I need help and don't know what to do

enthusiasticsaver

Well the gambling amounts is obviously where the extra £100 or so has been going so good that you have deleted the apps and recognise you have a problem. Given the rates on your cards are quite high I would take the opportunity to get as much on to 0% as possible although those deals are quite short.  You really have to go cold turkey on using the cards and make monthly payments ideally just above minimum and target extra money towards the most expensive debt.  If you are still spending on them you are then undoing the good you have done by paying them down.  Cut them up or put them away and then you will see the debt gradually going down. There is not a quick fix unfortunately and it takes financial discipline but many have paid off higher debt than yours. 

When the cable/satellite deal comes up can you just downgrade to broadband and use your mobile for phone calls? 

Set up savings pots for car costs and home/contents insurance.  It is cheaper to pay annually so having the money there to do that is a good idea. 

Divingmad

Hi there,
I would recommend that you start putting something aside for car tax, insurance and MOT and things like tyres, etc, as these will pop up and you may well just stick them on a card, so the debt cycle will continue.

Is your council tax on a ten month payment cycle? Can this is switched to twelve? You could then add the saved amount towards your debt.

To sort your current debt, have you looked up something referred to a debt snowball? There are calculators on line where you input the debt quantities and the interest rates and it calculates the time to pay it off at the current payment levels, it should also allow you to calculate durations if you set all to the minimum except one and throw any extra money at that debt, then, when it's paid off you move the repayments onto the next one.

Curlysue99

Hi RicVic,

In relation to the gambling, don't just delete the apps, go the whole hog and sign up for gamstop. I gambled for years closing accounts on the way but opening new ones. I was left thousands in debt through my own silly fault, took me years to admit I had a problem. Eventually children came along I had to get a grip or it wouldnt just be my life it was impacting, took the plunge and signed up for gamstop, can not gamble online any more, took a while for the urge to pass but now I've got a grip on my debts, 6 months from the end of my dmp and actually have some savings. Trust me best thing you can do with the gambling.
Good luck

inthezeroroom

Get your monthly budget sorted. Plan what you’re going to spend and stick to it.
Look for a second job to get some extra income.
And then +1 for trying the debt snowball method. Ignore interest rates, make minimum payments on all but the smallest debt and throw every spare pound at that smallest debt until it’s gone. Then roll that payment into the next smallest debt. That way, you’ll see progress quickly.
You can do this!

Andyjflet

Morning
I would like to recommend you search out Dave Ramsey on podcast and you tube, I used his baby Steps method to become debt free in 3 years. Snowballing my debts and gained momentum which also then changed my mind shift to. Came at a good time for me now things are pinching a bit in the world, effectively I now save £2000 a month and live off the rest of my salary. Ultimately I couldnt handle the worry an stress of living paycheck to paycheck.