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Such a mess

2»

Comments

  • Thank you so so much for all of your help everyone, I really appreciate it.


    I didn't say we didn't have any assets, that's an assumption, what I said was we spend far too much money weekly on food (takeaways etc.), but you are right that's not the only thing we spend it on and last night we sat down and have worked out a very good budget.


    we have decided on what we want to look at paying off first and will go from there. Its going to be a long haul, not near the 6 years that I guestimated above, but still a few years. This is based on completely not using our credit any further.


    Thank you again though :)
  • EssexHebridean
    EssexHebridean Posts: 24,674 Forumite
    Part of the Furniture 10,000 Posts Name Dropper Photogenic
    OP - you're coming across as quite defensive here, when people are simply trying to offer help and advice, which WAS what you posted on here asking for, yes? Remember when people are asking questions about assets etc they are trying to get a better picture of your overall circumstances as sometimes that makes a difference to the right approach for clearing debt - and also to the causes of that debt which also need tackling For example £50k of debt that includes the purchase of 2 brand new cars is different to that same level of debt with with nothing substantive to show for it.

    Second jobs are certainly one way of paying back sooner but remember that may come along with increased costs for cars on insurance etc for that sort of use - as well as the extra hours and lack of downtime which can prove to be a struggle for some. Making cuts in routine spending is without question the simplest way of tackling debt, so if you've looked at everything from the top down and identified savings that's a good start.

    Another thing to focus on I would suggest is any surplus that your SOA says you should have - and making sure that you actually do have that amount at the end of the month. It's easy to overlook small items that get bought regularly without even thinking of it, and those of course impact on the overall surplus.

    A trick for you on the 0% card by the way if you're not already doing it - set the monthly payment to a little above the current minimum and leave it there. This way the payment doesn't fall as the outstanding balance drops, so over time you quietly make more impact on the total.l It also means that you don't increase the money remaining in the bank as the payment decreases - often this goes unnoticed and by the end of a 0% period that can easily be £50+ a month that's just getting absorbed without being put to good use. This method is only suitable for a card which you are not using for any spending though.
    🎉 MORTGAGE FREE (First time!) 30/09/2016 🎉 And now we go again…New mortgage taken 01/09/23 🏡
    Balance as at 01/09/23 = £115,000.00 Balance as at 31/12/23 = £112,000.00
    Balance as at 31/08/24 = £105,400.00 Balance as at 31/12/24 = £102,500.00
    Balance as at 31/08/25 = £ 95,450.00
    £100k barrier broken 1/4/25
    SOA CALCULATOR (for DFW newbies): SOA Calculator
    she/her
  • ratrace
    ratrace Posts: 1,021 Forumite
    Part of the Furniture 500 Posts Name Dropper
    OP - you're coming across as quite defensive here, when people are simply trying to offer help and advice, which WAS what you posted on here asking for, yes? Remember when people are asking questions about assets etc they are trying to get a better picture of your overall circumstances as sometimes that makes a difference to the right approach for clearing debt - and also to the causes of that debt which also need tackling For example £50k of debt that includes the purchase of 2 brand new cars is different to that same level of debt with with nothing substantive to show for it.

    Second jobs are certainly one way of paying back sooner but remember that may come along with increased costs for cars on insurance etc for that sort of use - as well as the extra hours and lack of downtime which can prove to be a struggle for some. Making cuts in routine spending is without question the simplest way of tackling debt, so if you've looked at everything from the top down and identified savings that's a good start.

    Another thing to focus on I would suggest is any surplus that your SOA says you should have - and making sure that you actually do have that amount at the end of the month. It's easy to overlook small items that get bought regularly without even thinking of it, and those of course impact on the overall surplus.

    A trick for you on the 0% card by the way if you're not already doing it - set the monthly payment to a little above the current minimum and leave it there. This way the payment doesn't fall as the outstanding balance drops, so over time you quietly make more impact on the total.l It also means that you don't increase the money remaining in the bank as the payment decreases - often this goes unnoticed and by the end of a 0% period that can easily be £50+ a month that's just getting absorbed without being put to good use. This method is only suitable for a card which you are not using for any spending though.


    It can be a bit deflating when you are taking time out and trying to help people and they just think that you are trying to pick fault etc... what they forget is that no one knows you on here, so there is no reason to put barriers up, But you can only help people who are willing to accept it, dont think ill offer more advise to the op lol
    People are caught up in an egotistic artificial rat race to display a false image to society. We want the biggest house, fanciest car, and we don't mind paying the sky high mortgage to put up that show. We sacrifice our biggest assets our health and time, We feel happy when we see people look up to us and see how successful we are”

    Rat Race
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