asked a thousand times I am sure - I am a newbie and in the ***t

Seaxwyn

depressed_of_lincolnshire wrote: »

To become a CC Tart surely they are not going to let you take a new card out if they know you are already in debt? Do you bend the truth on application?

Hi depressed, you might be surprised on this score. For example despite my impressive debts (see my signature) I applied and was accepted for a Virgin CC yesterday - they gave me £8,500 credit limit and it's 0% for 15 months on balance transfers. Woo hoo! This is my 6th credit card and I told no lies on the application.

If you live in an OK postcode area, have had the same bank account for a substantial length of time, and no major defaults, you may have a surprisingly good credit rating. It is certainly worth trying.

Robflh

Hi Seaxwyn

Why you would call your debt impressive I do not know. I for one would not try to impress anyone with the amount of debt I have.

Anyhow, loans are fixed payment debts and credit cards are revolving debts. Until recently there was very little difference between them but now they are treated differently.

As I understand it, that is why credit card companies are trying to get people to take out a loan and use it to pay off their credit cards.

As your credit card debt is on the small side, you may well be able to get another credit card. If I were that lucky, I would transfer all my other credit card debt to the Virgin card.

If I thought I could get a new 0% offer in fifteen months time, I would only pay the minimum each month and put as much as I can into a high interest account. As soon as I had saved up 80% of the outstanding debt on the loan, I would contact the company and ask them how much I would need to pay in one go to clear that debt. It will be less then what is outstanding. As soon as I had enough I would kill the loan.

Bismarck

So Robflh, you'll be saying next that Seaxwyn has a stack of badges and T-shirts proclaiming her debt that she wears when she nips into M&S to add to her debt mountain.

She, like many of us is trying to be helpful and supportive for the original poster and is hardly going to celebrate her issue with outstanding money.

depressed_of_lincolnshire

Robflh wrote: »

Hi depressed of lincolnshire

A second endowment to cover the short fall of the first endowment will, most provably, still leave you with a short fall.

A better option may have been to surrender/sell the original endowment and use that money to pay a lump sum off the mortgage. The reaming amount would then be taken care of with a normal repayment mortgage over the remaining number of years that the original mortgage was for.

Example: A £54,000 endowment mortgage. The surrender value for the endowment is £14,000 and the 25-year mortgage has been running for 10 years. 54K minus 12K leaves 42K therefore the new repayment mortgage will be for 42K over 15 years.

There is an alternative to this. A new 25-year repayment mortgage for 54K will leave 12K that can be used to pay off the debts. This can be varied, 5k for debts and 7k off the mortgage. You could even end up paying less then you are now.

NOTE: this will cost you a lot because of all the extra interest you will be paying.

However, even now with only four years left on the mortgage, this or a variation of it maybe all you need to do. Once the business takes off, money will not be the problem it is at the moment.

You need to see a financial advisor for this and you can do that through your nearest CAB. They would need to know what the surrender value would be for both of the endowments (the value of them can be included in your assets) and a current forecast for how much they will be worth when they mature.

Talk to a few companies and find out how much you would get for the endowments if you sold them. Most of them have an online form that you can fill out and they will then get back to you. That normally appends within a couple of weeks but do not wait that long to see a financial advisor.

In the mean time, can you expand the loans and credit cards?

For loans, how much was the original debt, what are the payments, how many more payments and what is the APR.

For credit cards, what is the credit limit, monthly payment, and the APR.

On your SOA you have internet services, Sat/Cable and landline. To get the best price, all of these should be with one provider. That may also include the mobile phone/s.

Gas and Electric should also be with one provider and check to make sure the one you have is the cheapest.

Ok, and I stand to be shot down, but surely the reason I can sell my endowment is beacuse someone wants the value of it? I always understood that the valkue isnt really until the end. With fours years to go and a cost of about £2.5k in payments it would be crazy to jump now (Tin hat on)


The internet side and phone ect is all going through Sky - in the process of doing that so that will be covered for. the utilities I am on the case with but very confusing.

The reason for two endowmnets was the original with the house and then we had an extension when kids came along and again were advised an endowment. For some strange reason that one is performing ok.

Oh and the guys bickering, stop it, the negative vibes are wilting my new empowerment as "Saverman"


Nurse, can i have a red tablet today.........

TangledMemories_2

depressed_of_lincolnshire wrote: »

I havent done SOA yet, Bank of Scotland who I owe 8k credit card, and paying silly monthly for - I phoned them to see if they would loan me the amount to stop the interest. No was the answer but they offered me more credit. That should be illegal.

just thought I would mention it.

I think it's now known as "enticing debt" which is illegal according to my solicitor who is currently "dealing" with RBS on my behalf.
Believe me, I helped my mum out because she ended up owing them £400 and because she couldnt pay it all off straightaway, they rang her up offering her a loan to cover it...and the monthly repayments were less than what she was offering to pay them monthly but over a longer term.:T

Many people on here will tell you that I despise RBS with a passion.:mad:

Keep holding on hun...we'll all try and help u in whatever way we can.

misspoppy

Hi
I hope you don't mind but surely if your wife took a full time job most of your financial pressures would be reduced? It doesn't seem unreasonable now your children are teenagers.

depressed_of_lincolnshire

Tried that. We are quite rural. By the time we deducted costs to and from. Parking. It wasnt achieving much. The new business is more her than me. If it goes well problem solved.

I am trying to stop any further slip.


Of course in six months time if the business is not performing. That is the other option.

arthur_dent_2

Just had a look at your SOA and aside from house/contents insurance you don't seem to be spending over the odds on anything. I am also a lincolnshire poster and therefore I know that your petrol bill will be horendous because chances are the nearest supermerket is at least 10 miles away and that your council tax will be unbelievably high for nothing at all. I can only suggest that you do not make any financial decision without consulting this site first. Ask yourself if you really need something and if you do shop around. Spend as much time in your caravan as you can to make it worth the money and if you can bear to then rent it out the rest of the time. Ebay everything and car boot what you cant Ebay. Oh and you say teenagers, therefore that means expense. Try and teach them money saving and thifty ways before they get a taste for what they cannot afford.

barshamhillbilly

ANY_CHANCE wrote: »

I wont lie times have been hard but we are attempting to make things better which includes:-

not borrowing any more money
reducing spending
increase income
reclaiming any charges or mis-selling

We have 3 children and at times i feel they may miss out but they are loved.

I concentrate on the positives in life
family
friends
the contibutions i make towards action now to reducing debt - feeling of self worth
I appreciate the more simple things in life and have re thought my priorities

Nicely put AC :T

BHB

Starlett

arthur_dent wrote: »

Just had a look at your SOA and aside from house/contents insurance you don't seem to be spending over the odds on anything. I am also a lincolnshire poster and therefore I know that your petrol bill will be horendous because chances are the nearest supermerket is at least 10 miles away and that your council tax will be unbelievably high for nothing at all. I can only suggest that you do not make any financial decision without consulting this site first. Ask yourself if you really need something and if you do shop around. Spend as much time in your caravan as you can to make it worth the money and if you can bear to then rent it out the rest of the time. Ebay everything and car boot what you cant Ebay. Oh and you say teenagers, therefore that means expense. Try and teach them money saving and thifty ways before they get a taste for what they cannot afford.

Just to add to that... when I was living at home my parents tried to teach me the value of money - I had a Saturday job and my parents asked me to transfer a % of the money (1/3) into one account, 1/3 into another account and the third third was for me to spend.
The first account was a savings account for me, with which I bought my first car, the second account was a savings account for the house - they didn't use it on bills, they allowed me to choose something for the house that we could use/share as a family... I bought a dishwasher and we went one one family holiday with my Paper round and then Saturday job cash through the end of school and through college...

It might not work for everyone, but I remember how I GAVE to my family as a kid and it makes me proud (if only I'd kept it up eh!?) But, if you cut back on treats and things, this might be a way to make sure that your kids don't ever miss out - they'll probably feel really good about it too!!

Good luck too...

Starlett x