Enough is enough! Please help!

mrsmulac

Heffi1 wrote: »

I don't see any payments for the cards, you need to put something in there so that your monthly excess is realistic, I assume you pay something towards them each month?

I pay around £70 on one, and £10 on the other (they aren't a fixed amount each month) this is slightly above the minimum for each.

DCFC79

mrsmulac wrote: »

Right so it is fairly obvious that my number one step is to budget as clearly I don't at all at the moment.
Beyond that what is my best course of action for repaying?
Should I attempt to consolidate my 4 major debts? What is the best way to do this?

Thanks everyone

As I said earlier debt consolidation depends on what you currently owe plus the new loan and what you earn (or the income to debt ratio). If your credit history is poor then dont bother, oh and there is no such thing as consolidation loans. In fact i dont think a loan to pay off the debts would even work if you had a favourable credit history as the loan plus what you owe would be more than what you earn.

Any chance either of youor both could take on a part time job or evening job in a pub

mrsmulac

DCFC79 wrote: »

As I said earlier debt consolidation depends on what you currently owe and what you owe (or the income to debt ratio). If your credit history is poor then dont bother, oh and there is no such thing as consolidation loans. In fact i dont think a loan to pay off the debts would even work if you had a favourable credit history as the loan plus what you owe would be more than what you earn.

Any chance either of youor both could take on a part time job or evening job in a pub

Thank you for all your suggestions.

Looks like strict budgeting is my only option - just feels like I'll never pay more than interest.

Does anyone who knows about DMPs think this would be a good option for me?

I'm a teacher and don't think I'd survive working any more hours!

My partner currently works awkward 4:30 - 9 shifts. He is unable to get any additional hours with his employer and applies for jobs on a near daily basis but is not having any luck at the moment.

Thanks again.

mrsmulac

PS.

I have asked this on a forum before and got a resounding NO but, would it be worth not paying into my pension for a year or so and using this to shift some debt?

It's £135 per month so is a significant amount of money and I am 23 so have a lot of time before retiring! I'm keen to clear all debts so we can begin to get things in order to buy a house etc.

DCFC79

mrsmulac wrote: »

Thank you for all your suggestions.

Looks like strict budgeting is my only option - just feels like I'll never pay more than interest.

Does anyone who knows about DMPs think this would be a good option for me?

I'm a teacher and don't think I'd survive working any more hours!

My partner currently works awkward 4:30 - 9 shifts. He is unable to get any additional hours with his employer and applies for jobs on a near daily basis but is not having any luck at the moment.

Thanks again.

A DMP for a small amount is daft methinks, if you make enough cuts you could make some headway in paying off the debts.

mrsmulac

DCFC79 wrote: »

A DMP for a small amount is daft methinks, if you make enough cuts you could make some headway in paying off the debts.

Thanks!
The online assessment thing on CCCS just suggested I declare myself bankrupt...

mrsmulac

mrsmulac wrote: »

PS.

I have asked this on a forum before and got a resounding NO but, would it be worth not paying into my pension for a year or so and using this to shift some debt?

It's £135 per month so is a significant amount of money and I am 23 so have a lot of time before retiring! I'm keen to clear all debts so we can begin to get things in order to buy a house etc.

The opportunity to pay off an additional £1620 per year is looking pretty attractive to me...is this unwise?

harrys_dad

I would suggest that if there is another solution rather than opting out of teachers pension scheme you should do it. Even with the changes to the scheme your employer is putting in well over £1 for every £1 you put in, and this is well worth having. the contributions are also not counted as taxable pay. Also, if you are a teacher of 23 you will still be moving up the pay spine, so even with a pay freeze your pay should have gone up on Sept 1st. It will continue to go up annually until you reach M6, and then you can apply to go on to UPS. If you stay in the pension scheme, but get your spending under control as advised above, you should have a better outlook in the future.

mrsmulac

harrys_dad wrote: »

I would suggest that if there is another solution rather than opting out of teachers pension scheme you should do it. Even with the changes to the scheme your employer is putting in well over £1 for every £1 you put in, and this is well worth having. the contributions are also not counted as taxable pay. Also, if you are a teacher of 23 you will still be moving up the pay spine, so even with a pay freeze your pay should have gone up on Sept 1st. It will continue to go up annually until you reach M6, and then you can apply to go on to UPS. If you stay in the pension scheme, but get your spending under control as advised above, you should have a better outlook in the future.

Thanks for your advice. I know that opting out of my pension would be drastic, I just feel like I want all the debt to go away.
Onwards and upwards...budgeting starts tomorrow!

harrys_dad

Go for it, you know you can do it!