Debt getting out of hand £57k, looking for advice.

Challenger47

Thanks for the clear and concise reply. You have hit the nail on the head, the debt has not been prioritised at all and this emergency vets bill has been the tipping point. I am going to spend some time putting together a clear budget and reducing costs to get the debt paid down as quickly as possible. 

in_need_of_direction

Based on my own experience, having made every mistake in the book (unsecured to secured, consolidation then running up balances, etc.) I would say just cut things to the bone and clear the debts one at a time until they are gone.  I think £200 to emergency fund while doing this but set a limit above which the £200 can go to the debt. Make sure that any savings you make on outgoings are given a home or these will truly just evaporate. It’s such a kick when you clear your first debt and can allocate that money elsewhere.  Good luck with it and keep posting, it truly helps.

kimwp

Different people have different views on having savings when you have interest bearing debt. If you have no access to credit (for example, due to defaults), then building up.an emergency fund is vital. And if you have no debt, it's a very good idea, to avoid getting into debt. However, if you have access to credit, but debt at a higher interest than savings, the route to increasing emergency funds most quickly is actually to reduce the debt as fast as possible by using savings, and then building savings back up. 

A point on your SOA, unless you have specialist work wear that wears out quickly or weight loss/gain or other reason, an adult doesn't need to spend £50 a month on clothes - aim for max £200 on clothes a year-to replace essentials that are worn out.

Your energy bill is low, is that an accurate representation of your annual usage?

Challenger47

Thanks for the comments, every input is appreciated. I am in the process of going through all expenditures and cutting everything back as much as possible. 

Yes the clothes budget will be cut right back, and the energy usage is low as we have solar panels and they actually make us money throughout the summer and fully charge our electric car which is a bonus. 

The point on the savings vs debt is good, we have access to a lot of credit should anything go wrong, this is how we managed the huge Vet bill, however, I don't want to rely on this so would like to have at least 4-5k built up for any emergencies. I am currently moving credit cards etc around to see how much of it i can get on long term 0% deals, once I am done if there are any left with high interest I will probably try to pay these off before re-building the emergency fund. 

londoner2019

Just jumping on to say good luck. You've had lots of great advice here. The one thing I'd add is to keep reviewing your budget. It's very easy to say "I'll only spend X on groceries". After a few months, you'll know if that number is truly accurate. Also factor in annual one off costs too - check your statements over the last 12 months in case there's that one lump sum you've forgotten about. Mine used to be boiler cover/servicing.

But you sound like you're on top of things, you have all the numbers and amounts in front of you, and your budget suggests you have the ability to tackle them all. 

Many people find it helpful to update/check in on this forum - even if it's just for themselves, rather than asking for advice.