Had my light bulb moment

Tino_2

poppy 10 - No harm done, I see the sentiment you were getting at, I was maybe being a bit sensitive!

Wyebird - Subcontracting is something I've thought about in the past but wasn't sure how to go about it, can you give me any advice? Also, when you said you signed up with an agency, do you mean a general employment agency or a web design one?

Homework - Yes, the more I think about it the more I see full time work is maybe the only option. I am going to spend the next couple of days looking at the best ways to increase my income significantly.

Dizzymum - Did you find the problem was that once you had cleared a credit card with a consolidating loan, you then started using it again? Would you not say with discipline a loan of say 8% interest would be better than, for example, my Egg Card with 17.9%? I'm curious because what you say seems to go against a lot of the advice on this site?

Seaxwyn - Thanks for that, does it matter for how long I was in credit? There was a period I was well in credit while money was getting moved around for the purchase of my flat.

Thanks again to everyone for the words of advice. I think the harsh but fairness of a lot of what's been said will act as the motivation I need to stick to sorting all this.

Seaxwyn

Tino wrote: »

Seaxwyn - Thanks for that, does it matter for how long I was in credit? There was a period I was well in credit while money was getting moved around for the purchase of my flat.

No - I was in credit for a couple of days only and A&L matched my high overdraft limit of £3,750.

Hope they do the same for you - and best of luck with everything

Homework

Have a good day tomorrow getting things sorted.

Tino_2

Thanks guys. Had a better day today, was in a meeting to discuss an exhibition I'm doing at the end of the month that should hopefully bring in a few web design jobs (whether thats as full time, part time or spare time!), then within 15 minutes of getting in the door had made £325 of sales, for work that can be easily finished and invoiced before the end of the month!

Not a huge amount but as they say, every little helps!

I've been looking into the job side of things and there's a couple of possibilities, so will investigate them further.

DizzyMum_2

Hello,

Yep at the times I consolidated I didn't address the real problem in that my outgoings were more than my income so, I would consolidate find I didn't have money and put it on the credit card. So, having the loan in itself didn't help as I hadn't got my outgoings less than my income.

Since then I've taken a look at where the money was going and with lots of help from this site come up with a budget (it took a few months to stick to but, every month was better than the last and the excitment of getting within budget is fantastic - I must be getting old) and now I plan what I'm spending and when.

If you are comparing like with like in the time period that you'll pay something off obviously around 7% is going to better than nearer 18% but, if it's going to take you longer to pay at 7% than it would at 18% then it may not be better. I think the snowball calculator can help you calculate the exact numbers.

Have you spoken to any creditors abour reducing or freezing interest rates?

Seaxwyn

That's excellent news Tino, I'm so glad for you. That 325 will be a big help, and it shows you are on the right track and when the time is right to go completely independent, you are sure to do well. Meanwhile follow up those job leads

chevalier

Hi there
go to www.whatsthecost.com and have a play around with their snowball calculator. Put the debts you have now and the apr's into it and see how much interest you will pay, then put in a consolidation loan and apr and see how much interest you will pay. Almost certainly you will pay more over the life of the consolidation loan, even though the monthly payments are less.

As you are Aberdeen is there any work, doing IT on shore in the oil industry? I know a friend of mine who works on rigs, and they had offices in Aberdeen. So would this be a goer? Have you thought about IT maintenance on the rigs themselves? Ok the hours are pants and you are off shore for weeks at the time, but I would imagine the pay is pretty good.

just a thought
chev

Tino_2

Ok, I've had a look at that calculator (thanks for the link) and I still think a loan is the best bet (when income is sorted).

At the moment my 2 Egg cards and the CFS loan cost me around about £152/month, and thats just paying off the minimum of one of the cards, and a few quid above the minimum on the other, so it would take a huge amount of time to pay off. And according to the calculator, £2304.10 of interest.

Taking a loan of £6600 out over 4 years would allow me to pay off those 2 cards, the CFS loan, and pay one of my brothers and my ex the money I'm due them. And it would only be a few quid more a month and cost me £912 in interest.

Over 5 years it would take about £25 a month off my monthly outgoings and still only be £1,148 in interest.

So once my income is sorted, would people agree that changing my C/A to A&L, and getting that loan would be the best option?

It would leave my debts at:
Credit Cards
RBS Gold Card - £1899.00 - 0% until October '08 - £43/month
IF Card - £1363.77 - 5.0% - £27/month

Loans
Consolidation loan - £6600 - 6.5% - £130/month
Student Loan - £3600 (apx) - ??% - Currently £0/month

Overdraft
A&L Current Account O/D - Always around the £2000 limit - 0%

Private Debt
£15000

What does everyone reckon?

Seaxwyn

HI Tino

The loan definitely looks like a good move in those circumstances, so long as you then close the Egg cards.

A&L account - definitely - I did that and it was a big part of turning my situation around as I got rid of a huge and costly overdraft.

The snowball calculator is an excellent guide to how to manage debts and what to pay off - obviously a crucial part of it is not racking up new debts so making sure you increase your income too.

Tino_2

Yes, that's definitely the plan, I've previously fallen into the trap of getting new cards to pay off the old ones, and then reusing the old ones. That's part of the reason I'm in this situation! So the Egg Cards would be out the window as soon as they were paid off!

Do you think I would be best applying for the A&L account straight away, and then waiting until I have a job to apply for the loan?

Thanks.