New Year, New Pev84....I hope!

pev84

Hi All,

Been a follower of MSE for a while, and always thought I was in control when it came to my finances (bit of head in sand I reckon!)

Anyway - lets cut to the chase!

Here is how it breaks down, can anyone recommended a plan of action for me?

Monthly net income - £1313 (after £50 in a sharesave scheme and £59ish Student loan payment)

Debt as it stands at 3:12pm today!

Barclaycard Credit Card (27.9% APR) - £828.55
Co-Op (Overdraft) (0% APR) - £499.94
Vanquis Credit Card (34% APR) - £285.68
Virgin Credit CArd (34.9% APR) - £4074.56

Total: £5,688.73 (yikes!)

Minimum payment on the Virgin card is around £115 a month

Vanquis card I will pay off and cut up on the 27th Feb (and close the account!)

Which should I concentrate on next? The Virgin Card or the Barclaycard? My total outgoings other than debt is about £400pcm

I would like to see in Microsoft Money all of the accounts going to zero overnight - if only!

When my credit rating is better I would hope to move some of them to either a 0% card or a lower interest loan - how many months of solid regular payments would I need before I should start thinking about applying again?

Phew.

I feel better already!

Thanks for listening and I hope I can help others in the future!

TTFN

Paul

Gemmzie

How high is your overdraft limit? Would it still be at 0% if you upped it?

Definitely Virgin next - it's a higher APR than Barclaycard. Well done on nearly getting rid of Vanquis

Sassamac

Barclaycard are quite free and easy with their 6.9% LOB deal I think so its worth calling them up and asking, or keep an eye out and they might send the deal in the post (thats what I got). If you get that then obviopusly transfer up to the limit and concentrate on paying off the Virgin card.
Youre actually in a very good position in that you have a high proportion of disposable income as your living expenses are low, so you have about £900 per month to throw at debts. try punching it all into the snowball calculator (www.whatsthecost.com I think) and see how long it will take you.

pev84

Luckily i'm back home with my parents now (after becoming single recently!) so that will help me get clear before I move back out again, so all i really have to worry about is £45 phone bill, £150 for car insurance/tax/mot/petrol and the rest to parents for feeding me and keeping a roof over my head!)

Vanquis card was taken out for work expenses, and I pay that off monthly.

Overfdraft is at its limit (I took it out while at uni and pay it off and always end up spending again - but not anymore - i've cut all the cards up!)

If I paid off £500 a month all of them for 12 months I could be debt free in a year (I've not really looked at it like that before!) and still have enough money to enjoy myself.

I'm feeling much better already