Just discovered the extent of partner's debt. Help me.

hs122

Hi all, this is my first post on the forum
Just need a bit of help really, expecting a baby in January (unplanned pregnancy and I'm young), always knew partner had a bit of credit card debt but he always said it was low.
Tonight I found out he has two barclaycard credit cards that haven't been used in a while but he has £5000 on them combined, he only makes the minimum payments every month so all that's happening is he's just covering the interest, and not getting anywhere paying it off
One of them is about to be maxed out, even though he hasn't used it and has never missed a repayment, the interest has just mounted up
He's always in his overdraft which he gets charged £20 a month for, he gets paid weekly so as soon as his money goes in, he has to pay off one or two bills and then he's back in his overdraft.
I'm going on Maternity leave in Jan and going onto SMP so my income will decrease drastically
I have £1550 in my savings account which is my back up for maternity leave, I have saved all this on my own as each month I didn't want to ask him to contribute as I knew how much he was in his overdraft already
What are we going to do? I know everyone says pay off debts with savings, but what if I actually do really need the money in the savings account on maternity leave?

whitewing

Keep your savings and don't feel bad about that with a little one on the way.

Can you and your partner do a Statement of Affairs, either separately or jointly?

ellesbellesxxx

Hi
First of all, congratulations! However unplanned, how exciting to have a baby on the way

Next, your partner has accumulated this debt - you should not pay it off for him. You have done the right thing putting money inside for mat leave, keep adding to it where you can for sure.

If he is only paying off interest, is it worth him contacting a debt charity and investigating a debt management plan? He also needs to work out where this money has gone - is it for bills and living, or living beyond means? If it's the latter, he needs to sort this out asap. Can he get any more work to up his income? lots of ideas on this board how to earn more and to cut back.

Good luck!x

jadelois

Does his wage cover everything else if your SMP is not taken in to account? If it does then I am tempted to say pay it off (either one or both cards to prevent them maxing out) if not then really the savings might be needed (you don't want to miss payments anywhere else because you've no spare left). Is it possible he could find an extra part time job? Not ideal and nobody wants to work all hours but if he has spent on them then he rather than you should work towards paying them back.
Hope you get yourselves sorted as it's not the kind of stress you need at this time in your life, all the best.

thatwilldo

Hello

Firstly, good luck for January with your new arrival.

A couple of things that i would suggest:

1. Somebody consistently in o/d may have budgeting issues I.e simply spending more than they earn. Go back to basics look at what you spend and cut accordingly.

2. Once you have done the above see if you can increase your payments to the credit cards.

3. Does your partner have a credit history that will allow him to transfer to another cheaper card? If so look for 0% balance transfers. Look Tesco or M&S.

4 I would keep your savings in tact and try to add what you can between now and January. This is your contingency and it will be needed at some point.

5 Could family help with this in anyway?

6. You say your partner is paid weekly. Therefore divide your monthy bills up weekly and round up the amount you allow for DDs. This will help you build a buffer in your current account. Divide the monthly DDs up by four weeks and on five week months you will build more of a buffer.

7. See if you can cut petrol/lunch/food expenditure as they are always quick wins.

8. Check your entitlement to tax credits when your little one arrives.

9 Finally relax, you have a new baby on the way, are young and the debt you mention can be dealt with. Set a plan and stick to it even when you feel like having a blow out. Also you partner must buy into what you are aiming to do.

Good luck

thatwilldo

Would add that you mentioned he is paying the minimum so this means interest and a little capital. Therefore I would not consider a DMP as your credit file. May be more important in a few years if you need a mortgage or any other borrowing facility. You can pay this debt off without drastic action. Plan and think about the next few years and where you want to be.

hs122

What's a statement of affairs?
His wages when I'm on maternity leave will cover almost everything but not quite.
No family to help us - my family have already done an awful lot, my mum has paid for the pram, steriliser, given us a lot of money, my grandparents have bought the nursery furniture and a lot of extra bits and pieces when we moved into our flat so I don't feel I could ask them at all. They already do so much for us.
His family on the other hand are up to their eyeballs in debt, about 60 grand I think as his dad was out of work for quite a while and they don't really tend to live within their means. His parents are on a DMP already.
If we go onto a DMP will it damage his credit rating and scupper our chances of getting a mortgage in the future?
My partner doesn't seem to want to live within our means. When we moved into our flat in September he signed us up to a £67 per month Sky (tv, internet, phone) package and now wants to up it to add more channels. I am happy to stick with basic TV but he can't seem to do that. I have been doing 45 hour weeks in my low-paid retail job to earn as much as possible so I can put as much as possible away for when the baby is here.

hs122

Just to add we have booked a holiday for June. I would not have booked this holiday if I knew he had this much debt to pay off. should I cancel the holiday?

thatwilldo

A SOA is a statement of your income and outgoings plus your debts and assets. Posting one may help people identify potential savings in your budget.

It seems like you are generally ok with money and your partner is adjusting to his responsibilities as a partner and a future father. Why not sit down and consider if you should manage the finances? Do you need a joint account so he is accountable for what he spends and vice versa? Many of these things come down to our attitudes to money and the amount of independence we want when we are in a relationship. I would imsgine right now you know what you need to do. Also consider the impact of any changes may have on your relationship.

I am not sure about the DMP, but I thought posting that idea was too drastic. Your partner is meeting the payments after all and for me this comes down to budgeting and keeping to a plan. You are young and you can sort this out.

thatwilldo

Just seen the holiday post. That's a tough one. Nt sure if the commitment money wise but having a new baby is tough and a holiday may be a good break for u both. You both need to sit down and go through your finances and start from there.

cte1111

How much is still to pay on the holiday and how much have you already paid? That would help you decide if it is a good idea to cancel it or not.