Am i doing the right thing?

girlypink

Hello, i am 24 years old with a permanent full time job and earn just under £13000 a year, the trouble is i am over £21000 in debt. its all my own fault etc etc but i am confused. i was going to take a second loan over 3 years to clear the remainder of my credit cards (£2500) and then get rid of all but one for emergencies which i would put to paying the full balance monthly (please dont tell me im silly i have a car which could go wrong etc so this would be a just in emergency card). After speaking to my boyfriend he said i should speak to a debt management person or something cos i wasn't getting myself out of the situation but im not sure they could really help me. if i paid my credit cards plus catalogue bill with a loan this would leave me with no other major spends except for example my mobile (£50 max a month) and my internet (£25 a month) and my gym (£43 a month) all of which i cannot cancel until they expire in 1 year or so. this would in theory leave me £200 a month. it never ends up that way though. i am confused and with xmas coming up i am stuck as i am always £100-200 over my monthly wage. do i just take the loan or annoy these debt people ( i was thinking of cccs). i live at home and am lucky in which i dont pay board or anything. so i should in theory be well off!

???

robnye

perhaps you could list your monthly costs and debts + %

there are plenty on here who can/will give advice.

loan - how much & who wiht & %
credit cards how much, who with and %
catalogue - how much

deemy2004

As the previous poster

List your debts with %'s

After that you target the highest rate debts first and try to keep the others happy with minimum payments.

On the other hand you really need to get to grips with your spending ! as your STILL spending beyond your means !

robnye

another suggestion ... this is a blo@dy good one

do a spending diary.... list everything you spend your money on over a 4 week/month period.

at the end add it up and you will be amazed at what you done with it.

Do you buy lunch or take packed lunch?

System

Nearly 24, not living at home, own a car. So I have food, rent, utilities and fuel for the car to pay for. Additionally, I earn nearly the same as you.

Around £6,000 in debt. Two loans, one of which was for the car.

Your post in itself demonstrates what you need to do. Mobile bill, catalogue, even internet can all be cut. High speed broadband is available for less than £25.

If you can, at least try and get some of your card debt on 0% cards. Your situation may make it difficult to be accepted, so if you are declined once don't keep trying as all that will do is harm your credit file.

If you've already tried this avenue, then seeking help IMHO is the best thing - just don't go to one of those companies that advertise on the TV (you know, the ones that have tacky people who they've paid to say something good).

My maximum debt was once £11,000 and I was worried. Whatever you do, cut back the things you can live without as soon as you can. You'll be amazed at where your money goes when you look at it in detail.

Whatever others say, every single one of us wastes money on things we can live without.

girlypink

Thanks for the response, in answer to your questions

robnye : i take my lunch to work with me and on days i cant i buy my sandwiches from boots so i can use my advantage card points. The spending diary sounds cool though.

daveboy : i cant cancel any of those payments for broadband (started in July) Mobile contract (renewed in April) Gym (started in january)

As for the debts :

Loan with egg @ 7.9% of £14615.00 over 84 months @£292.71 a month total payment : £18982.69
Barclaycard @ 11.9% total 107.77 paying £5 a month
Morgan Stanley @ 11% ish total £321.49 paying £65 a month
MSDW @ 14% ish total £1272.41 paying £30 a month
Catalogue @ 0% £127.99 paying £16 a month
Mobile phone £50 a month approx (tied)
Internet £24.99 a month (tied)
Petrol £40 a month
Gym £43 a month (tied)
Bank Fee £9.50 a month (for having my account!)
Smoking (i need it!) £72 a month
DVD rental club £9.99 (i dont go out!)
Car Tax £5 a month ish (stamps)
Savings (isa) £50 a month
Total : 713.19 and thats before things like car insurance which i was paying yearly cos id wack it on my credit card, Mot and any work to be done on my car, plus i have subscriptions to 4 magazines which i cant cancel and they are £28.25 a month, im sure ive forgotten stuff and heaven forbid birthdays or xmas!!! i only take home £800 ish a month and overtime is paid only in lieu time!!!! i dont need days off!!! I have an appointment with cccs in november though over the phone so they might help me. :-[

robnye

a couple of things stand out.

cancel your dvd club, there are several 2 week trials for free going.

could you stop the isa savings payments for a couple of months, so that you clear barclaycard

is the catalogue really 0% or where the prices higher...

what is the bank fee for... personal manager etc... cancel. it, should be able just by putting request in writing

the payment protection on the loan, check your t&C's, abut again shouldnt have a problem cancelling it.

zcaprd7

I know this isn't helpful but..

Gym £43 a month (tied)

Smoking (i need it!) £72 a month


Stop both and you'd be healthier and £115 better off...

deemy2004

Some items clearly stand out –
1. Instead of saving £50 in the ISA – PAY OFF YOUR Credit card debits ! THEN start saving
2. Get a 0% credit card 9 months to 1 year and you should be able to shuffle a lot of the debt off, making it easier to pay off.
3. As for SMOKING ! £72 !
4. Also if your egg loan will allow overpayment, look at using bal trans on a 0% card to reduce the payments

jat100

As a smoker, I know how difficult it is to give up - especially when you're worrying about something.  If you do not yet feel ready or able to give up, another solution is to smoke rollups.  If someone had told me a year ago that I would be smoking rollups, I would have laughed.  But, it saves me a fortune because it's so much cheaper (less than half of what I used to spend) and I've found that I smoke less now anyway.  I do feel embarrassed sometimes when in public, so if this is the same for you - smoke the rollups at home or when with friends and it will still save you money which you can put towards paying off your credit card.

poppy_f1

thanks for coming back with a update, all too often people disappear and its never known whats happened to them