Have i done the right thing and consilidated

gabriella90

Hi
I have finally had the light bulb moment and added up the cost of credit cards and loan it comes to 17000.:eek: What the hell have i done with this money not a lot.

I got in contact with a few banks and thankfully i still have a reasonably good credit rating. I have got a good loan rate and will have it cleared in 4 yrs. i'm just so scared of budgeting and still being able to afford things i will be left with about £400 per month.

Any tips on keeping on the straight and narrow for budgeting. The cards have already been cut up. I'm just so scared but i don't want credit cards mounting up any more, the reason i think its so high is got previous loansto pay off cards the the cards got high again and so on.

Feels good to face it at last

GettingThingsDone

Hi gabriella, and welcome to DFW!

You've definitely done the right thing in cutting up your cards - have you closed the accounts too? This can help your credit rating.

The reason people on here are generally against consolidation with a loan is that it is easy to start spending on the cards again (as you know!), but if you are strict and avoid racking up more debt, then it is a sensible way of effectively lowering your interest rate.

My tip is - keep coming back to MSE/DFW!!! and keep posting. Seriously, it really helps keep the motivation up. Oh, and post up an SoA if you like?

gtd

momisa

Welcome and well done you!!

Have you got a budget? Each and every month I put together a spreadsheet which details my income and ALL my outgoings with payment dates. I regularly check that I have the funds in my account to pay the bills and ensure that there are no unexpected things!! As soon as something is paid I tick it off so I know exactly where I am with my money.

It's only difficult and time consuming the first time the spreadsheet is put together. After that it's a simple copy paste job with any updates.

There are several forums on here for cheaper ways to clean, buy food, free tickets for cinema, insurance (home, car, holiday) etc etc the list goes on.

Have a good nosey about the forums - it's amazing how many tips you'll pick up. And remember every little helps - pennies make pounds

HTH

vyvyan_2

Hi and welcome!

As said before, you need to dicipline yourself not to use the cards again.

Set yourself a budget - plenty of advice and tips here on doing that!

My only problem with my loan (taken out ages ago) is that I can't overpay on it. Have you got a flexible loan?

I find that now that I've finally paid off my cards ,the only thing I can do with my loan is to let it run.

Good luck - what works best for the individual is best. Stick around here, I found these guys great for help and support.

HannahandMark

Hi there,

Hannah and I recently did the same and feel so much better for having finally faced up to our money demons.

Instead of thinking about how little money we have to spend, we are regularly checking our current online and working out how much we will have left over at the end of the month. It is so rewarding even if it is only a small amount that we can save.

Well done and keep going.

tealady

Hi and welcome. If you pop up your SOA (see Southernscousers sticky at the top) then the wonderfully clever people on this site will check to see if you are making the most of every penny. Good luck