Verging on a meltdown

kickuptheasstime

Hi everyone, I really could do with some advice!

Due to my on-going financial stupidity, I've got myself in a bit of a pickle. I earn a decent salary but I'm currently paying huge amounts to my credits cards, as follows:

Barclaycard 1 @ 24.9% balance approx. £12,300 (just come out of a 0% period) limit £13k
Barclaycard 2 @ 0% balance approx. £3,500 limit £5k ish
Virgin CC @ 24.9% balance approx. £7,800 limit £13,900

I have an M&S loan with approx. £6k left to pay off @ £245 per month, plus my student loan with approx. £750 left to pay off @ £118 per month

Essentially I'm running out of money to keep up with minimum repayments. My credit rating is dreadful (1/5 on Noddle) due to my amount of personal debt against my income, so I'll struggle. The pressure is on as I'm 5 months pregnant & about to head in to maternity pay which will leave me up **** creek without a paddle...

I have a current offer of 30 months 0% on the Virgin card, but clearly I need to shift the balance off it first! My shifting capabilities are really limited obviously, so I'd be grateful for any advice! My theory is to balance transfer the Virgin CC to somewhere (!!), then balance transfer the B/card 1 amount to Virgin on the 0% deal. The tricky bit is what to do with the Virgin CC amount...

Any ideas are very gratefully received

Thanks!
KUTAT x

andyfromotley

Assuming that you wont get anymore BT cards you could try this.

1. Ask all of your existing cards for a credit limit increase. (still do the below even if you dont get an increase)
2. Transfer what you can from virgin onto the BC with 0%. Currently this will then leave you with £7600 of available credit on your B/card.
3. Then BT from interest bearing Bcard onto 0% Virgin deal. It wont cover all of it but will do at least half.

repeat as offers come up until with luck you have all of it back on 0%

TBH though all this shifting about may not resolve your problem particularly with your upcoming maternity leave.

It may be worth givin CAP, Stepchange, or National Debtline a call to explore a more formal debt solution in your case.

National_Debtline

Hi KUTAT


There may be a way of keeping all of these plates spinning, as andy suggests. However I would agree with him that the changes on your horizon will only make it more difficult to carry out any such plans successfully. Definitely a good idea to contact one of the debt charities and work out a "before and after" budget to assess the likely impact of maternity leave on your options.


Dennis
@natdebtline

rockm87

I would speak to a debt charity, just get some advice and feel a bit better. You dont need the stress right now!!


big hugs

Cat_girl_2

I am in a similar situation apart from not having a baby... At 50 that would raise some eyebrows. My balance transfers are running out and the min payments will be huge ...:-((
Xx

sourcrates

Cat_girl wrote: »

I am in a similar situation apart from not having a baby... At 50 that would raise some eyebrows. My balance transfers are running out and the min payments will be huge ...:-((
Xx

Hi,

Don't be proud, if you can't afford the minimums, and you can't significantly increase your income, or reduce your outgoings enough, default and possibly a DMP is one option.

Almost every single person on this forum has been at this point at one time or another.

If you post up an SOA then maybe the "forum" can point out ways to save !!
Calculator here :

http://www.stoozing.com/calculator/soa.php

5erge

SOA would be my first port of call. There are always ways to save money even if you cannot immediately think of any.

Calling up the CC companies to see if they can reduce their APR is also a good one, Barclaycard are generally quite good with this.

Always use topcashback and comparison sites/ surveys for that extra bit of cash. Then there's eBay, Gumtree, car boots to get rid of unwanted items.

Small savings here and there soon mount up.

Des

Sazzie23

Admitting you can't pay is huge and confronting, but once you're over the initial stages it's a relief really. Keeping the plates spinning is massively stressful and eventually will trip you up unless there is a big change in your income or expenditure.

I can recommend Stepchange but others have found pay plan, national debt line and others to be a help. Nothing to lose in finding out what your options are.

Good luck with it.

peteuk

Honesty is the best policy!

That's be honest to yourself as well as your creditors. They would rather receive some payment than none at all.

If you don't ask you don't get!
Explain to them your mat leave and mat pay, see if they can hold the chargers and interest.

If not then get some advice from a debt charity. This may be your light bulb moment, just dont get into more debt to try and get out of this, unless you can find another CC with an interest free period.

Good luck!