Loan or other option?

DCFC79

harrison22 wrote: »

I was thinking more that I would happily rip up the cards, I don't use them anymore and haven't for 6 months, I just hate paying £750 a month in interest on them and they never shift. If I got a loan fixed payments , fixed end I could right that off entirely and have one simple payment to make. It may even be more expensive than paying the cards off but at least they would be gone forever.

I don't actually need the cards.

That might not even be possible, you need to look at your spending and cut back (need to be honest with this ) which is what the soa is all about, posting the soa on the dfw will giver other the chance to give advice/suggestionson where to make cuts.

MEM62

harrison22 wrote: »

I don't actually need the cards.

Really? Then how do you come to have so much debt on them?

My question is not intended to be offensive or critical - rather to invite you to reflect on what the money was spent on. Debt consolidation very rarely works and this is because the root causes of the rise of the original debt are not understood or addressed.

In your case I feel that you are going to have to deal with this by cutting back to find some additional amounts to throw at debt repayment and snowballing your debt reduction. There is a wealth of advice and knowledge on these forums on that process.

I hope you manage to get it resolved.

Zaox

Just no need for them now. They acrrued over a year ago during a bad period and I've simply been paying interest since.

enthusiasticsaver

Can you move any of them to 0% cards?

Fireflyaway

Definitely do a written budget so you know for sure what you can cut down on and how much free money you have to put towards debts. This happened to me a few years back but I didn't have any spare money. I negotiated with the creditors to go on a repayment plan . it was a relief but messed up my credit score. Have a think about how important your credit score is. Do you need to protect it or can you afford to take a hit? Don't borrow anymore that's for sure.

Ilona

As others have said, you need to complete a Statement of Affairs and post it on the Debt Free Wannabe board.

http://www.stoozing.com/calculator/soa.php

Keeping tabs on your debts is imperative, listing what you owe and to whom you owe it, and the interest rates. People will be able to tell you your best course of action.

As well as cutting up your credit cards because you no longer need them, you should also contact the companies by letter closing the accounts.

Ilona

Sarastro

Focus on two priorities before going down the IVA or bankruptcy route...
- Living within your means (write a budget for heaven's sake!) including your repayments
- Shifting the debt into the lowest possible interest rate that you can get.

This might be a loan instead of a credit card, all depends on what interest rate you are paying and what you can get. Make the minimum payment on all but the most expensive (highest interest rate) card and keep going at it until it's gone, then go onto the next one. If you can shift onto zero percent, still focus on overpaying the highest rate interest card as this will reduce the total amount you repay over all.

Also worth finding out your credit score and doing everything you can to improve it. One silver lining is that 'unused debt' is a positive thing so having the cards and making payments on them should improve the score.

An IVA or bankruptcy will be a major headache later on - and to be avoided if at all possible - they are not a bail out!

[Deleted User]

Sarastro wrote: »

Also worth finding out your credit score and doing everything you can to improve it. One silver lining is that 'unused debt' is a positive thing so having the cards and making payments on them should improve the score.

For clarity, aim to improve your credit history, not the score.

It may seem a subtle difference, but the score is a poor guide to building a good history that will impress lenders, and will all too often do the opposite to what you would expect.