Paying credir card debt off in quickest time possible.

emzky

So we have about 7k on interest free cc at the moment. Hubby earns 40k pa and after bills are paid we have around 600 a month left over. I'm looking to pay 500 a month off the card to get it paid off but my question is for a family of 4 do you think it's do able to live off 100 once all food n bills are paid for?

northerner999

Yes, so long as you address the spending habits that built up the level of debt you are uneasy with. You've got a good income so it can be done, so long as you commit.

I'd really suggest a SOA, though, as you may be able to cut back on all sorts of areas you are not realising.

Dobbibill

As suggested post a SOA, here's a link.

Have you got anything put by for an emergency. Paying off big chunks is fine provided you've got things covered for an emergency - eg - white goods are known for breaking down when you least want/expect it.

HappyMJ

emzky wrote: »

So we have about 7k on interest free cc at the moment. Hubby earns 40k pa and after bills are paid we have around 600 a month left over. I'm looking to pay 500 a month off the card to get it paid off but my question is for a family of 4 do you think it's do able to live off 100 once all food n bills are paid for?

As the previous poster said make sure you keep some money aside in case of emergency.

If your household earnings are £2,500 and you have £600 left over each month then your monthly expenses are £1,900. Best practice says you should have at least 3 and up to 6 months of savings to cover your expenses £1,900 times 3 and £5,700 and 6 is £11,400. If your husband cannot work due to any reason you can survive for 3/6 months without any changes at all. After the 3/6 months have gone by and the savings are used up you'll be reliant on benefits which will cover very basic living costs with a lot of cutbacks.

I'd pay just the minimum payments on the 0% credit card and the month before it starts to charge interest I'd use the emergency savings to make one big payment off the card. If you put your emergency savings into a good current account you could earn up to 5% interest and if you contribute to a regular saver account you could earn 6% interest. If you have no income this will be tax free.

If you pay the 0% interest credit card off in full now and have no cash then your husband is out of work and can't earn due to accident or illness then you would need to use the card again and it's unlikely the same 0% will still be on the card and as you have no income you'll find it hard getting another good credit card again.