IVA and debt consolidation question.

National_Debtline

Hello


Your SOA suggests that you can (just about) meet the contractual/minimum repayments across your various debts each month. While this is the case, lenders may not regard you as technically being in financial difficulty and so requests to be moved onto concessionary rates of interest may fall on deaf ears.


But - and it is a big but - the SOA doesn't indicate any sort of emergency fund or leeway for unforeseen events or one-off expenses, just the normal month-to-month things. So first of all I would perhaps go back to it and think about factoring in realistic safety nets for such things, not to mention the other bits and bobs like Christmas, birthdays etc. - granted they may not be considered essentials but realistically they will not pass by without any spending whatsoever.


Lenders may ultimately be willing to reduce interest if not freeze it altogether if your budget justifies it - this would come at the expense of access to the cards and would result in reduced payment markers being added to your credit file - though in all likelihood you already present a lot of risks to any would-be lenders, so from that perspective there may not be much at stake.


Dennis
@natdebtline

nkkingston

DMP is always an option. Most lenders freeze interest once you're on a DMP, but it'll depend on your disposable income and how long it would take to pay off as to whether they'd agree. Speak to one of the free debt charities to gauge your options there.

You haven't included the APRs of your debts on the SOA. You might be able to have a fiddle and put some of the higher APR debts onto lower APR cards, depending on balance transfer fees. You'll want to go through all your T&Cs to work out whether it's worth it, but you could shave a few per cent off.

dgraffham

Thanks for the replies. I didn't know the APR's at the time of opening the post. I will start to add them in as I find out what they are.

As for factoring in realistic safety nets, I literally don't have the budget in case of emergencies, if they happen I have to deal with them not being resolved. Things like Christmas, birthdays etc I don't participate in as I can't afford to.

Gladioli

I am no expert by any means but I do wonder why no one has suggested bankruptcy, whilst it is admirable that you wish to pay your debts off, they are on your file for 6 years, will bankruptcy actually affect you any more than an IVA will?

itsallabitmuch

Sort things out for free by the following steps:

1. Contact StepChange - they are a debt management charity and will not charge you for their services. If you want to pay your debts off, a DMP is great - but it will, at some point, mean defaulting on your agreements. The flip-side, however, is that StepChange do all of the contacting, and once set up, you simply make one affordable monthly payment via DD, and StepChange send the money on to you creditors. Do their online calculator and see where you stand.

2. Download the Wally app. You will see many people talking about YNAB (which is a great app, but not free!). Wally allows you to track your money and it calculates your budget based on bills and income etc. You tell the app every time you spend anything, and you then categorise the spend. This allows you to see exactly where your money is going.

Hope this helps x