Penny has finally dropped ......

nopennys

Well like it says the penny has finally dropped that i am getting to a point i need some help

I have never missed any payments, always paid on time on everything ( thank god for direct debits ), but have got into the age old mess of credit cards.
Over the last 3 years it has snowballed and i can't see how the hell i am going to clear this. At present it sits at 6.6K !!!! :eek:

I earn £20k - £1235 p/m
Mortgage - £ 267
Credit cards - £140
Utilities - £70
Loan - £124
Gym ( which will be cancelled, even though i use it frequently ) - £25
Mobile phone - £25 ( still locked into contract )
Tv licence - £12
Insurances - £51
TV/Phone/Internet - £35
Petrol approx - £80
Council Tax - £60 ( Forgot to add this )

Not including food and i have my car tax at the end of this month and xmas around the corner, things are looking pretty dire.
I have looked at transferring my credit cards to reduce the interest, but unless i go for the option of having 3 then i wont be able to transfer to a 0% for "x" amount of months.

Haven't got a clue which way to turn. Live on my own, but really don't like the idea of having a lodger.
I work shifts so having a proper 2nd job isn't something i can commit to for certain days.

Really need to get this under control and soon.

Any help would greatly be received :j

forgotmyname

How many cards, What interest rate?

Its a bit of a shocker when you realise that the minimum payments will take 20 year or a lot more to clear.

All those items laying around you bought because you thought you needed them? Ebay.

Once you clear one (the highest interest rate one) it gets easier..

Cut down on the travel, Slightly shorter journeys or try and avoid the rush hour. WEorth trying?
When we goto the high street i now park on the side road that approaches it. Far enough down to avoid the queues as some daft twit tried to get their volvo estate into the gap a smart car just pulled out of. And easier to take the next turning and saves probably a mile. Not a lot but that mile probably uses more fuel than the rest of the journey.

Its little things that count.. There is a tool i want. But i know my tax, insurance and xmas are all on the doorstep.
previously i would have bought it on the card and thought nothing of it.

Now i wait..

nopennys

Thanks for the reply

I have 2 cards at the moment :-
When i took them out which was this year they were 0% balance transfers .... but stupidly ( and it has finally dropped ) that i
1) purchased on them
2) Had a cash advance on 1 of them

I could seriously kick myself up the rear :mad:
But instead of getting mad i want to get even so to speak.

Card 1 - 3600 - 1.358% p/m on purchases
Card 2 - 3000 - 1.31% p/m on purchases - 2% p/m on cash advance

Ebay is an option, but to put a little light heartedness into this all womens purchases are needed :T
Joking aside i will be having a clear out this weekend and Ebay will be bombarded.
I use my car to go to work which is 10 mins away, but not that easy to get to by foot. I used to bike it, but this time of year is not really an option. going into town i could walk it. Its rare i use the extortionate car parks.

theoretica

nopennys wrote: »

I earn £20k - £1235 p/m
Mortgage - £ 267
Credit cards - £140
Utilities - £70
Loan - £124
Gym ( which will be cancelled, even though i use it frequently ) - £25
Mobile phone - £25 ( still locked into contract )
Tv licence - £12
Insurances - £51
TV/Phone/Internet - £35
Petrol approx - £80

You need to do a better budget and find out where your money has been going. According to this list you have £400 a month for food, car tax and all the other things you haven't mentioned. Try filling in a full SOA (statement of affairs) and posting it here - as a new poster you will need to remove the web link when you cut and paste. There is a link in one of the sticky posts on this forum.

Time_to_face_the_music

Hi nopennys and welcome :hello:

Use this for your SOA

http://www.stoozing.com/msoc/soacalc.php

nopennys

Thanks for that. . I'll do it over the weekend and post it

sharp910sh

£20k a year equals £1344 a month after tax. How are you only getting £1235??

Giraffeseeker

sharp910sh wrote: »

£20k a year equals £1344 a month after tax. How are you only getting £1235??

Pension maybe? Or salary sacrifice - Bike scheme or whatever?

Or could be on the wrong tax code which needs checking and might bring about a rebate :-)

Ilona

nopennys wrote: »

Well like it says the penny has finally dropped that i am getting to a point i need some help

and xmas around the corner, things are looking pretty dire.

Any help would greatly be received :j

You could cancel Christmas, it is not compulsory. There will be another one along next year. Only pay for things you actually need, cut everything to the bone, and whack all your cash at your debts. They will go away a lot quicker. Good luck. I live on just under 9k a year and still have a good life. Depends what your priorities are.
Ilona

Candy0107

Ilona wrote: »

You could cancel Christmas, it is not compulsory. There will be another one along next year. Only pay for things you actually need, cut everything to the bone, and whack all your cash at your debts. They will go away a lot quicker. Good luck. I live on just under 9k a year and still have a good life. Depends what your priorities are.
Ilona

Couldn't agree more.... If you have to give presents, how about making something or have a secret Santa where you only buy for one person. I am sure that if you are struggling and tone down Christmas, your family may appreciate it as they could be struggling too.

Candy x

nopennys

Hi and thanks for the replies.

Wasn't able to get on over the weekend to post, but i am now curious about my pay !!

Basic before tax is :- 1349.28
bonus :- 189.16
Tax :- 182.00
NI :- 114.48
Scheme :- 6.00

Tax code is ;- 816L

Will post a SOA this morning.