New here and in a lot of credit card debt...

Sirenne89

Hi all, just thought I'd introduce myself. I was a member of the forums a while ago back when I was debt free and spending savvy however a lot has changed and I'm now faced with nearly £8k in credit card debts.
I was planning on getting married (expensive stuff) and just 3 months before the wedding I decided to call the whole thing off. My ex did offer to pay for the cancellation fees for everything etc but seeing as it was my decision to cancel, I didn't allow it. So I ended up putting all the money I owed onto my credit card at the time. Since then I attempted to BT over to a 0% card (MBNA) however this is the only card I can get because my credit is not good now.
I just need some ideas and maybe a kind word telling me that it's not all that bad. :-/

sourcrates

Hi, and welcome back to the forums !!

First thing you may consider doing is posting up a statement of affairs, theres a good one available in the stickies at the top of this forum.
Once thats been done, the good folk on here will be able to advise you further, oh, make sure you fill it in as accurately as possible, that way the advice you get will be tailored to your specific situation.

There is usually a solution to every debt problem, so dont panic !!!

timbstoke

£8K? Meh, we've seen worse. Most importantly, it sounds like it's all related to the wedding cancellation, rather than not living within your means. So rather than living on your cards, you used your available credit to respond to an emergency cost which you didn't anticipate. That's what it's for - congratulations on continuing to be spending savvy!

So, onto dealing with it. Are you able to afford more than the minimum repayments, or can you fairly easily adjust your lifestyle/budget to do so? If so, then there's really nothing to worry about. If it's affordable to just clear it, I'd personally try to avoid a DMP and just focus on keeping your payments on time - even if it's only the minimum, it keeps your credit rating looking good and gives you time to look at stoozing some of it off to 0% cards or even considering a consolidation loan - if you know you're responsible enough to keep from spending on your cards again it's an option.

Dr._Shoe

Yes, £8K really is not a huge amount and no it's not bad at all and you have nothing to worry about.

The first thing I would do is to cut the credit card in half so you can't be tempted to use it again.

How long is the 0% rate for? If it's for two years then that's only 4K a year you need to find, or put another way £333.33p a month. Assuming that you're working and living with parents etc. it is easily doable.

Set up a direct debit for the minimum but pay off as much as you can every month.