how or when should you refinance a loan

catlady1990

Hiya,

I am a 29 year old who has dipped in and out of this forum for many years.
I have been trying to consolidate / reduce my debt over many years. Partly caused by the result of splitting up with boyfriends, bad decisions and liking holidays.

I have also recently moved down to Surrey with my now bf, as I am trying to follow my dream in becoming a registered veterinary nurse.

I currently have:
natwest loan of £9,692.63
car finance loan of £5706.45
car insurance at £98.80 had a little bump but neither I nor the other party have claimed so waiting for it to close at the end of september when my two years no claims will be reinstated (have to have business usage due to floating between 4 different clinics)
natwest credit card £800 maxed :eek:
tesco credit card with around £250 spent on it
Not in overdraft at the moment, as I have used my temporary savings from plum and chip to keep out but it's only £100

I just want advice on whether it would be worth trying to consolidate my debt down with a higher loan or will it make it more expensive. I just want it all paid off, so I can comfortably afford to rent and save towards a house deposit.
My partner and I are currently living in a house share but he wants us to have our own place. I want us to stay here and save for a house deposit. We are currently sticking where we are and assessing at the end of my probationary period in December.

MovingForwards

You have already tried consolidation, but circumstances have not worked for you.

Now you need to tackle it, but it takes time, commitment and less spendy moments.

If you fill out a statement of affairs we can advise you the best way forward.

Many of us have walked in your shoes and come out the other side

sourcrates

catlady1990 wrote: »

I just want advice on whether it would be worth trying to consolidate my debt down with a higher loan or will it make it more expensive. I just want it all paid off, so I can comfortably afford to rent and save towards a house deposit.

Hi,

That debt did not build up by itself did it, consolodation is a big no no, you just push the problem sideways, and 9/10 make matters worse for yourself as you don`t learn the lessons of proper budgeting and living within your means.

These lessons need to be learnt before you ever even think about a mortgage, make a bad decison with money as a homeowner, you can lose your house.

The only respocible way to tackle debt is to formulate a plan based on your income and circumstances, that may involve just better budgeting, or maybe debt mangement, for worse situations there are formal solutions to solve the problem, a statement of affairs will tell us whats best for you.


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

catlady1990

Ok has either of you got a link for the statement of affairs?
At the moment I am affording to pay everything down on the minimums. It's just not leaving much left over. Plum and chip auto payments are helping with short term savings, just with the move in june it's still a bit tight.

catlady1990

The loan has helped though, as the only thing that was extra after the loan was my car finance. Which I got because my old car went completely bang and exploded.
I am just wondering whether cutting down the time on the loan will be better. So it was originally for 6 years but I am coming up to the 1 year mark and with consolidation everything including the car and the loan would be paid off by 3 years.
On the plus side, I now have a one job regular income instead of before where I was balancing two jobs. Nearly killing myself and never had any money to show for it.
Now I'm salaried at £18284.98 which means every month I get at least £1300 + overtime due to the nature of my job. It's not a lot compared to some people but it's been much easier to budget over july / august.

MovingForwards

The link is in sourcrates post, you need to format it for MSE, once you have cold hard figured in front of you it's easier to see what's the best way forward.

catlady1990

Household Information[/b]
Number of adults in household........... 1
Number of children in household.........
Number of cars owned.................... 1

Monthly Income Details
Monthly income after tax................ 1325
Partners monthly income after tax....... 0
Benefits................................ 0
Other income............................ 0
Total monthly income.................... 1325

Monthly Expense Details
Mortgage................................ 0
Secured/HP loan repayments.............. 203
Rent.................................... 350
Management charge (leasehold property).. 0
Council tax............................. 0
Electricity............................. 0
Gas..................................... 0
Oil..................................... 0
Water rates............................. 0
Telephone (land line)................... 0
Mobile phone............................ 8
TV Licence.............................. 0
Satellite/Cable TV...................... 0
Internet Services....................... 10.41
Groceries etc. ......................... 108.4
Clothing................................ 10
Petrol/diesel........................... 120
Road tax................................ 0
Car Insurance........................... 100
Car maintenance (including MOT)......... 20
Car parking............................. 2
Other travel............................ 0
Childcare/nursery....................... 0
Other child related expenses............ 0
Medical (prescriptions, dentist etc).... 0
Pet insurance/vet bills................. 0
Buildings insurance..................... 0
Contents insurance...................... 0
Life assurance ......................... 0
Other insurance......................... 0
Presents (birthday, christmas etc)...... 10
Haircuts................................ 0
Entertainment........................... 5
Holiday................................. 10
Emergency fund.......................... 0
Total monthly expenses.................. 956.81


Assets
Cash.................................... 0
House value (Gross)..................... 0
Shares and bonds........................ 0
Car(s).................................. 9000
Other assets............................ 0
Total Assets............................ 9000


Secured & HP Debts
Description....................Debt......Monthly...APR
Mortgage...................... 0........(0)........0
Hire Purchase (HP) debt ...... 5700.....(203)......14
Total secured & HP debts...... 5700......-.........-

Unsecured Debts
Description....................Debt......Monthly...APR
credit card 1..................800.......22........14.5
credit card 2..................250.......26........21.5
loan...........................9692.63...225.......16
Total unsecured debts..........10742.63..273.......-


Monthly Budget Summary
Total monthly income.................... 1,325
Expenses (including HP & secured debts). 956.81
Available for debt repayments........... 368.19
Monthly UNsecured debt repayments....... 273
Amount left after debt repayments....... 95.19

Personal Balance Sheet Summary
Total assets (things you own)........... 9,000
Total HP & Secured debt................. -5,700
Total Unsecured debt.................... -10,742.63
Net Assets.............................. -7,442.63

catlady1990

Ok so it's bad but at least I have a tiny bit of surplus

catlady1990

My car isn't actually hp it's just a loan and there is nothing extra to pay at the end of it. But there wasn't anywhere else to put it so it was obviously my car.

catlady1990

I haven't added anything to do with my partner as we have one account, in my name which we pay in money for food, joint entertainment, rent and other household things including now tv and prime, oh and holiday money and savings for a rainy day. So I have split all that I put in for each category.
We budget £50 a week for groceries but that includes shower stuff, and all the household cleaning stuff. If we are just buying food and drinks, he lives on pop. We tend to spend between £25 / £30 a week.

catlady1990

Also I get mileage back if I am at one of three clinics which isn't my home clinic. So if I am sent to other places I get the 45 pence per mile back and I travel up 28 miles there and back a day. I don't add that onto my budget though, as it varies so much from week to week. So it's easier to blank out at £120 a month, as the cash I get back goes straight on fuel anyway.