I need help with managing debts.

ash12345

Hi Guys,

I am a 20 year old student and I am in debt of £8,710, mostly with credit cards.

I have several credit cards and I now regret getting them, although few of my cards are 0% for the next 14 months.

I have been trying to pay them off since the start of this year and although I have overall reduced my balance from £10,000 to £8,500, something always comes up where i use my credit cards again.

I have the followings credit cards;

2 MBNA cards with £1500 & £1600 limits respectively, both maxed out at £1300 and £1590 each although they are 0% interest.

3 Barclaycards with £1500, £1200 and £3000 limits respectively, with balances at £600 and £120 and £550, although they are 0% interest.

2 Aqua Cards which I've had since I turned 18 with a £2800 and £600 limit and a standing balance of £300 and £120. (All at 35% interest)

1 Capital One with a £600 limit and a standing balance of £400. (22% interest)

I also have two loans;

1 Lloyds loan at £2850, and I'm paying £120 a month. (27% interest) (22 months left)

1 Credit Union loan at £880 and I'm paying £60 a month. (40% interest) (18 months left)

I have savings amounting to £2500 and i earn £700 a month basic with a potential increase to £1000 from overtime and commission.

I already pay £400 towards vehicle expenses because of insurance/ fuel and finance. So i am left with an average £400 after personal expenses to pay off my debts.

My sister and my girlfriend have offered to help me out financially, but i don't know how i would go on about this?

I would love some advise on how to get rid of this balance quickly as possible as i'm not due to finish studies until 2018 Q1.

fatbelly

Of the cards, the most damaging because of high interest are

2 x Aqua £420
Cap One £400

Of the loans

Credit Union loan £880

Fortunately you have £2500 savings giving you 0-5% interest so you can use £1700 of this to clear those debts and still have £800 left.

For the remaining debts

2 x MBNA £1300 and £1590
3 x Barclaycards £600 and £120 and £550
Lloyds loan £2850

total £7010

we would need to see a statement of affairs to see how much you could overpay the contractual amounts.

anna_1977

do any of your barclaycards have 0% balance transfer offers?

ReadingTim

The only way you'll get out of it is to make sure that what goes out is less than what comes in, then work on ways to decrease the outgoings and increase the income. That's obviously a bit harder when you're a student, so unable to work full time, therefore you might have to accept some period of debt, on the assumption that you'll get a well paying job in the future that will make this a piece of cake.

However, a statement of affairs would be useful, and you do need to budget and plan, because your excuse

something always comes up where i use my credit cards again

just doesn't cut the mustard. Very few things 'come up' entirely out of the blue: Christmas, birthdays, even summer holidays happen at the same time very year. So do MOTs, insurance renewals etc. Bills, rent etc is due at the same time every month. Payday may be the same time very week or month, even if the amount varies.

Once you work out where it goes, and when, you can predict what will happen next month, and plan accordingly. I would wish you luck, but it's not a matter of luck - it's a matter of being organised.

ash12345

Guys what is statement of affairs and how do i get it?

ReadingTim

Click on this text

bargainbetty

You appear to have available balances on the 0% Barclaycards. Contact them and ask about further balance transfer deals to clear off the interest-bearing cards (Aqua and Capital One). Transfer over the balances and close the old accounts so you are not tempted to use them again. This will mean all your money goes on repayments, not interest. Pay the minimum plus £1 on all balances, and throw every spare penny at the one with the 0% period that ends the soonest. Use some of your savings to clear the Credit Union loan.
I'm sorry, but you also need to consider whether or not you can actually afford to run a vehicle for the moment. You are spending half your income on it. That's unsustainable while you are not in full time employment. Giving up your vehicle for a year could put you in a much stronger financial position. Surely public transport or a bike/moped would see you through for a bit?

kindofagilr

Log onto your barclaycard account and click on offers, mine and OH's currently shows a 0% offer we can take up, if you hve that you can move the higher interest ones too barclaycard

Kitten868

I wouldn't even bother doing a shuffle about - pay off the high interest ones with your savings and close them. Try snowballing. Minimums to everyone. As they're all interest free for a while I would do it in size order so you feel good closing them all down. Aim to get your 10 creditors down to 5 by the end of the year.
You'll be in a better position to move things around if your 0%s start finishing. Aim to see Q1 2018 with less debt but don't make your life too hard to get there. Just not using the credit cards puts you ahead xxx