Tackling debts advice

AmelieAva8

Hello, i have 13.5 thousand pounds of debt made up of 2 credit cards
3.5 k on one, and 4K on another
2 k on a NEXT account
£500 Argos card
£1400 overdraft
£2000 overdraft

I have a sort of self managed DMP with the two credit card agencies and Next, where I pay a set amount almost interest free. The overdrafts I just pay what I can atm, no formal agreement has been made but they are happy with this at present.

Anyway, my question is, I only work part time and can do over time when it fits in with my husbands rota. Do I use this money to save for stuff like bdays/maybe a cheap uk holiday or do you think I should be chucking all my money at my debts to clear them quicker? I have about £3-400 a month I can pay towards my debts without going into my full SOA with a £50 buffer.

TIA

HampshireH

Question here is if you have 300-400 a month you can afford to pay debts off with why aren't you? & is this in addition to what you pay now?

What is it that has stopped you so far. Personally I would be paying it off. At that rate it won't take too long.

What are you currently paying a month?

Dobbibill

Pay down the most expensive debt first.

Your birthdays/Xmas should be accounted for in your SOA.

If APR is much the same then prioritise the overdrafts - these can be withdrawn anytime with little/no notice and could impact your daily living arrangements/bills if that was to happen.

Forget the holiday ATM - you don't want to add to your debt.

AmelieAva8

I’ve just paid my last payment on a 4K loan which is 207 per month so initially I didn’t have much money to pay the others, next is set at £60 per month, MBNA £94, Barclaycard is £50 pm, so overdrafts have only just started paying off. My debts were initially higher, I’ve paid off money from my credit cards but only took a hold of my debt less than around a year ago after getting into debt from being a student single parent, then getting a partner and we got married (small cost but still put 3grand on a card) and then went on mat leave. So feel like it’s getting back on track and I hope to increase my hours once my husband has finished uni next year. I just didn’t know if I should try and clear all asap or if I can earn some extra as when keep it for treats ect. Thanks for your replies

Dobbibill

Firstly - well done - you've done really well to get where you are now.

AmelieAva8 wrote: »

I’ve just paid my last payment on a 4K loan which is 207 per month so initially I didn’t have much money to pay the others,
next is set at £60 per month,
MBNA £94,
Barclaycard is £50 pm,
so overdrafts have only just started paying off. )

Laid it out making it easier to read and respond.

What is the APR on the above?

we got married (small cost but still put 3grand on a card) and then went on mat leave.

Is your OH taking ownership of some of the debt (I mean he got married too )

So feel like it’s getting back on track and I hope to increase my hours once my husband has finished uni next year. I just didn’t know if I should try and clear all asap or if I can earn some extra as when keep it for treats ect. Thanks for your replies :

Keep plodding on with the debt busting - you will be able to really make a dent when your OH finishes uni. Are they working while they study? Will your income increase towards the end of 2018?

Consider using the £207 from the loan that has just finished along with payments you are already making to give you a bigger impact - the Argos card could be gone in approx 2 months.

If you are a homeowner consider an emergency fund of £1000, if you are renting maybe a little less at £500. This is important to prevent you reverting back to credit if a hiccup arises.

What is being reported to your credit files at the moment? Hopefully they aren't trashed yet giving you a chance to get things back on track.

datlex

Common sense says to pay off the loan/card that is costing you the most, which is often the highest interest one. Unfortunately common sense doesn't always work with debt. Snowballing does. Pay off the debts in order of size, smallest first.