In a lot of debt

northbridge

(Scotland)

I have found myself in a bit of debt - quite a lot actually.

£39,000. Made up from various credit cards and couple of loans.

This month is the first for missed payments. I am trying to build an emergency fund whilst I wait on default letters.

However, I have a small issue. I am still relying on credit cards for my food shop-/petrol until the end of the month. I’ll miss my first payment to the credit card at beginning of March - is the fact I’m still using it an issue? What will happen to me?

How does the whole debt/defualt/repayment/write off/ statute barring work?

I’m obviously keen to avoid a CCJ. I’ve got an SOA which leaves me around £20 per month (this is slightly fabricated for lenders)

I’ve worked out my actual budget though this will definitely change in April when all the bills increase so will need to do another one then.

I’m ashamed that I allowed myself to get into this position. Most of the credit card debt comes from shifting 0% offers from card to card. My loans were consolidation loans however they’ve just added £10K + interest to my overall debt!

I may look at affordability complaints later down the line. But for now I’m just accepting that this is where I am in my financial life and I’m ready to tackle it the hard way.

I’ve looked at step change but think I want to manage my debts on my own for now.

Is there anything letter wise I need to look out for? How long until a debt is defaulted? Is this by letter or can is this something they email to you?

fatbelly

Let's pick off a few points

There's nothing to be ashamed about

Ccj's are incredibly rare for credit card debt

Why should there be a problem spending on a credit card that you are still in the terms and conditions for?

Finding the best strategy for you might be tricky and you could benefit from discussing your situation with someone who is familiar with Scottish solutions.

Are you saying that you only have £20 per month to service 39k of debt?

Grumpy_chap

I’ve got an SOA which leaves me around £20 per month (this is slightly fabricated for lenders)

You need an actual SoA, not a fabricated one.

Try using one of the templates such as lemonfool and then share in this forum and people will help to find areas for efficiency.

northbridge

https://forums.moneysavingexpert.com/discussion/comment/81882110#Comment_81882110

Well it’s more than this (£200) but I need to build up an emergency fund - I have no savings at all either.

In my budget I have accounted for things I would probably have just fired on a credit card like car maintenance, house repairs, gifts. I’ve never though about having to save for these kind of things before.

My food budget I was massively underestimating each month because I subsidising this with a credit card. My original budget was £500 a month but it’s easily £650-£750 a month. That’s cooking from scratch as much as possible and swapping brands for supermarket own.

SpireCaptain

Welcome to the forum, you're in the right place. As previously said a SOA in the MSE format will be really helpful for further personalised advice.

How many are in your household?

Are you a homeowners or renting in the private/social sector?

Wishing you all the best to sort this out.

itsthelittlethings

https://forums.moneysavingexpert.com/discussion/comment/81882248#Comment_81882248

It’s not fabricated to put things on an SOA you’d previously have put in a credit card. That’s literally the point of an SOA!

middlewife

Hi Northbridge, your food spend seems quite high, how many people are you trying to feed? Might be worth looking at the Old Style section further down the forum listings, lots of help on there for money saving ideas, good luck!

foxgloves

That's a very big monthly food shop. How many people is it feeding?