After some help

arthur_6pence

My partner and I have a mortgage together, and are looking to move into a bigger place this year.
My partner doesn't work as she looks after our 2 children, so getting a job would be out of the question for her.

She's got a credit card balance of £1000 with a few hundred overdraft on her debit card, whereas my only debt is the mortgage, which is paid monthly. I use my credit card and spend up to £150 a month but repay it in full.

Is there any way I can help her pay it off or anything we can do to shift her debt easily?

Fireflyaway

The obvious thing would be to see where you can make savings to throw some money at the debt. Do you have a written budget? Can you identify some surplus or cut down on something? These are small amounts and doesn't sound like you are behind on payments so it might not impact too much anyway.

Pixie5740

There's nothing stopping you from making payments to the credit card and overdraft. I assume that as your partner is a SAHP you pool your finances together in some way. I would want to know how she came to have £1000 on a CC and dipped into her overdraft. Was it general overspending for things you don't need or does the household budget need adjusting or does she have a gambling problem. Whatever the reason you need to get to the route of it or it will just keep happening over and over again.

tlc678910

Hi,
If your wife needs to increase her income are you able to look after the children some evenings or at weekends while your wife works?

EssexHebridean

Hi Arthur - welcome to MSE.

The first step is to put together your household SOA - Statement of Affairs. You'll find the link to this in the "Sticky" post at the top of this board. Be as accurate as you can - you may find it helpful to sit down with your OH and six months worth of bank/credit card statements in order to get everything noted down. Remember initially it needs to reflect what actually happens - not what you think should happen, or what you think we will want to see.

If you post the SOA in here (use the "format for MSE" option) then we can see if there is anywhere that you guys can make savings that you may not have noticed.

You said that a job was out of the question for your OH, but there are a few at-home options that might help her earn a little bit extra - surveys etc will not make her rich but might help towards odds and ends.