Drowning in a vicious circle of debt

chevalier

You can get break down cover with tesco or nectar points from the RAC for £30 odd a year. Your account charge adds up to £180 a year, so is you mobile so expensive that you need insurance that costs £150 a year? If it is a beaten up old phone, then you don't need this level of insurance. Also check the terms and conditions as you may find it only pays out in a very narrow set of circumstances.

If you switch to the A&L you get £50 I think it is as a hello, and they will also match your overdraft for a year at 0% (you do have to be in credit a few days a months on the account you have now). Or I have seen adverts for the Halifax that say they will give you £100 back (but I don't know if they do a free overdraft though).

Best of luck, baby steps is what is needed. Does you Other half know about these debts?
chev

blue_meanie2007

Ok thanks everyone I'm starting to think I don't need the 'added bonus' account afterall.

The reason I thought a consolidation loan would help was that if I could get it all in one place it would reduce the monthly outgoings and therefore free up more money than being forced to keep putting more on credit cards as I don't have enough to live on.

mo1_2

just thought id say hello to ya,not much to add only 12 months ago i was in exactly the same position as you,have you any charges on your bank account or credit cards?as for your shopping have a look at money saving old style on this site,you will be amazed at how you can save,keep smiling,mo,oh if i can help just ask(not as i know much lol)

KILL_BILL

1) cut up your credit cards is the first thing that oyu should do becuase you keep using them and getting more and more into debt.

as people have said you phone and dvd rental are an unessecary expense

i would then write to your creditors and state that you would like to make a revised payment plan in view of your present financial circumstances

give them a realistic figure which you can afford to pay each month and then reconsider this figure in 6 months - ask them to freeze the interest on them too which they whould consider - if you dont write to them they wont know what help you require and alot of the companies are prepared to help people like you

sarah0404

I agree with Kill Bill. You need to cut up your credit cards to stop your debt getting any worse. I think you should sit down and work out a more realistic SOA. You don't have any money budgeted for clothing, haircuts, dental treatment, opticians bills or prescriptions. (even if you don't buy/use these things at the moment, its not realistic to expect that you will never need to buy some new clothes, or never need to go to the dentist.) You also need to budget for your road tax, MOT and car repairs. Once you have budgeted for everything then see how much you have left for paying your debts.

As Kill Bill suggested you could get in touch with your creditors and explain your situation and make lower payment offers. The people at CCCS can also help you do this. Or they may have other suggestions for you, such as entering into an IVA or bankruptcy. They can help you with your SOA too, and give you examples of how much you should be budgeting for what. You can arrange an appointment to talk to someone over the phone or you can do it online and you will get a debt solution and a new SOA right away. Do give them a try. They are very helpful. And FREE! Unlike all those other debt companies who advertise on tv. www.cccs.co.uk

Teacher2301

Hi there, just read through and loads of advice but if I may add a few of my own...

1) WRT to Chevaliers' post - £150 for mobile insuraance is way too much - I just bough a Nokia for £20 and with £15 airtime PAYG - from CPW via as cashback site (£10 cash back for this as well - so in reality I only paid a fiver - fools economy I know but - if you can save £145 a year - not that foolish!) and if you do loose it or its gets damaged - it'll only cost a fraction to replace.
2) Join the cashback sites (quidoco, rpoints, mutal etc) certainly if you are refinancing or re-insuring things - some pay out as much as £100 for changing across.
3) Car share to reduce fuel bills to and from work - depends on where you live but could be an idea. Don't use car for un-necessary journey's
4) Try and cancel the payment protection on your loan with Northern rock - you could also argue the case why they forced you to pay it in the first place (they did force you right?) I did this with LLoyds and paid off the loan early, and they actually paid me back some of the loan protection - that was 5 years ago - policy may have changed since then but worth a go.
5) Check your tax staus - can you claim any tax back over the last 5 years and 10 months? If you only worked 6/7 months in a tax year you may have paid too much tax - so get your P60's out and phone/ contact your local tax office - they do it for free - never get an agency to do it for you.
6) switch to A&L - good idea that one Karmakat but Halifax won't match your overdraft sadly - but worth going for to get the £100. I'm even considering this one myself.
7) Don't give up - we're all in the same situation to a lesser or greater extent - we all never have enough atthe end of the month - but stick with it and you'll be just fine.