Consolidation of debts, what next?

Willing2Learn

Graham1982 wrote: »

I literally have no appetite or need to use the credit card so could you literally buy small items such as crisps or things worth pennies and pay it off?

I am not sure if such a small monthly expense would be recorded on your credit file as (I think) they round it to the nearest fiver. Why not just use your card for all your normal monthly budgeted groceries and then pay that statemented debt in full each month? By only spending on something that is within your monthly budget, you will have negated the risk of an overspend...

Thrugelmir

Graham1982 wrote: »

Having done this and providing I keep up my payments and don't use my credit card irresponsibly, should my lendability (for mortgages) etc naturally increase?
What steps should I now take to safeguard my financial future?

Wean yourself off using credit entirely. With the exception of major one off purchases. Learn to budget and live within your monthly income. This will help you save and make purchasing a property far easier.

Regular historic use of a credit card proves absolutely nothing. In terms of credit scoring for a mortgage.

phillw

There is nothing wrong with putting all your spending on a credit card, there are actually some very good reasons to use one.

The problem is when you spend more money than you can afford to. You can do that with cash as well, although not to the same extent unless you start borrowing money from friends and family. Fix the spending problem & cards are fine.

PRAISETHESUN

There's plenty of good advice here but I just wanted to put in my 2p. There were a few suggestions to build up an emergency fund, which when not in debt is a great idea. However, at the moment you should be throwing every bit of spare cash at your debts otherwise you are essentially paying to save money. In an absolute emergency (and only in an emergency) you could tap back into your loans/CCs and you'd still be better off since the money paid in has reduced your interest payments in the meantime. See here for some good info: https://www.moneysavingexpert.com/savings/pay-off-debts/