New user with 30K debt

Kigu

I will look into mooncup seriously though I still have worries. Not the dirtiness but the copeability (if you catch my drift) and the thrush angle. But worth a go. Thanks!

The painkillers are an addiction issue rather than a medical problem. I need to tackle this for two reasons.

The elec bills do tally. He is honest.

The gift idea is a good one - at least for some recipients. Unfortunately all my relatives are in good financial positions so they wouldn't be thinking 'oh dear' I say 'unfortunately', I mean, of course, fortunately!

Thanks once again - all grist to the mill. All good....

xela_17

Hi Kigu

You mention £20 a month on contents insurance. This seems high to me as our quote for home AND contents was £10 a month (egg). Do you have a lot of high value items? (sorry if too personal a question). Maybe would be worth a look round when your renewal time is due to see if you can find a better rate.

ashmit

Kigu wrote:

I will look into mooncup seriously though I still have worries. Not the dirtiness but the copeability (if you catch my drift) and the thrush angle. But worth a go. Thanks!

I have been using the mooncup (and the keeper before that) for about five years and have never had thrush. You just need to keep it clean and empty regularly The main problem people have is mental (how on earth can I get that there?!?!), but honestly, it's easy. And like tampons, if it's 'in' properly, you can't feel it! Feel free to PM me with specific questions you don't want to post in public!!

(Apols to any squeamish people reading this thread!!!!)

The painkillers are an addiction issue rather than a medical problem. I need to tackle this for two reasons.

I'm sorry... didn't mean to pry. If you want to delete that out of your post, I'll take this bit out too to protect your privacy.

The elec bills do tally. He is honest.

In which case, I think swapping suppliers would be a good idea if poss as that bill really does sound big!

The gift idea is a good one - at least for some recipients. Unfortunately all my relatives are in good financial positions so they wouldn't be thinking 'oh dear' I say 'unfortunately', I mean, of course, fortunately!

I take your point about being evens with the cheques back and forth... but if so, why do it??? My best friend and I spend £5 or less but get personal stuff that we really appreciated - she got me four little ducks that change colour in hot water for xmas

Is your xmas club just 'someone putting money in the safe for xmas' as happens in my office, or an actual offical scheme? Either way, even if you can't get out this year, don't get sucked into next year. If it's someone putting money in the safe, why not set up a regular savings account where you can't actually remove the money more than 1x year without loosing interest? You get even more money that way round.

Kigu

Thanks to xela.
We don't have a lot of high value items but we've found as renters that a lot of insurers are iffy with us. I think we're with Endsleigh. But it's worth a look around when renewal time comes around. I hadn't thought of that. Thanks so much!

ashmit

xela_17 wrote:

You mention £20 a month on contents insurance. This seems high to me as our quote for home AND contents was £10 a month (egg). Do you have a lot of high value items? (sorry if too personal a question). Maybe would be worth a look round when your renewal time is due to see if you can find a better rate.

Wow, I'm jealous! I pay egg £23/month. It varies on postcode and various other things. If you're in a supposedly high-risk area, you're pretty much stuck. And if Kigu is in a flat, as I am, there are only a few insurers that will offer buildings insurance.

Kigu

No you're not prying and, as I'm anonymous, I don't care who knows my problems! Thing about thrush is I tend to get it if I use tampons so would I if I used mooncup? We'll see. Sorry to the squeamish.

I don't think I can't get out landlord to switch suppliers as he has lots of properties, not just ours. I doubt he even knows our names - we don't have that much clout. But, next time I'm in the agency, I will ask - they can only say no.

The Xmas club is someone collecting it and putting it in a savings scheme and then we all get interest too.

As for presents I don't want to stop buying them but I will get them less, or buy on ebay. I will promise myself to cut back.

Once again thanks!

westernpromise

Unless I missed it, nobody has yet pointed one obvious thing to do, which is to look at the credit limits on each existing card and switch debt from the worst to the best interest rate.

I would bet dollars to the proverbial dog poo that the Principles / La Redoute rates are the worst of the lot. At least 25%, I shouldn't wonder. Is there any headroom within the Egg credit limit to switch some of the store card debt over to the Egg card?

If not, ring up Egg, tell them you want to transfer a balance, and ask if they can offer you a better credit limit / interest rate to enable you to do it. It costs nothing to ask.

When you manage to pay off a card, you should always phone up and say you want to cancel it. If they've got you on the phone and they are 60 seconds away from losing your business, suddenly all kinds of deals become possible.

This only works if you've got the balance down to zero. Don't bother bluffing them by kidding them you'll move your balance unless they improve the deal. They won't believe you. So, move it first. It's the only way to apply pressure.

If you get an offer like this, transfer a balance from a more expensive card. Once it has registered as gone from the expensive card, ring that card company up and tell them you moved the balance because they're too expensive. Then offer to move it back - if they improve their interest rate.

A poster called Rochdale_Guy did this last year to such good effect that he managed to get his interest rate down to about 5% without actually taking out any new cards. He just lured all the existing lenders into a Dutch auction. It does work.

Your overdraft rate is probably cheaper than your card rates, so on that basis, you should not prioritise paying it off. The rule is to pay off the worst first. That said, there may be reasons why you want to keep the overdraft, such as those you mention.

Kigu

Fantastic advice this! Thanks so much.

We are maxed up on our cards but it doesn't stop me - should I snowball - taking out a new 0% card for as long as poss and moving one debt onto that. Then cancelling that card and seeing what they offer, and so move my next debt onto that one and so on. That means I will only be a tart once and so not affect my credit rating, but get a better deal. May well be a way to go.

We do want to do the overdraft first although the rate will be the lowest as we do need leeway. Then onwards and upwards.

Thanks for this post. It has really helped me.

westernpromise

If your credit history is clean but a bit overstretched, then if you apply for a 0% deal, one of 4 things will happen. In descending order of usefulness to you, these are:-

1/ You get accepted for a 0% deal with a decent limit because debt notwithstanding you're a prompt payer. This is a good result.

2/ You get accepted for a 0% deal but with a feeble credit limit. If this happens, run the account carefully for 3 months then ask for a limit increase, i.e. while you've still time to transfer more debt at 0%. Most card lenders will not consider a credit limit review any sooner than that.

3/ You get rejected for a 0% deal and offered one at 6.6% (or whatever) instead. If the 'whatever' is less than the highest interest rate you're currently paying, this deal is still worth taking, and of course you switch expensive debt to it right away. You then go back to that expensive card operator and invite them to improve their terms, as that may persuade you to transfer a balance back...etc

4/ You get rejected altogether. If this happens, it rather suggests you've run out of road, so stop applying for credit cards and focus on clearing one of the existing ones. Then resume the Dutch auction.

Couple of extra points. Do you have any credit or store cards you no longer use? If so, cancel them ASAP. Lenders reportedly consider how much credit you have available to you when they score you. The limits on your cards are visible in credit checks. So if you have credit cards you don't use sitting around in a drawer gathering dust, the limits on those may be deducted from the limit offered to you by any potential 0% lender. So can them quickly.

Also, think laterally. Some banks - eg Smile, and now and then Lloyds TSB - do 0% overdrafts as an introductory deal to new customers. A 0% overdraft is actually better than a 0% credit card deal, because it has all the advantages of a card, but is not always disclosed to credit agencies by your overdraft supplier. So keep your eyes peeled and if one of those comes along, fill yer boots because it may also help you to obtain more 0% credit cards...

Phonix

We are maxed up on our cards but it doesn't stop me - should I snowball - taking out a new 0% card for as long as poss and moving one debt onto that. Then cancelling that card and seeing what they offer, and so move my next debt onto that one and so on. That means I will only be a tart once and so not affect my credit rating, but get a better deal. May well be a way to go

If you are succesful in your 0% credit card application but they give you a low credit limit, try sending them a copy of a high credit limit on another card and ask them if they'll match it.

I think you've already thought of this next bit but once you've transferred the balance across, check with your old credit card provider it they have any balance transfer deals on at the moment and if they do, shift any other credit card debts you have to that card so you don't pay too much interest whilst applying for more 0% cards.