Quickest way to get out of debt

magabicool

HI there,

Need some advise to remove my debt as quickly as possible.

I currently have £22k worth of credit card debt (across 5 credit cards) which i managed with balance transfers (often at 0% transfer fee if possible) and I plan on getting rid of these as I can pay easily £500 a month off this, so it should take me a couple of years.

I currently have £130k mortgage with 21 years to go which is fixed for another 2 years but I can overpay 10% on this, which I currently do not do.

Obviously is makes more sense to pay off as much of the mortgage each year as possible, but should i in two years consolidate the 22k into my mortgage and effectively have a £150k mortgage to pay, which I can then overpay £6k a year?

Or should I keep them separate? or any other way which I haven't considered would be useful to know.

EssexHebridean

No - definitely do NOT consolidate - this is rarely a good idea and turning non-secured debt into secured is even worse!

How to get rid of your debt as soon as possible: It's remarkably simple. Cut luxuries right back, trim all spending as far as you can, and throw every spare penny at the debt. Ignore OP'ing the mortgage for now - it's more important to get your other debt sorted. Once the CC debt is clear then you have a nice lump each month to throw into mortgage OP's and savings.

First step is a Statement of Affairs (SOA) - the link is at the top of the page here in the "sticky" post - that gives you a budget and helps you to work out where you can make savings. Post it in here if you like and we can see if there's anything you've missed. I take it you know where the debt accrued and why, this has been addressed, and you're no longer using the cards?

magabicool

thanks for the advice, I am no longer using the credit cards, they are built debts from the last few years for emergency medical care. I will keep the debt separate and plan on having it all gone by 2020.

I will be selling one of my cars as we do not need two and this should help make a lump payment to hopefully bring the debt down by another year.

EssexHebridean

Good, practical plan there. Think also about things like checking your utilities are on the best deals, dropping a brand when you're shopping, changing your shopping habits to avoid "top up shops", checking things like mobiles are on the best deal you can get for your needs, and selling anything else you have lying about the place no longer wanted or needed - people debt busting often use selling of smaller items to fund their entertainment budget and that can work really well!

Topg

i want to agree with the above advice and add one thing...

...Ebay.

you will be surprised what people will buy from you. it might not be much, but every bit will help. just looking around for semi-old used electronics is a good place to start. Clothing you don't think you will wear anymore, even if its Mildly used, can sell on ebay. Start your bids low and add the shipping costs to your listings, to avoid out-of-pocket expenses.