Advice regarding credit card debt of £5500

Reach

I'm currently around £5500 in debt on my Barclary Card, i believe the APR on it is around 18-19%, and am paying it off at around £700 a month.  My hope was to be debt free by now but with the lockdown meaning i had to buy gym equipment and one of my dogs needing around £6000 a surgery over the last 12 months, it got to a point where it currently feels like i'm taking 1 step forward and 2 steps back sometimes.  I've got, hopefully, 1 more operation needed on the dog in a couple of weeks which will be around £700 so that's all my spare money gone for July and then my hope is to try and consolidate the debt either into a debt consolidation loan or move the balance to a new credit card that's 0% interest and carry on paying it off. 

Does anyone here have any advice at all, other than the credit card, my only other debt is my mortgage, but i hate being in debt and it's got to the point where all these little set backs is starting to depress me.  I can always afford to pay off quite a bit, between £500-£700 a month, but surgery for the dog or something else comes up, and it puts me back again.  Both of my dogs are now fully insured but the insurance won't cover his knee surgeries as it was a pre-existing condition so hoping he'll be ok after the next surgery but we'll see.

Jack_Cork

You had to buy gym equipment????? Sell that for a start. Dont get a debt consolidation loan, better to get a 0% credit card if you can, but make sure you close the Barclay card once you have done the BC as if there is a second spike you might decide you need an indoor pool this time

RyanHello

You need to start paying your debts off and start living below your means AFTER the debts have been paid. Follow Dave Ramseys baby steps, it's how I got out of debt. 

Reach

The gym equipment will be sold as soon as everything goes back to normal and the gyms reopen.  I will look at 0% credit cards then rather than debt consolidation loans, thank you.

Jack_Cork

Joking a side do make sure you close the Barclay card off as soon as you have done the balance transfer, its so easy to rack up more debt when you have access to credit, I've been there. I used to have a spreadsheet of my debt and update it every month, it looks great to see the balance come down. 
Do you think you could get a 0% transfer card ok? Have a look here to see if you could https://www.moneysavingexpert.com/eligibility/credit-cards/search/?goal=CC_BALTRANSFERV2

sonyarita

I hope your wee dog is ok, the vet bills can fair mount up so I think it is a good idea to have pet insurance.
When I decided to sort my finances out I looked at how I can live simpler but still enjoying hobbies etc.
I wanted to take up sewing and before I would have bought a brand new top of the range sewing machine whether I could afford it or not- instead I got a 2nd hand one off gumtree for 30 quid and it works a treat.
You didn't say what type of gym equipment you bought but fitness is one of those things you can do for free- running, walking, indoor/outdoor body weight workouts etc...there is a wealth of stuff online.
It might help you to cut your spending by looking for cheaper alternatives- in the past I have spent hundreds, probably thousands on fitness and diet plans, trainers, gym plans, boot camps etc but I could have done it all on my own for nothing really. I suppose hindsight is a wonderful thing :-)
I have also taken to Freecycle, I have came across some decent finds, it may surprise you if you haven't checked it out already I would have a look.

Bizzywizard

Hi,
my hubby and daughter do the ‘couch to 5k’ running, they are now doing 8k every other day. They don’t pay any gym memberships, so cheap and easy.  Might be worth thinking about rather than restarting the gym and also selling the gym equipment.

Have you spread your council tax over 12 months and not the normal 10?
Do you do surveys? I make about 5-10 pounds per week, this goes straight off my CC.
Cancel Netflix/Now TV until CC is paid off, if you have it.
Do you give your energy supplier you meter readings each month, so you pay the exact amount? I checked mine last year and I was owed £150! I changed to igloo and each month I send them the readings.so no over or under payments.
Do you do a small overpayment each of you CC it can be £5/£10 every little helps, I always round my number down...I cannot stand penny’s, this is why I do the surveys.

The obvious one as one of the posters above has said, is to try and do a balance transfer of the £5k ish amount. You need to be conditioned to pay it off within the 0% period of 15/18 or 24 month deal. So the debt is gone for good. Check first on credit club to see what deals are open to you.

I have an Excel spread Sheet that shows all of my Direct Debts for council tax, water extra. I then include my credit cards in the direct debit bills. This is how I track what is in at the start of the month and what is left. What is left is what I live on.  

Hope I don’t sound to boring !
Good luck with your debt busting.
Bizzy

Reach

Bizzywizard said:

Hi,
my hubby and daughter do the ‘couch to 5k’ running, they are now doing 8k every other day. They don’t pay any gym memberships, so cheap and easy.  Might be worth thinking about rather than restarting the gym and also selling the gym equipment.

Have you spread your council tax over 12 months and not the normal 10?
Do you do surveys? I make about 5-10 pounds per week, this goes straight off my CC.
Cancel Netflix/Now TV until CC is paid off, if you have it.
Do you give your energy supplier you meter readings each month, so you pay the exact amount? I checked mine last year and I was owed £150! I changed to igloo and each month I send them the readings.so no over or under payments.
Do you do a small overpayment each of you CC it can be £5/£10 every little helps, I always round my number down...I cannot stand penny’s, this is why I do the surveys.

The obvious one as one of the posters above has said, is to try and do a balance transfer of the £5k ish amount. You need to be conditioned to pay it off within the 0% period of 15/18 or 24 month deal. So the debt is gone for good. Check first on credit club to see what deals are open to you.

I have an Excel spread Sheet that shows all of my Direct Debts for council tax, water extra. I then include my credit cards in the direct debit bills. This is how I track what is in at the start of the month and what is left. What is left is what I live on.  

Hope I don’t sound to boring !
Good luck with your debt busting.
Bizzy

Thank you, i'll have a look at the surveys, how do i do surveys and get paid for it?
I do powerlifting, i was doing bodyweight stuff but wanted to get back into it and the gym's reopening weren't going to be happening anytime soon.  The equipment purchased was more higher end stuff as it was the only stuff in stock and i purchased stuff that would hold it's value much better, the plates i purchased is going to be sold on when the gyms reopen fully at full price of what i purchased at. 

I have no SkyTV, no Netflix, no NowTV, no TV license.  My TV is used purely for Youtube.  I have a company mobile so don't have a personal mobile anymore to save on that.  Council tax is paid over 10 month rather than 12 and my credit card is paid off with the absolute max i can afford.  No dinners out or takeaways, it's all stuff bought as cheaply as possible.  I do have an Excel sheet but haven't updated it for a few months so will start updating that again.  

ohdearhowdidthathappen

Definitely try and get a 0% card and do a balance transfer as that interest rate will really hamper your progress.  
Might be worth doing an SOA as then people can make suggestions where you can cut back.  
Can you do any overtime to earn extra to pay the debt down quicker?
Hope your dog gets better soon

Fatsdom

Jack_Cork said:

You had to buy gym equipment????? Sell that for a start. Dont get a debt consolidation loan, better to get a 0% credit card if you can, but make sure you close the Barclay card once you have done the BC as if there is a second spike you might decide you need an indoor pool this time

That reply is a disgrace. This is why people are scared of posting here.

Have a look at how Fatbelly and Sourcrats conduct themselves, even when they disagree with something a contributor says. 

monetxchange

I mean, some posters are more tough love than others, but I think posters generally get a good balance of support here. I don't think it's a case of having to post a certain way or that post being in any way too far. Sometimes a wake up call followed by more technical advice helps. I'd agree with the sentiment that the gym stuff wasn't a necessity - and that learning what is a want and what is a need is the first step in budgeting going forward.