£20,000 in the hole :o

A_A_Mole

So, here I am. Nearly 40 and almost £20,000 in debt.

After 3 years of trying to get by on my meager self-employed income, I've racked up about £20,000 in credit card debt and an overdraft, spending more than I earned most months.

Truth be told, I've been in debt since I was about 19 when I got my first credit card. There were a few very brief periods when I was debt free, after receiving some money out of the blue.

But the main problems started about 3 years ago after moving to an expensive place and spending more than I earned.

I rent privately so going bankrupt isn't an option. Neither is a DRO or anything else as far as I know?

Paying it back is the only option!

I have a few cards still on 0% and one that has recently gone over to 20+ % which is starting to take it's toll.

Not really sure what else to put, looking for some advice perhaps, or moral support...?

Thanks.

Yellow_mango

Hi and welcome! It’s generally suggested that you start by completing a statement of affairs (“SOA”) which will give everyone here a clearer picture of your situation so they can give more targeted advice.

Do you have any options to increase your income? Is self employment the only option, or could you consider looking for employment of some kind?

Willing2Learn

I agree with Yellow_mango. We need to see your full financial statement if you want to receive meaningful advice, support and guidance.

Please complete your Statement of Affairs (SOA) using the link below. Please remember to click on the 'format for MSE' button near the bottom of the form, before you copy & paste the SOA in to your thread. And finally, if you are going to post up your SOA then it really needs to be in the main Debt-Free Wannabe board.

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

Edit: And welcome to the forum A A Mole

A_A_Mole

Thanks. My out goings are quite high so I would need quite a large salary in a regular job to cover them. Or at least larger than any job I could get!

Plus the slight flexibility of self employment works quite well with my current set up.

I will look at doing a soa.

beanielou

Happy shiny new diary
Target the CC with the highest interest first.

savingholmes

Good luck on your journey.

A_A_Mole

Thanks!

I'm not sure I've got much excess cash to play with for overpaying any of the cards, but will try.

charlotte1988

Good luck with your journey to becoming debt free

MillennialDebtor

Wishing you luck with your journey

A_A_Mole

Anyone know about credit union loans for consolidation purposes?

According to the loan calculator on my local credit union website,

If I borrowed £20,000 over 5 years, the repayments would be £425, with £25,496 repaid.

But I'd be debt free in 5 years!

They also say they paid the money straight to the creditors so I wouldn't be able to spend it, which is good.

Thoughts?

beanielou

Worth a try but only off you cut down all existing lines of credit.
Could you do that?
Are you already a member of the credit union?