Help! Debt

pink_fairy_7

Pink Fairy Debt Diary

I have just turned 40 and have been in debt all my adult life.
I have always worked and at the moment i earn £25K a year. Up until 2 years ago I lived with my partner who owned his own house so I had no problem paying for everthing. We split up and I was forced to rent a house with my 3 children. Due to my failure to control my spending I am now £45K in debt!!!
I am now havng trouble sleeping and is making me ill.
Any advice would be welcomed.

rainbow21

If you post a list of broadly where your debts are eg are they on loans or credit cards etc, there'll be people who'll give you some ideas of where to start to improve the situation

pink_fairy_7

debt list

egg loan £21000
northern rock loan £7500
barclaycard £10000
capital one £4400
egg credit card £1300

I am paying £1000 a month in debt repayments

Bargain_Rzl

Hi pinkfairy,

Sorry to hear about your situation.

It's important that as well as the debt amounts, you post the interest rate of each part of your debt. This will enable people on this board to help you to prioritise your repayments.

pink_fairy_7

hi

egg loan is at 7.7% pay £331 pcm
barclaycard 12.9% (already got interest rate reduced)
c one 13.9%
egg card 14.9%
north rock loan 9.9% pay £173 pcm

I have tried to get different cards at lower interest but keep getting refused.
I get maintenance payments but these will reduce when my eldest daughter goes to uni in sept.

I can't work anymore hours as the job I have is already really stressful and the doctor has adviced me to slow down anyway.
Sorry this sounds so pathetic. I just don't know how to get myself out of this

Bargain_Rzl

pinkfairy,

It does not sound pathetic at all. Better to realise that you have a problem and seek help for it than to continue to bury your head in the sand with "spiralling" spending until you have no choice at all but to declare yourself bankrupt. Or make yourself ill, which it sounds like you are already at risk of doing.

I am not in a position to give advice, as I am extremely lucky in that I have never been in a situation which has forced me into serious debt. However you will find that now you've posted details of your debts on here, many others will offer useful advice, much of it born of experience. Also, if you read through the threads on this board you will find loads of examples of people like you not only being helped through their debt problems, but also being reassured that they are not alone.

And certainly not pathetic.

Magentasue

Have you tried CAB etc? There are details in the intro bit at the top of this board. I wonder if there is a possibility of getting your interest frozen, even if only for a while. Would Egg let you add your credit card balance to the loan?

I'm sure other people who know more about this will post but it seems the most important thing to do is work out a budget, work out how much you can afford in debt repayments and allocate them fairly. The amount you allocate to debt repayment is part of your budget. When I was in debt over my head, I did it the other way round - made the payments and then found I couldn't live on the rest.

The free help organisations that Martin recommends will help with the budget and negotiating with your creditors. You can do it yourself and there's an online pack you can work through that I've seen mentioned on other threads on this board.

If you can afford to repay £1000 a month, all you have to do is keep trying to lower your interest but if you can't afford to repay at that rate you need to do the budget. Once you get that sorted, you'll feel far more in control.:cool:

pink_fairy_7

Hi

Thanks for all the kind words. I feel much better this morning. Obviously that old adage about talking to somebody really helps. x

I have been reading the site and have realised how much I am overspending on certain things. i.e groceries. £350 a month. I am going to try and reduce this to £200 for April. It's a start!!

I might also publish the debt tally every week on this site as it seems to help. It will also keep me focused.

Thanks everyone Pink fairy

Bargain_Rzl

If you're spending £350 a month on groceries, even for yourself and 3 kids that sounds like a lot.

Try the Money Saving Old Style board for loads of suggestions of how to cut this area of your spending.

Can I just ask what your income is? I know you say you are on £25k but surely this is only about £1500pm after tax - and if you can afford debt repayments of £1000 and £350 for groceries, that only leaves £150 for the roof over your head... I presume you're receiving child maintenance and/or tax credits, bringing your income up to £???? per month.

Or are you still spending borrowed money :eek: ?

pink_fairy_7

Hi

I receive another £460 a month. Total £1960. the rest of the money covers rent etc and petrol. I have a company car. But I only receive part of my petrol money and it still costs me £100 a month. All my other living expenses are down to the minimum.
The food bill is so high due to ready meals/ takeaways. This is going to stop.
pink fairy

pink_fairy_7

Hi

I wish to shuffle my credit card balances. Can anyone help?
Do any of my cards do 0% balance transfers. Barclaycard, Capital One Plat. Egg card. I have enough limits to be able to move them all around. At least this will reduce my interest amounts.

Thanks Pink fairy