Another newbie needing advice

jase252002_2

Hi all,

Firstly, can i just say that sharing problems seems to make people feel better, and that after reading a lot of other posts, i don't feel like the only person in the world having problems any more, so thank you so much.

Myself and my partner's current predicament isn't as bad as a lot of other people but any advice would be appreciated.

Having given my finances a overhaul, i am now attempting to help my partner with hers.

We have a bank account each and a joint account which we contribute to for mortgage/bill payments. At the moment these amount to £1100 per month. I've switched suppliers on all major bills to suit. I contribute £850, and my partner contributes £250

Our mortgage is currently at £105k, with 21 years left, on a fixed rate of 4.99% for the next 2 years with RBS. The house's valuation is £125k-£130k

After moving my debt around i now have a loan for £11,800, and no credit card debt. I have been with my bank for a long time and ahave a good relationship with them, have a overdraft facility of 3k (without charges) and am just about in the black every month. I currently have £400 a month for petrol/food etc.

My partner has a £4k loan with RBS, and 3 credit cards amounting to around £7.5k. One in particular is a virgin credit card at £5.4k at 18.2% APR. The minimum payment on this is around £120. She earns 1k a month

I have recently applied and got the Barclaycard platinum card to try and transfer the £5.4k virgin card onto, howver they have only given me a 2k limit.

I've considered enquiring about a loan with YBS over the length of the mortgage, or asking if there's anything that i can do with the mortgage to try and consolidate some of my partners debt, which will help us manage monthly payments better.

We have our first baby on the way, so with my partner going on matertinity in the near future, i would like to get things under control before the little one arrives.

I suppose i'm asking what's the best way to help manage my partner's debt? She has tried to move debt around on credit cards, but doesn't seem to get offered an adequate limit to tansfer the funds, and transferring a small amount means another credit card, which becomes harder to manage. Is it worth speaking with YBS to see what they can do for us? I know it's shunned up on, but is a secured loan a viable option?

Sorry for going on, any advice is appreciated

lisabell

Hi

Am not sure if i can help you much but will give you a bump up anyway so it gets back to the first page.
Ok firstly congratulations on the baby how exciting!!!
Now i know from my experience that consolidation loan isnt really the best option as its just getting more credit but mabe it is worth speaing to your bank to see if they can help at all.
How did you sort your debts out see if you can apply the same principal to your partners debts.
I do hope some one will be along shortly to help you
Good luck

RAS

Please do not consolidate your debts.

Firstly, 85% of people report that it does not work.

Secondly, go to the snowball on www.whatsthecost.com and see how much more interest you will have to pay off on a long term laon even at a lower APR.

Thirdly, at present if everything hit sht efan, you can pay a reduced amount on an unsecured debt. Try that on a secured loan and you may lose your home.

GeorgeUK

I would suggest posting up a statement of affairs (SOA) detailing the household income and expenditure. This will let us see what the debts are, the APR and any savings we can make elsewhere.

I should say also that it is not advised to take on someone elses debt. I don't know how long you have been together or anything about your relationship, but if there was a split - the debt would be yours. Some people may mention it later so thought i'd give you a heads up on why.

It is also not advised to consolidate debt in the same way you seem to have done with yours. I hope this was a fantastic APR for the loan that made you decide to take it. If you do this, you are moving the debt from one place to another and not effectively dealing with it. It may buy you a little time if you are struggling with minimum payments, but it will usually cost you alot more in interest and the actual amount you pay to the bank.

This should help you create a SOA http://www.makesenseofcards.com/soacalc.html

You can also check how much you may be saving using the snowball calculator by paying different cards off first.
http://www.whatsthecost.com/snowball.aspx

Nomad25

Just giving you a