10k debt - not many options to consolidate and no 0% offers.

AThorn22

fatbelly said:

Do you really not pay road tax or car insurance or buildings insurance or car maintenance? I am wondering if maybe you have not put those in  because you pay annually and they are not due. If the soa is  worse, then that would probably tip the balance to a dmp, where you would be paying maybe £100 a month.

If the soa is accurate then I agree to clear the MBNA card is your priority and then see if they will offer you a 0% deal.

Check your benefits are right, pay council tax over 12 months, make sure you are banking where you do not have debts.

Hey thank you. 
No my car is a lease car through work so everything aside from diesel comes out of my wages as a monthly payment, which is included in my take home pay. 
Benefits all ok, council tax already over 12 months, Thank you 

AThorn22

enthusiasticsaver said:

Debt consolidation is the worst thing you can do.  If you cannot get any more 0% deals any loans you get will also be high interest and with your low income I think you will struggle to get a loan to cover that level of debt which is practically a whole years income.  First things first you need to stop using credit altogether and make sure you really are keeping to that budget. Ideally you would also get an emergency fund together. 

 Paying minimums only means this will take a long time to clear so I would set the direct debit on the most expensive slightly above minimum and even overpaying by a small amount will mean months if not years cut off your debt free date.  Are you receiving child maintenance if you  are a single parent? Is that the £50 in which case it is very low.  How old is your child? You are also not saving car maintenance money and have no emergency fund.  Why is there no car showing as an asset although you are running one? 

In terms of cutting back I would say groceries is high for one adult and one child, unless a teenager and as you  are paying childcare I am guessing your child is pre teen. The mobiles cost is high for one phone and I would move to sim only asap.  Can you cancel the satellite tv and move to freeview only and maybe Netflix which is cheaper? 

I think you may almost be into debt management solution territory and that would have the advantage of freezing the interest payments and reduce the monthly outgoings on debt. If your soa is correct and you wish to avoid a DMP the only thing you  can do until you increase your income is set the payments slightly above minimums and reassess when your childcare costs go or your income improves. So I would start with increasing the MBNA at 27.93 to £50 initially for the next year so you are overpaying a small amount. 

Personally if you see no sign of things improving for you soon I would explore moving to a DMP and setting your monthly repayment at £100.  It will still mean 10 years to clear the debt but at least you would have some money back in your budget to save for things like car maintenance and some in haircuts, entertainment, emergency savings. 

Hi there thank you so much. 
I will definitely change the direct debits. My son is 9 and I only get 50 because he is with his dad 3 nights a week. 
Car is on lease through work, so I pay monthly out of my wages and that covers everything including maintenance. I only have to pay for diesel. 
Yep, never anything for emergencies - I tend to have to use my credit card. 

Ok, I honestly didn't think groceries were that bad but this is definitely something I will look at. I am vegan and unfortunately for some reason sometimes vegan things are more expensive. But yes I have included things like work lunches etc. I probably only really spend about £35 per week for both of us, but at the moment it is more due to lockdown.  I can't get out of my contact for another year unless I pay £230. Same with sky, they won't allow me to come out of my contract without paying a high exit fee. but once that contract is over I don't think I will be renewing. It was more that the offer they had put on my account was 75% off and if I come out of it, I won't ever get that offer again. 

Thank you so much, really helpful. Yes my childcare costs won't change for over a year and once lockdown finishes I can start gigging again and getting students

Thank you 

monetxchange

In terms of vegan food, start to meal plan cheaper scratch cooked food instead of buying the frankly astronomical vegan prepacked stuff. It's a rip off and all you're paying for us the branding.

For example, make big pots of lentil daals, bean chillies, veggie soups. Hummus and avo and red peppers makes a great sandwich filler (Lidl versions all cheap and tasty). If you're buying all that meat replacement Beyond stuff and fancy packed vegan mince at £4.50 a pop, you'll never reduce the bill. Learn to love natural cheap proteins like beans and grains! So cheap with some spices and 35p chopped tomatoes thrown in. Jack Monroe's blog posts mostly vegan recipes on a tiny budget.

Also, vegan milks like coconut and almond etc tend to be cheaper bought long life rather than "fresh" from the fridge section.

ryanm8655

 Not a vegan but just wanted to say you can make some really tasty vegan food on the cheap. Had a butternut squash curry the other night, really tasty and filling, enough for about 8 portions and it cost the amount of a butternut squash and a tin of coconut milk, plus rice (did contain lots of spices but had them already). I’m a meat fiend so was pleasantly surprised. Must’ve been about 30p/portion.