I want to be debt free!! Help!

angel31572

Hi everyone...this is long overdue but at least I am here now!

I really need some good advice so I hope you someone can help. I will try to be as brief and clear as possible.

I earn £32,000 a year, clearing £1900 a month

My mortgage and monthly DDs amount to around £1200

Add onto that monthly living expenses, I always spend more than I am earning. this is becasue of credit card debt.

I have an existing loan of £7000 and credit cards totalling £6500

I pay around £400 a month to the 3 cards and the balance is not going down..at all!

So, I have taken on extra work, bringing in an extra £300-£600 a month after tax. In the meantime, I have been offered a new loan to pay off the credit cards so that at least I will see the debt going down.

I hope this is clear?

Am I doing the right thing?


Help!!

LookingAhead

Hi there & welcome, you'll find lots of support and advice on this forum.

Have a read of this though as it will make things clearer...it'll tell us what we need to know to help you more.

http://forums.moneysavingexpert.com/showthread.html?t=107280

You've done the right thing by posting on here though for sure. :T

Edit: The extra work is good news too and I am sure with everyone helping out, looking at your Statement of Affairs (SOA) and finding out the interest rates of your debts, you can reduce the debts more efficiently.

angel31572

Thank you for replying so quickly. I am so tired that I am afraid I won't take in all of the info in the link but I will do my best.

To be honest, I would rather chew tin foil than read about interest rates but that's probably why I am in this predicament in the first place!

southernscouser

Don't get the loan! :eek:

At least not yet! In very few circumstances is a consolidation loan the best option for a number of reasons!

As soon as we see a SOA we'll be able to tell you that a loan will be bad!

In the mean time have a look at this bad boy which will show you how quickly you could pay off your debts by varying the monthly payment!

LookingAhead

angel31572 wrote: »

Thank you for replying so quickly. I am so tired that I am afraid I won't take in all of the info in the link but I will do my best.

To be honest, I would rather chew tin foil than read about interest rates but that's probably why I am in this predicament in the first place!

Ooooh chew tin foil :eek: that's sent shivers down my spine!!! :rotfl:

If you are tired, just work on your SOA over a few days until you are ready, don't rush it & get it wrong.

Also - and I should have said this earlier as well - I agree with Southern Scouser about the loan. I was the Consolidation Queen for well over a decade and it never ever ever ever worked for me.

I wish I had found this site ages ago to stop me consolidating but hey ho, them's the breaks. Don't do it unless you have to.

angel31572

I am so embarrassed to admit this but I am crying now.. think it is a combination of people trying to help and the thought of trying to decide what to do for the best.

I feel as tough I am throwing money away every month and getting nothing for it. I don't earn bad money but I am wasting at least £600 a month for nothing!

southernscouser

angel31572 wrote: »

I am so embarrassed to admit this but I am crying now.. think it is a combination of people trying to help and the thought of trying to decide what to do for the best.

Are you sure it's not the tin foil?

LookingAhead

angel31572 wrote: »

I am so embarrassed to admit this but I am crying now.. think it is a combination of people trying to help and the thought of trying to decide what to do for the best.

I feel as tough I am throwing money away every month and getting nothing for it. I don't earn bad money but I am wasting at least £600 a month for nothing!

Awwww, bless you honey.

You do sound tired. Perhaps if you just down tools for tonight, but tell yourself that the SOA needs to be done over the next few days and this is the start of a better journey, you will get some decent sleep.

Things always feel worse when you're knackered.

With your decent income, the extra work and the DFW expert knowledge on snowballing, you *will* make big inroads to your debt very soon.

It can only get better from hereonin.

angel31572

Thanks...again..I started to feel better until I clicked on the links and it just made my head feel as though it was going to explode.... I have so many very specific questions that i don't think they will all be answered.

southernscouser

LookingAhead wrote: »

It can only get better from hereonin.

I disagree. Drugs mess you up bad. Especially heroin! Have a cuppa instead.

southernscouser

angel31572 wrote: »

I have so many very specific questions that i don't think they will all be answered.

Try us! If I can't answer any I'll send you a pic of me naked!