I want to get debt free

xheatherxhx

Hey, Iv come on here with the hope of getting some advice on getting out of debt. I have approximately 23k of debt divided between 2 loans to the same lender one has a 0%apr and is due to expire June 2015. I also have 3 credit cards to 3 different lenders and reducing the balances is a mega struggle. I was one of the ones stupid enough to rob peter to pay Paul taking money out of cash points with credit cards to fund a lifesyle which I have nothing to show for.

I recognised my problem in June 2013 when my debt was 32k and I have managed to reduce this mostly with the loan repayments and a PPI payment I received, however still living day to day is a struggle I am 31 and still living with parents it is far from ideal and I dont want to still be there when I am 40.

What I am looking for is ways I can combine this debt with low interest in order to pay it back quickly with hout the route of CVA etc as I doubt that would be entertained. I checked experian and I have a high credit score but too much credit is why lenders will not help me, a balance transfer card or a low interest loan would help greatly but im finding it impossible for someone to take a chance on me, given my past history I can see why but I am serious about becoming debt free. Help lol!

debt-freeoneday

Hi there

I've also robbed Peter to pay Paul before. I'm sure lots of people have done so too! Well done on recognising your situation and trying to tackle it.

It might be worth posting a SOA so we can see if there might be any savings you can make within your budget to go towards debt repayment.

My hubby and I are in a Debt Management Plan which has helped us basically survive the debt we've got and be able to manage whilst paying back our debt. A Debt Management Company will negotiate with your creditors to agree lower payments (possibly interest free) that you can afford.

I'm not sure whether this will be of help to you, but Stepchange might be a good place to enquire first of all. This is a charity that can offer confidential advice and set up debt managements arrangements like this free of charge. A debt management plan will affect your credit rating for a few years but if you really want to be debt free and you are really struggling then it's worth considering.

I'm sure others will be along soon to offer lots more advice!

Best wishes

Tixy

Hi heather and welcome to the forum.

It sounds like you have already tried to take out new cards or loans and not been successful, is that right?

unfortunately this is not uncommon when people have a large amount of debt. Have you looked at snowballing to pay your debt off?
Snowballing is a method of working out the best order to repay your debts and where to target any additional money you can put towards them to pay back the least amount of interest and therefore get debt free quickest.

Have you worked out how muh you can afford to pay to your debts in total each month?
Have a look at the snowball calculator here - http://www.whatsthecost.com/snowball.aspx that will give you a starting debt free date.

If you haven't worked out how much you can afford per month, or if you want to reduce your debt free date then completing a statement of affairs can be useful, and then looking through each item to see if you can reduce it/save money somehow. If you post up your statement of affairs others can help suggest ways you may be able to get things cheaper/switch to better deals etc so you have more to put towards your debts.
http://www.stoozing.com/calculator/soa.php