Don't pay this months debts..good idea ?

ValHaller

Pickle49 wrote: »

Why do you think I should go on a DMP Valhaller ? And why do you think I may be deluding myself ?

I don't have any opinion about whether you should go on a DMP.

What I am saying is that the idea of funding a short term cashflow problem by resorting to solving it with debt is on the cusp between being a very good idea and a totally ruinous idea.

While I can see it would be a good idea, I don't know enough about your circumstances to know which it would be for you, so I have to put a health check warning for things only you can make your mind up on.

banwa

Hi Pickle, just wondered if you got in touch with the credit card complanies to change the payment dates.

If that fails I would personally take the extra credit to pay the bills for the month. We were in a similar position to you in the last few months (husband with little or no income, then changing from weekly to monthly pay). We scraped by but never missed a payment, we extended the overdraft goodness knows how many times. But the overall debt went down and NOW that we are back on an even keel, the 0% deals are coming thick and fast. It's really making the debt war much easier.

So defaulting on payments is an absolute no no for me, it could cost you so much more in the long run.

Good luck

Pickle49

No banwa, I haven't yet asked the companies to change the payment dates. I've been thinking about it further and I think it's going to be detrimental to my long term plans.

It could very well still be marked down on my credit file as a late payment. I don't think it's going to help me...that months payment still has to be made and if its late I expect there will be extra interest to pay also.

I'm going more towards the idea of using as little as I need to on the credit card to tide me over. Your comment about the 0% deals coming thick and fast has given me hope. There is no reason for me not to get them in a few months time when I have a little bit more disposable income as I would have paid off my catalogue debts by then. I know have a good credit score ( for what it's worth ) and I would hate to jeopardise that and burn my bridges for the future......

dktreesea

If you started work a couple of weeks ago, won't you get some pay at the end of May, rather than having to wait another 4 weeks until the end of June? This sounds quite unusual - it would mean you are waiting 6 to 7 weeks for your first pay.

How about having a clear out and taking some stuff to the local car boot? Or even visiting cash for clothes if the thought of spending your weekend at a car boot doesn't appeal? Gumtree can be very good for selling things off. There was a girl at our local car boot a couple of weeks ago. Her first. She had branded clothes that she was selling for £5 and £10 a throw and they were flying off the rails.

Rather than defaulting on your cards, I would suggest, just for the short term, paying money into them, then using them. So the money you need for yourself you still get to use but you also get to keep up the payments on your cards.

For example, say you are going grocery shopping and your husband would usually use cash. Use the cash to pay onto one of your cards that is due, then use the card to buy the groceries. This will protect your credit rating.

What the banks don't know about, they don't care about. It's when you do things to bring your accounts to their attention, like only ever paying the minimum balance, or missing a payment, that they start to take a closer look. Managing your accounts this way, they will be none the wiser and you will look like you can more than afford your cards.

I know this seems form over substance, as, following these "moves" you will still have exactly the same funds available, but mangign finance is like a game. There is more than one move you can make and you don't have to stick to the same patterns/habits all the time.