2007.... its going to be a skint one!

yorkshire399

Ive not use this forum before but im in somewhat of a quandry and sick to death of my debt..... not many people know about it so figured it might be nice to chat to someone about it.... might ease the burden a bit

I currently owe £15427.84. I pay off £482.12 each month, Ive consolidated it all to one loan with direct line and I am due to be debt free in August 2009... it sounds far too far away!

I have just been very lucky and have been given the use of a car for the next couple of years meaning I can sell mine, im hoping to get £2000 for it.

Just wanting peoples opinions really..... my loan is fixed but i could take out another smaller loan, add the £2k to it and clear the current one meaning i owe less but it will mean my monthly repayments increase as i have 2 years 8 months remaining on the current one but would probs have to take a new one out over 2 years (or 3 but then im in debt even longer!)

Or i could use the money from my car to pay for a full years car insurance lowering my monthly outgoings and put the rest in an Isa and try add to it over the year and see if that puts me in a better position then.

Any suggestions would be gratefully appreciated.... keep being torn between being desperatly skint and shifting my debt quicker or just dealing with the fact ive got it and treating myself occasionally and being happier! Think i need a kick in the right direction!

CLAPTON

is there a penalty for early repayment

can you over pay each month

yorkshire399

I cant over pay... its a fixed amount each month.... not sure about the charge I need to look into that... got an early settlement figure of £14520.90 before this months payment goes through.... I know i should know these things!

CLAPTON

it looks like a fairly modest penalty in that case.

i would suggest saving your 2000 in the best saving account you can find and when you have enough to clear the debt do so.

OberonSH

Hi there, you're in the right place. Pop up a Statement of Affairs (SOA) and we'll all chip in and see if we can help you out cutting down your costs, so you have more to add to your savings pot.

I agree, you might as well put it all in a savings account and build it up until you have enough to pay it off, rather than be charged repayment fees for every time you put a bit extra in.

beanielou

Hi yorkie
You sound like you are sorted!
You've only got 2 and a half years to go which is great.
Why dont you keep the money from car as an emmergency fund?
Welcome to MSE by the way.

Reformed

Try and pay back as much as you can but do leave yourself money to treat yourself or you will quite simply go mad. Even if you only put aside £5 a week into a savings account at the end of the two and a half years you can treat yourself to a good old holiday. I don't know if that's a possibility like OberonSH says stick an SOA up and the experts will be able to point you in the right direction. Good luck - you're in the right place.