Turnin 30 and £16k in

sourcrates

Mohagan3 said:

@RAS I’ve told her this but she still wants to help. I’ve told her it’s not that I’ve defaulted into any arrears etc but I’m just struggling abit. I’ve told her I will be paying her back and she says that’s fine so maybe for now. I’m thinking just getting enough to cover the big ones and then cutting the cards up as I won’t need them anymore. Is it better too keep the card and not use them or cancel them with the company? 

I understand a lot of forumites swear by using a Creditcard responsibly, and I can understand the reasons behind that, but there are an awful lot of people out there who cannot control their spending, and Creditcard's can be a very slippery slope into extremely unaffordable debt, I was one such individual, who owed, at the height of my incompetence, £157,000 on cards and loans.

So, if you don`t need them, cut them up and close the accounts.

It was not pretty, it was not pleasant, it took 2 insolvencies to get myself back in a good place.

Fortunately, I have been able to instil good financial behaviour in my children, so far at least, don`t allow bad debt to ruin your life.

RAS

Cut up the cards and close the accounts as you clear them.

If you were doing a DMP, we'd suggest an emergency fund. As in emergency getting to see a dying relative or pay a locksmith. Not being unable to go out with mates just before pay-day or wanting new shoes. £200 might be a good starting point.

Put it in a separate account. And not linked to your phone or taken when you go on a night out. If you have to pay the locksmith, you can always grab it when they let you in.

Brie

If I were you I'd be building something into my budget to repay the interest to mom.  That might be a few months after finishing off the actual mom loan but that's ok.  It will be a good lesson in savings for you and reassuring for your mom.  She may refuse or give it back but that's up to her.  It's important that you know that you can be responsible for your borrowing.

Well done btw on working at getting this sorted.

Mohagan3

@RAS so mum has gave me 4K. So on Monday I’m clearing the big ones. I have paid off a loan there and £500 towards my PayPal. I’ve agreed and set up a payment to her each month for £150. I’ve hid it so long from her that she’s just delighted I’ve spoken to her because she knew something was wrong! So abit of pressure taken off me. 

@Brie I have an saving account that put £200 in every month but I’ve always been taking it out so now with less money going out I’ll hopefully be able to spare this. I’ve recently stopped smoking so I’ll be saving roughly 4K a year as well! 

I really needed to sort things out before I got in too deep I still have some loans left but I’ll be able to pay more off them as the months go on