I am an idiot

lindamcgraw

So, when I was younger, I very stupidly ran up a bit of credit card debt. And I have had my head in the sand about it ver since.

I know it is time for me to sort myself out.

I am in for just over £5k. I now have a mortgage and am in my lowest every paying job (just over £15k per annum) What is the best approach to this? Is it to just keep balance transferring to 0%'s and keep chipping away?

It has become a big deal now more than ever because my partner and I would like to get pregnant but i can't with this debt hanging over my head (and before anyone asks, yes he knows, but no he can't put money towards it. His income goes towards doing our house up as it needs quite a lot of work before we can go ahead and have children)

I got my first credit card some years ago (i transferred the balance on to my current one about 2 years ago) and have occasionally wondered about checking for PPI but I don't know any of the card details so I wouldn't know how to even check.

My wage is pretty poor for someone my age and ability, but I have checked and I am not entitled to anything else. I am trying to sort a second job but I currently work around 60+ hours a week (over time is not paid) so its very difficult.

I just want to be debt free to get on with my life.

MallyGirl

post an SOA?

you will get better advice based on more information.
It is either going to be increase income - second job, sell stuff - or reduce outgoings.

thriftylass

Hello, chin up. It is only 5k (I know, that's relative) and you made the first important step, wanting to tackle it. How much are your outgoings (yours and as a family), have you done a SOA? They are usually really helpful and people can give you advice on where to cut back. How much do you currently pay off each month. i would you keep going and try to keep the 0% offers going. Even just £100 a month and it would be gone in 2 years.

Working 60+ hours for 15k sound a bit crazy for me. Could you get a similarly paid job but with less hours and then try to get a second job. Are you looking to change jobs anyway?

Good luck on your journey

Westminster

Head over to the debt-free wannabes section for lots of helpful and non-judgemental advice.

Dobbibill

Don't beat yourself up - you're not the first and won't be the last to run up debt in your youth.

£5k is doable, even on a relatively low income. It won't be an overnight trick, it will take hard work and determination but you have very good motivation.

Here is the link to post a SOA being very honest, this will help to give you tailored advice.

All the best.

DCFC79

So you work 60+ hours a week for £15k, Id stop working so many hours now and just work the hours in your contract or look for another job.

I agre with previous posters, complete an SOA and post it on the debt free board.

Oh and well done for having a plan in place re clear debt, do house up before you start planning a family.

PeacefulWaters

You're being paid less than minimum wage. This is illegal.

than_prutt

lindamcgraw wrote: »

My wage is pretty poor for someone my age and ability, but I have checked and I am not entitled to anything else. I am trying to sort a second job but I currently work around 60+ hours a week (over time is not paid) so its very difficult.

Surely that's either not legal or plain unethical?

NotNormal

£5k is completely doable. I currently have just over £2k in debt and think I have about £13k a year coming in and have paid about £1k of debt so far without even trying too hard.

First off I definitely recommend doing an SOA or similar. Keep all your receipts and look at where your money is going. Work out what's reasonable. So for example I have about £30 a month allowance for eating out/takeaways. I did cut it but I ended up feeling really crappy about not having anything "nice", so now that means once a month I have a takeaway with mates and another day I'll go out for lunch with the girls.

When was the last time you shopped around for deals on suppliers for your gas/electric/water/tv/phone? Anything else you could cut back on? It's surprising how much £5 here and there adds up.

Once you work out what you CAN spend towards debts, set it up to go at first. Otherwise it's easy to spend it without thinking.

I also have two banks and a savings account. Bills/savings/spending. And I have a spreadsheet I made that I put my expenses into and the writing goes red if I overspend in one area or underspend on debts. Every penny has a job. Any left over either goes towards savings or debt unless I need something.

Definitely get over to the debt free diaries section (I have a diary on there, when I remember to update it haha) and have a read of some diaries or start your own, it helps me to see written down how well I'm doing. I even have a debt free spreadsheet now that shows what I want to spend on debts a month vs my monthly average for the last year. It has a graph showing my debt dropping, my credit score and even the percentage paid off so far. It helps keep me in check as well.

lindamcgraw

Thanks everyone who has replied, I appreciate it.

So I sat down and applied for a new Halifax card with 41 months 0% interest.

But I was declined? I checked my credit score and its 966 out of 999...how is this possible?!
I am frightened to apply for a different card in case i get rejected and really damage my score..but I don't get why they have turned me down. I always pay above my minimum payment and always on time, I don't owe money anywhere else except my current credit card.

I applied for a Tesco credit card and got accepted but they would only balance transfer £3080, which isnt enough! I am only paying off interest on my current card. This is a mess!

With regards to my job, it isn't illegal as it is unpaid overtime. It is in many contracts and in mine. I know what it sounds like but its the position i am in and I am staying there.

I definitely need to get sorted with my spending, I don't keep a tight track of it all. I will often pop into to Tesco to 'get a few bits'and I think this is really detrimental! I know I need to sort it all out and that was my big plan with this, but this knock back has really panicked me!

redux

According to some of the eligibility test referral sites, including MSE, Tesco's credit card might be a good prospect.

Be greedy and go via Topcashback to apply.