What should I do?

rogue999

I really don't think you can afford to go on those holidays if they are going to cost you another £2000 - better to cancel and take the hit in losing the £1000 you've already spent than to add another large sum to your debt. You may be able to rearrange for another time, or do you have any family/friends that you could change the flights to visit them instead and stay for free?

melysion

I'd be delighted to save £200. I wouldn't have to do my DMP then. Blimey. The above poster is right - I had a look at some of my outgoings and was very pleased to see I could sAve the £20 I need to go to the cinema once a month!

sourcrates

OP your asking for advise, but seem reluctant to give up the lifestyle you have become accustomed to, it's not surprising, I have seen it 1000 times before, you live in a cosmopolitant city, and you want to drink from the well of plenty.

You are a long way from rock bottom, as another poster has suggested, and I doubt you will take your situation seriously until you are down to no winter coats, and your last £10, and are deciding weather to eat for a week or part pay your electric bill.

When you have truly had your LBM, please feel free to come back and ask for advice, should you want to take it.

enthusiasticsaver

I am not convinced yet that you really are willing to address the problem of your spending more than you are earning and consequently your debt is rising. It is obviously escapism from your job but bear in mind the best way to escape a job you hate is to have the freedom to retrain and change careers and for that you need to be debt free and preferably have some savings behind you.


The answer to your question is yes you should cancel your credit cards as you obviously cannot manage your finances effectively and are too tempted to use them whenever the whim takes you, whether on clothing, holidays, meals out or a home business which is costing you £400 per month but you see no return on and you cannot afford to sustain.


Others above have suggested ways for you to cut down and you should take their suggestions on board otherwise eventually that £25k odd will be £40k or £60k before you know it and you will have nothing to show for it.

Pixie5740

I know debt is a very personal thing which you may not feel like discussing with your friends. so what about telling your friends that your focussing on setting up your new business and that's where all your spare money is going at the moment, as a reason for not going on holidays or eating out less.

Unless your friends earn significantly more than you, or have fewer outgoings, then this lifestyle probably isn't sustainable for them either. You never know, one of your friends might be crying out for someone to try and reign in the social spending too.

On_my_way

bilko89 wrote: »

I'm about 8 miles outside Glasgow in Motherwell in a council house.

Exactly - I don't know anywhere with rent even near to that and most people cannot get a council house.

On_my_way

TheLearner2008 wrote: »

Hi All,

Thanks for your response all, much appreciated.

I am going to update the diagram because its not secured debt its all unsecured debt. Also I have not included my holiday spendings but to be honest I spend hundreds on holidays all on credit cards. I will look what I have spent this year on holidays alone I guess.

The business investing IS in selling lifestyle products but I haven't managed to see an income yet but I am working hard at it. I have put aside £400 a month for this as I believe this could get me out of my career rut as I am not happy in my career because I think the root cause of my spending is immense unhappiness with career.

In terms of clothing, I absolutely do not need anymore clothes I have everything I could possibly need, I mean I have 4 winter coats alone so I think I could definitely draw the line here - maybe for a year!

In terms of holidays, I have booked all the flights but I have not booked the accommodation yet - the flights thus far have cost around £1000 all on credit. The actually holidays and accommodation will cost around £2000.

I can definitely cut down on going out for expensive dinners and rather have friends over.

In terms of accommodation I have a very good deal because I am a lodger in central London however I could move out and maybe bring down the rent by max £300 but I am not sure its worth it as it would massively reduce my quality of life and substantially increase my travel costs by about £100 so I would only save £200. I don't even pay bills here!

You do pay bills - they are included in your rent!

goggle

Clothing................................ 800
Entertainment........................... 300
Holiday................................. 1300
Business investing...................... 400

Ignoring the fact that you never seem to need any medical/dental and never buy presents, if these figures are the correct monthly amount you spend then it's no wonder you are in debt with £15,600/year on holidays, £9,600/year on clothes and £3600/year on entertainment. You spend more on your holidays than some people earn in a year - which is fine if you can afford that lifestyle, but not if you are amassing huge amounts of debt to do it!

As others have said, you are nowhere near ready to tackle the debt yet as you are still intent on spending more & more. Once you have had your "lightbulb moment" or made a conscious decision to stop the reckless spending and focus on what's important in life, then come back here & there will be lots of people willing to help!
Just for a reality check, on the above figures, no holidays, no new clothes & limited entertainment for just ONE YEAR (assuming the above spends are correct) will completely clear your debt, wouldn't that be a lovely situation to be in?

When does your business plan say you will make a profit on your business? You do have a business plan don't you? Remember that a "business" that is not making a profit is not a business, it's a hobby!

Silian

I was under the impression that a SOA is where you honestly look at what you are currently spending, and then look at where you can cut? Why are people having a go at the OP because they are currently spending too much?

Anyway, well done on recognising that you have a problem. That is the first step. The next one is working towards resolving that problem.

Your holiday and clothes is wrong in the Soa. Have a look at how much you spend in the last 6 months (at least) and then divide it by 6. Even better go back 12 months and divide it by 12.

This is the obvious place to start saving (as I'm sure you are aware) but it will be easier to see how big your problem is once you fix that.

KirstyO

If you can save £200 a month just by moving house it baffles me why you wouldn't do that? I'm sure your creditors would love to have your £200 a month and your debt free journey would be reduced significantly by this.


However as others have said if you're not fully ready to address this issue then you've come to the wrong place. A lot of people who ask for help on here are in precarious positions, they don't have many friends because they haven't been able to afford to socialise for so long, or they have mental health issues as a result of being in debt (or made significantly worse by being in debt), they need new clothes but can't afford them, and they may not have had a meal for a day or so.


You may think that some on here are being harsh. But looking at your spending habits and current outgoings, you could easily throw £500-£1000 a month at your debts without compromising your house or your job, and still maintaining a comfortable lifestyle.


Some people can't even find this much money over a year to go towards their debts. You are in a position with great choice. There are options available to you that aren't available to others partly because of your salary and partly because of these choices that you are making.


I agree with others about the business that you are trying to run. If it's not making £400 a month in the near future, is it really worth it? You say you are stuck in a career rut, are your skills transferable to a job that you would rather have? What are your motivations when it comes to finding another job - salary? happiness? commuting distance? sector? Is there any training you could undertake to help you get a job you would rather have? Are you staying in an unhappy job because you can't find another one, or because you are happy with the salary and the lifestyle it funds?