In debt too young

jay_woodfield34

I'm 21 years old and currently in approximately £8000 of debt. I'm in desperate need of help and hope i've turned to the right place.

I have a loan with HSBC with £5887 left to pay. I pay a fixed rate of about £140 per month on this. I also have a credit card that has about £3000 on it. I seducted last year by the "no interest on payments" title and haven't been able to pay anything off. Now the interest has started and i'm scared i'll fall into a neverending circle. Ontop of these two, I am £450 into my overdraft.

I earn approx £320 per week (outgoings = £160 per week) but no longer have the time to pace payments out. The credit card bill is rising due to interest and there doesn't seem to be a light at the end of the tunnel for a long time. All i want to do is get out of this stupid mistake i've gotten myself into now that I have learnt a very harsh lesson. I have thought about getting a larger loan to consolidate existing debts, but that would leave me £270 per month out of pocket.

Can anyone please advise me on the best steps to take? I would be extremely grateful

smashedbooboo

Hi babes, welcome to the forums. Yes you are in the right place. Can you post up a SOA. Statement of affairs. That means listing all your outgoings. Anything you pay out. Right down to what you pay for fares and lunches and haircuts and bags of crisps etc. And what you have coming in each month or week depending on how you get paid. There will be someone along either tonight or in the morning to help you. All i will say is honey, it is now the early hours of the morning and now that you have taken the first step in sorting this out, go to bed now and dont fret anymore. The folk on here are amazing. And as long as you follow some the advice given this can be sorted. When you do your SOA can you put down whp you money too. The monthly payments to each creditor. Southern Scouser has a sticky at the top of the forum on exactly how to go about this. Trust me. You are in good hands here babe. Now try an get some sleep. You are not alone now in this.

smashedbooboo

Sorry tired and comp keys not working to well. So hope you can understand the above x

smashedbooboo

One thing i will say is cut your card up or hide it or give it to someone you can trust.

little_miss_troubled

Hiya jay, welcome . Keep with this site it will defo help you. My sitauation is very similar ie. amount of debt. Your credit card of £3000 - what int rate u on? get it on a low int rate. - Think about rate of int- check out the snowball calculator - howver i think u best clearing ur c/c as they usually the highest

jay_woodfield34

thank you both for the quick replies, it feels like a weights been lifted now that I am starting to sort this all out. I am unsure of my credit card interest at this time, but will check in the morning. I have always been slightly confused with how i would go about changing credit card companies what are the ones to look out for? I am going to get some sleep now but i will make a list of all outgoings and be back again tomorrow. Thank you again for your replies, they have already helped

little_miss_troubled

Definetly check out your credit card rate's -u can save loas on interest if u move - I bet ur minimum pymnt aroun £75- switch ur balance however check ur rates first u dont wnaan be paying transfers fee's. Look up the snowball calcualtor x

smashedbooboo

When you do your list make sure it includes everything you spend your money on. And i mean everything. A night out, a burger, cat or dog food, papers, anything. That way you will get some really good advice on how you may be able to cut back on things you maybe dont need. Does not matter how obscure it is. Put it down. Everything. Think i have made my point. So get some sleep hun. This is the first day of becoming debt free. Note to myself. Must practice what i preach. Will check in tomorrow to see how you are.

ellerose

Morning and welcome. I am 23 and have a lot of debt too. Well done for starting to sort it out. I'm only new myself but once you post up a SOA I'm sure loads of tips will flood in for cutting back - they did for me.

jay_woodfield34

okay heres my monthly outgoings and income details. please be blunt

Income (after tax)
£140 private work
£1280 5-day full time job

Outgoings
£35 gym membership (which I use daily)
£40 mobile phone
£70 car insurance
£250 petrol
£160 food
£350 social
£40 football subs
£200 rent
£140 paying off existing HSBC loan wih £5,887 left to pay

I cannot think of anything else at the moment but i'm sure there are odds and sods i have not accounted for, but these are the main outgoings. As stated before, I also have a credit card debt of approx £3,000 on it. I believe the interest is around 15% on this and I have taken a head-in-sand attitude to this. As stupid as that sounds, I now realise I have to do something about it and fast.

I want to help myself out of this situation but do not know where to start. I struggle to get out of the £450 overdraft I constantly find myself deep into. I think taking out a large loan to consolidate all debts into one payment is probably a bad idea, plus the fact that I am likely to be rejected. Usually I would turn to my mum, but she has too many things to worry about recently. I do not wish to add to her troubles, plus I want to prove to myself that as I got myself into this, I can get myself out. I just need pointing in the right direction. In my present state of worry, I am prepared to sacrifice anything to get out of this hole i've dug.

Any tips on saving money in any way will be greatly appreciated too

little_miss_troubled

I have only recently paid off my overdraft (was £300). I have always been overdrawn. When I got paid it cleared my overdraft but once I paid my bills , I was right into it again and the day before I got paid I always took out the last tenner as I classed it as my money.

Try and clear your overdraft then cancel it - if its still there you will be tempted to dip into it. Once you have a credit balance, you will find it easier to work with, you will start seeing' ur money' and you wioll find yourself aiming to save up your money