Loan to pay off credit cards?

bambos

AliceBanned wrote: »

I am beyond getting upset about the level of my debt. I just don't see how I can get out of it. I have posted on here before. Maybe it is just a question of time but my two credit cards at higher percentages of interest are starting to get on top of me - between them I am currently paying around £110 per month in interest and an only make just over the minimum payment. From next month I will be able to make about £100 each over the minimum payment. It is so difficult. I am living fairly simply but my travel expenses are high, so I've decided from next month to cancel my season ticket, so at least my season ticket loan won't come out of my salary before I get my pay, and I can sue that £260 towards my debt. I think this is a good ideaI can get the bus in to London to work, although it might be a nightmare, for a few months anyway. wont be forever just keep remembering this. Do you know anyone that drives in, could you car share? Might be cheaper than rail

I have £460 saved with a credit union, and a debt with them of around £1400, paying at £70 pm. I can't access the savings until I've paid off the debt. I have asked them for a further £200 this month to tide me over, otherwise I am withdrawing cash from credit cards. I know that's bad. I seem to have overspent when I moved house, and it is more expensive to live in the new place although much nicer and saves me 2 hours a day travelling so was the right decision but I knew that temporarily (or for about two years) it would be a hard slog, unless I can get balance transfers onto 0% which I can't. The question is, should i just try and borrow £3k from the credit union to pay off one of the cards. That would still be 12% interest. They might not even loan me the £200 as I have not heard back yet.

Alternatively I could pay off the credit union as I am doing, not borrow more and at least have access to the savings, to pay off my Halifax o/d which is costing me a lot. I don't think you should further your debt, I think this is a better idea for youHalifax suggested i switched to a different current account, witha fee which charges less in overdraft charges. I seem to get in a mess with money whatever I do, but have not had a proper holiday for over 4 years not your current priority so put this on the back burner and don't spend a lot, just have high outgoings and maybe expensive taste in clothes stop buying the clothes and make do with what you already have. Sell all your old designer clothes to raise extra fundsbut I keep purchases to a minimum. I even get a cooked lunch at work, but I spend a lot in the supermarket for food sometimes try Aldi and local markets. I think compared to a lot of people I live a frugal life though, but still can't pay off the debt. I think it is the debt that is making me poor. I earn just under £30000 and live near London, work in central London. Thanks.

hope that's helped a bit

Happier_Me

Hi

Any debt can be tackled so please try not to feel so down about this. You are not the first to be in this position and you definitely won't be the last.

Is there any way you can increase your income? I've read through your posts and can't see if you've mentioned whether you have a spare bedroom. Could you consider renting a room to help you with debt busting? This could raise £££'s per month to throw at your debt. If this is something you can adjust to longer term, its more cash to save/spend when you are debt free.

I would cut out your holiday fund until you are in more control and maybe look for a cheaper alternative to the gym as opposed to getting rid of this altogether. Your mental health is extremely important and I would consider a DMP before making changes to your lifestyle that could significantly damage your wellbeing.

What is your credit rating like? What would the repercussions be of taking out a DMP? The positives are that most companies will freeze interest and your repayments are set to an affordable level.
The negatives are that your credit rating will be affected... but you really don't need to be using credit in the future. The main concern I would have is securing a future mortgage deal with a poor credit rating.

Just a few things that might help.

Good luck

Shovel_Lad

This is not meant to be harsh but realistic.

I have a question - Do you want to be debt free?

This is from this thread:
"I have gone overlimit since being charged the interest - think I miscalculated.
Would it be better to cut up the Barclaycard and try and pay it off?"

This is from a thread called "Is it best to cut up my credit card" in September 2007:
"The problem is for some reason I went slightly over the balance (even though I was keeping track) and have been charged for it."

It seems you are writing the same things today that you were writing in 2007.
I have read a number of the threads you have posted on MSE over the years and they all say the same things.

As you are aware the people on the Debt Free board are helpful and supportive. They respond to your threads with suggestions of things you could do, things to help and quite a lot of virtual hugs.

Do you then actually do anything to change your life?

I mean long term change not just decide not to do something for a week or two because it'll save £10. You need to change how you behave with money permanently. If you don't you'll never be free of debt and you will be posting again on here in a few months another thread almost exactly the same as this one.

Only YOU can change your life. The people on here will help and support you but you are the one who needs to do something.

Assuming you have said "Yes" to the first question I have another.

What are you going to do about it?

thehelpfulfather

Hello Alice
Your story sounds exactly the same as the situation I was in, and getting credit cards to pay these things of is a very bad idea i know this from personal experience. Also I got a loan to consolidate everything and this just made things 10 times worse.
In the end what worked for me was to join a debt management company called cccs I believe They are now called Step Change. Believe me it was the best decision I ever made! They will use your household income budget sheet and then work out what you can afford to pay each creditor. But the best thing about them is they get all the interest frozen so you are actually paying the debt of. It can take a while to pay of like this but it will stop any court orders or bailiffs knocking at your door. Also the companys have to abide by the debt manage plan and if they don't then the court is in your favour. Trust me in saying once you have done this it will be like a weight lifted from your shoulders. It was the best decision I ever made.

AliceBanned

Shovel_Lad wrote: »

This is not meant to be harsh but realistic.

I have a question - Do you want to be debt free?

This is from this thread:
"I have gone overlimit since being charged the interest - think I miscalculated.
Would it be better to cut up the Barclaycard and try and pay it off?"

This is from a thread called "Is it best to cut up my credit card" in September 2007:
"The problem is for some reason I went slightly over the balance (even though I was keeping track) and have been charged for it."

It seems you are writing the same things today that you were writing in 2007.
I have read a number of the threads you have posted on MSE over the years and they all say the same things.

As you are aware the people on the Debt Free board are helpful and supportive. They respond to your threads with suggestions of things you could do, things to help and quite a lot of virtual hugs.

Do you then actually do anything to change your life?

I mean long term change not just decide not to do something for a week or two because it'll save £10. You need to change how you behave with money permanently. If you don't you'll never be free of debt and you will be posting again on here in a few months another thread almost exactly the same as this one.

Only YOU can change your life. The people on here will help and support you but you are the one who needs to do something.

Assuming you have said "Yes" to the first question I have another.

What are you going to do about it?

Look, I do have a brain and realise these things. You don't even know me or anything about my life circumstances so are not free to pass judgement, be so patronising frankly, and post it on my thread where I have sought (and appreciate) help, based on something I said in 2007. Debt is clearly a longish term issue and I am grappling with it.

AliceBanned

thehelpfulfather wrote: »

Hello Alice
Your story sounds exactly the same as the situation I was in, and getting credit cards to pay these things of is a very bad idea i know this from personal experience. Also I got a loan to consolidate everything and this just made things 10 times worse.
In the end what worked for me was to join a debt management company called cccs I believe They are now called Step Change. Believe me it was the best decision I ever made! They will use your household income budget sheet and then work out what you can afford to pay each creditor. But the best thing about them is they get all the interest frozen so you are actually paying the debt of. It can take a while to pay of like this but it will stop any court orders or bailiffs knocking at your door. Also the companys have to abide by the debt manage plan and if they don't then the court is in your favour. Trust me in saying once you have done this it will be like a weight lifted from your shoulders. It was the best decision I ever made.

Thanks, but I just need to manage things better myself. That route isn't quite the right one for me, as I can repay more than the minimum, and hopefully can get my debts down. I don't want to adversely affect my credit rating as I was starting to improve it. I am in no danger of court orders or bailiffs - it isn't that kind of fear - it is more me coming to realise that I don't have much to give me a life due to having debts, and wanting to sort this out. Since my last post I managed to find some (free) things to do with friends and am feeling much better. Was just in a psychological hole for a while and then got myself out of it and am taking practical steps. Thanks anyway, I can see how this has worked for you and would do it eg if I lost my job or was in danger of not paying my mortage.

AliceBanned

Shovel_Lad wrote: »

This is not meant to be harsh but realistic.

I have a question - Do you want to be debt free?

This is from this thread:
"I have gone overlimit since being charged the interest - think I miscalculated.
Would it be better to cut up the Barclaycard and try and pay it off?"

This is from a thread called "Is it best to cut up my credit card" in September 2007:
"The problem is for some reason I went slightly over the balance (even though I was keeping track) and have been charged for it."

It seems you are writing the same things today that you were writing in 2007.
I have read a number of the threads you have posted on MSE over the years and they all say the same things.

As you are aware the people on the Debt Free board are helpful and supportive. They respond to your threads with suggestions of things you could do, things to help and quite a lot of virtual hugs.

Do you then actually do anything to change your life?

I mean long term change not just decide not to do something for a week or two because it'll save £10. You need to change how you behave with money permanently. If you don't you'll never be free of debt and you will be posting again on here in a few months another thread almost exactly the same as this one.

Only YOU can change your life. The people on here will help and support you but you are the one who needs to do something.

Assuming you have said "Yes" to the first question I have another.

What are you going to do about it?

PS I had since 2007 I have saved a deposit, bought a flat, close to London, which is more than many people can achieve on their own.

AliceBanned

Happier_Me wrote: »

Hi

Any debt can be tackled so please try not to feel so down about this. You are not the first to be in this position and you definitely won't be the last.

Is there any way you can increase your income? I've read through your posts and can't see if you've mentioned whether you have a spare bedroom. Could you consider renting a room to help you with debt busting? This could raise £££'s per month to throw at your debt. If this is something you can adjust to longer term, its more cash to save/spend when you are debt free.

I would cut out your holiday fund until you are in more control and maybe look for a cheaper alternative to the gym as opposed to getting rid of this altogether. Your mental health is extremely important and I would consider a DMP before making changes to your lifestyle that could significantly damage your wellbeing.

What is your credit rating like? What would the repercussions be of taking out a DMP? The positives are that most companies will freeze interest and your repayments are set to an affordable level.
The negatives are that your credit rating will be affected... but you really don't need to be using credit in the future. The main concern I would have is securing a future mortgage deal with a poor credit rating.

Just a few things that might help.

Good luck

Hi Happier Me thanks. I have actually been managing to make myself Happier since my post! I have done some free things and got out of the flat, just decided to forget my troubles for a while (not by spending!). Sometimes I am just frustrated with it all and it helps to post on here and get feedback and just share the frustration I guess. Struggling with it all on your own for years gets a bit much, and I have been trying throughout and looking at it realistically i am getting somewhere, and this is just a blip because I bought a flat.

My credit rating is important to me, which is why the Barclaycard thing affected me. So I am working on that. I have paid £200 since getting paid this month, on the two cards with the highest balances. It will take time and the interest is a worry, so i have also cashed in my season ticket and am waiting for the refund. i can then start getting the bus. Saving about £1200 a year!!:). I may also drive in some days.

You are so right about getting a balance and not sacrificing mental wellbeing. I am working on what needs to go based on this. A friend has been getting free theatre tickets in London so I have been doing ok going out with her to see things, without the worry of spending. I am trying to keep my activities all low cost but when you live on your own for a long time and are single it is important not to shut yourself away and to manage to have a life. But for the next few months I am focused on keeping things low cost. . A DMP would be a last resort for me as I can see ways to make changes - but it is so gradual. Just need to keep focused on that.

I live in a one bed flat but it is very big, so have even considered adding a temporary plasterboard wall and splitting the living room to add a bedroom. But not ideal..all these ideas float through my head so I am seeing some options and now seeing possibilities. Also I would consider working on Sat or Sun for a while.

AliceBanned

pickle_me wrote: »

Oh poor Alice. I'm not an expert like some of the DFWs here but you sound so down, I couldn't read and run.

Looking at your SOA I suspect you either have to pare it down to the bone for a few months and throw every last penny at the debt, to make some headway, or consider a DMP.

Can you cancel the gym any earlier than April or do you have to give two months' notice?

You mention that you like buying good quality clothes - are there any that you could sell on Ebay? Labels from the better end of the high street like Jigsaw can sell quite well on there.

If you only use the car to get out a weekends then I agree with Bob, I would seriously think about selling it. Can you find local things to do at the weekend that don't require a car, or that you could access by public transport? How about a cheaper sport to take the place of the gym? I joined a local running club two years ago, as an absolute (and not remotely athletic) beginner, and a year later I ran my first half-marathon. For £15 a year I've made new friends and always have someone to run with. The most expensive bit of running is buying a good pair of shoes (plus a decent sports bra!); once you have these you can exercise just about anywhere, at any time, for free.

Can you ask your parents if you can hold off paying them back for six months just to give you a bit extra to throw at the debts which charge interest?

And yes, you must, must stop spending on cards. Whatever you have to do, stop using them.

Hopefully someone else will have some bright ideas. I'm sorry you're finding it so tough at the moment

Thanks for your help. I was so down but as mentioned in other responses I picked myself up. Just posted when at a low point. Pare it down to the bone for a few months is what I'm going to do! I think I was getting worried that things could escalate and just coming to the realisation that yes I need to take stock and really take action now to get things under control. Which I CAN do. .Just needed some moral support, thanks.

I have cut up Barclaycard. .

Although it was nice to get the 0% cards at first, the loan, blah blah, it all seems friendly at the time. I realise best to look at the cost and see them as exploiting me. Then I will take action. . i've been here before, as pointed out in an unhelpful post above. It's not a crime, I pay my bills, I earn an honest wage. yes we go to these places, debt is a problem, and gets repeated in cycles until we find a way out. I'm only human.;)

getmore4less

IS there somewhere to get the car off the roasd and SORN it.

Even 6 months would make a big difference and save over £50pm even after a few extra bus/taxi etc.


how big is the flat any chance a lodger for a few months or just a mon-fri or an airbnb visitor, St.A seems to have a few places on the site.

A short but very focused sacrifice will get over the hurdle and then a few things can come back in without the risk of further debt.