: £ 1897.7

---

Egg Visa – Balance £3,424.88 (Limit £6,800) APR 16.9%

Egg Money – Balance £2342.92 (Limit £6,800) APR 16.9%

If you can get another card with a 0% BT offer you will see your balance outstanding reduce significantly whereas now you will mainly be paying off the interest.

6000_help

My petrol bill will reduce this month but is being replaced by train travel due to a change in working circumstances. I will be using as many company cars as possible to do this mileage but that will result in a reduction in my expenses!

General spending. I am working on reducing this and looking at what i spend.

Bits and pieces on my credit card is mainly silly luxuries, bits from holidays that i put on and say oh i'll pay it off when i get home and then don't. I have not used my credit cards since november and i'm determined not to use them this month. H is getting me a 2nd card on one of his accounts that way he'll be watching my spending and it'll make me think before i spend too. It will make me not spend for the sake of spending.

As for adding to income. I'm making sure that i claim all the overtime i can from my current job and i'm owed a half yearly payrise too which is due any time now. I hope it is sooner rather than later.

Car Insurance it was the best deal for me at the time and is due for renewal in April. We will be paying for car insurance jointly so i don't need to account for that in my money as it's accounted for elsewhere.

I feel so much better for writing all this down you know. Thanks for all your posts.

Curlyz

Just a small point - why do you need to combine finances?. I'm not saying you shouldn't be open with your partner about finances, but (IMO) keeping your own finances independently - with a joint account purely for shared expenses - leads to a far more successful relationship (having tried both ways)