Newby needing help!!

megs26

Hi all!

Forgive me but i've never been on a forum or chat room before so not entirely surehow this works but you guys all seem to know what you are talking about and I need some help!

Basically, through ridiculous overspending i have managed to get into £24,000 of debt (excluding mortgage) and have got myself somewhat stuck. I called one of the debt charities yesterday and all they would suggest is an IVA which i really don't think is the best solution for me. So far i have kept my head a millimetre above water and don't have any arrears or defaults but my budget is so tight i am just making minimum payments and can't see any way out. Also, I work in the legal profession and have just applied to join the polie force so i think an IVA would jeapoardise my career. I already work full time and have a bar job and don't have anybody to help me financially. I tried to apply for a 0% credit card to transfer some balances but got declined as i am over commited apparently. As far as i can see the only way out is to get a consolidation loan to lower my payments and give me a bit of breathing space to get back on track but the general consensus seems to be that these are the work of the devil!! Does anybody have any idea of how i can get myself out of this as i am at a loss?!!

Any suggestions would be welcome!

penguin83

Hi Megs, welcome to the Forum.

First of all you need to post a statement of affairs (see southernscousers sticky at the top of the page). This will give everyone a better idea of what you are up against.

This is a great site and there are a lot of experts here who will help you cut your outgoings (i always thought I lived quite frugally till I came here!)

Good Luck with your police application x

tigtag02

First of all welcome to MSE and crongrats on your lightbulb moment - its all forwards from here

My first suggestion (and most are better than me :rolleyes: ) is to take a look at the sticky by southerscouser at the top of the board called SOA (statement of affairs).

If you post this we can see where you may be able to make cut backs and other ways you can chuck money at your debts.

Ill leave you with that for now.

:beer:
tigtag

GettingThingsDone

Hi Megs, and welcome to DFW!!

As others have said, putting your SOA together can really help you understand 'where it all goes' - if you stick it on here you'll get some good advice too.

In the meanwhile, what kind of debts have you got - credit cards, loans, overdrafts? What are the %aprs and balances? Find out details for all of them and put them into the snowball calculator - make sure you are sitting down when you see the first Debt Free Date (DFD) that it calculates! Play with the figures (how much can you pay towards the debts, can you shift anything around from high to low interest, anything you can just clear with a bit of effort etc?).

Also, if your debt is from overspending, do you have anything you can ebay or carboot? Any bank or credit card charges you can reclaim? Any other ways of getting some cash in (lodger)? Even if it is a one off, it may help give you some breathing space so that you can make a plan and stick to it. I found scrimping for a couple of months and clearing my overdrafts made the world of difference.

Good luck and keep posting!

gtd

dancingfairy

Just wanted to say hi and welcome :hello: . I'm sure you'll soon find loads of hints and tips on here to help.

david_hellier

Hi and welcome. SOA please.

ixwood

Obviously stop spending, if you haven't already.

Do you still have a good credit rating then? (lots of) 0% transfers would help you concentrate on paying capital, rather than interest.

iolanthe07

Consolidation loans aren't necessarily the work of the devil - it really depends on how disciplined you can be about your spending in the future. If you can really grip it and stop wasting money on 'ridiculous overspending' (your words), stick to a budget, keep a spending diary, and shred you credit cards, then it might work for you. Good luck anyway.

StayPositive_2

Hi Megs26

I'm a newbie too and the people on this site are FANTASTIC! Ours wasn't a massive debt but by doing an SOA the people on this site opened our eyes to areas we could make cutbacks and we've now come up with a workable budget that really seems achievable so that we can start clearing it!

Really hope everything gets sorted for you adn best of luck with your police application