Debt, Debt, Debt

beccals

Hi, very new to this and just hoping that someone can point me in the right direction really. I have somehow managed to rack up £8,000 worth of debt in the last 12 months - which I know is really bad! And what's even worse is that I have nothing to show for it - couldn't tell you what I spent it on.

The charges on my credit cards are astronomically high and I now have a very low credit rating so I am unable to get a new one to transfer the balance. I am struggling with the repayments and am very unsure what to do next. I have 5 credit cards, 3 store cards and 2 overdrafts. I have cut up all the credit cards which was a big step in the right direction but now I am left with loads to pay off and I am unsure what to do. Every month I pay the credit card bills on time but the next month the minimum amount due is higher. On my Virgin Credit Card I am paying almost £70.00 a month. It is just making me depressed now as I cannot afford to pay them all off. I am scared to ask anyone for help as I am so embarrassed that I let myself get into this situation.

I don't earn an awful lot of money - which was why I borrowed money in the first place and I am now doing everything I can to earn some extra cash to fund christmas.

If anybody has any helpful suggestions (although i may seem like a bit of a lost cause!) I would be very very grateful. Thankyou

Kylie

You will need to post here a Statement of Affairs and we can help you out.

Welcome to the site!

Mupeteer

You're not a lost cause and you're not the first person to get into a mess like this. People will be along soon with lots of good advice for you.

Do you know for certain that your credit rating is low now or do you just think it is?

beccals

I know it is low unfortunately. I've even been refused a current account because it's so low. I don't know the actual score but it has to be pretty low!

beccals

Where do you post a statement of affairs? Is that basically everything I owe? Thanks

Kylie

beccals - can you put together a SOA so we can check things for you?

GirlieSurfer

Hello!

The first thing to say is DONT PANIC! All money problems can be worked through one way or another. There are 2 ways to get extra cash to plough into debts, first - cut down expenditure, second - make more money.

If you post your SOA (incomings/outgoings/total of debts/APR etc) then we can all take a look at give you advice specific to your situation. No doubt it will involve a fair bit of change and might be difficult but dont worry - everyone on here is great and offers fabulous support!

Good luck Beccals!

WesternExpress

For your statement of affiars here, you need to state your debts, the rates of interest and the amount payed per month. You need your monthly outgoings (all of them including treats) and your incomes.

Good luck

Mupeteer

Read some of the other SOAs posted on here. That should give you a good idea of everthing you need to include. Also, look at the budget planner (you can find this in the right hand side of these pages) as there is almost always stuff you forget.

And start keeping a spending diary - mark down even the smallest purchase to find out where all your money is going. Maybe think about setting yourself a weekly spending limit and posting it on the Moozies challenge thread. Telling other people my limit really seems to work for me.

Good luck

beccals

Sorry for the delay in posting!

My SOA is as follows:

Monthly Salary after Tax - £1,100

Overdraft LLoyds TSB - £400 - 1.48% per month
Overdraft Natwest - £1,400 - Interest free

Lloyds TSB Credit Card - £1000 - 15.9% APR
Halifax Credit Card - £1,100 - 19.9% APR
Virgin Credit Card - £2,400
Capital One Credit Card - £200
Barclaycard Credit card - £1,250

Topshop Store Card - £150
New Look Store Card - £150
Dorothy Perkins Store Card - £250

Not too sure of all of the APR's as I do not have the details to hand at the minute but hopefully this is okay

Willsnarf1983

ur SOA is a start but whats the minimum payments? what about general living, rent, utilities, insurance, food, entertainement, phone, smoking? etc etc etc You really need to add all that into it.

Cheers

Will