Is debt consolidation a smart idea if moving abroad? Please help.
anonymous62786
Posts: 3 Newbie
in Loans
Hi everyone!
I just made this account in order to ask this, I hope this is the right place and sorry if there's an answer elsewhere in the forum, I couldn't find anything with the same situation. Please do bear with me, as this might get a little long... The debt I have is actually due to my parents. They're really bad with money management, and have put me in a lot of difficult situations, two of which I will expand on. Forgive me for not being specific with the items.
1. This item is under my parents' name and is used exclusively by them. The loan, however, is down on my name. The total loan amount, with credit included, was ~£20,000. My monthly payments are £350. They said they would help me pay back the loan, but haven't. I have about £12,000 to go until I pay it off.
2. This item's loan amount was £3000, and I am paying £200 monthly. I have £2000 to go until it's paid off. Again they promised to transfer the money monthly to my account, which has not happened at all.
So each month I'm paying £550. Rest assured that I'm now immune to any requests to use my credit!
The problem is, I want to move abroad within a year. I've given it a lot of thought, and it's the right choice for many personal and health reasons. The salary there is a lot lower than in the UK, but this is offset by the much lower cost of living (plus I'm actually very good with cutting costs and living frugally and without luxuries) The problem is the debt I'd still have here. I would still be paying it off, but the exchange rate would not make it possible for me to live, as £550 would take up too much of my salary.
Enter debt consolidation. I'm very weary of taking out loans (I can't even look at credit card ads
) and I know in the end I'll be paying more, but a lower monthly cost would be a lot more feasible for me to pay from abroad. It would also be more feasible for my parents, who will remain in the UK for longer, and I'd feel a lot more comfortable asking them to contribute if it's a lower amount.
So that's the gist of it. Basically, would debt consolidation be a good idea in this situation? I'm open to any suggestions you might be willing to share, as I fully admit I'm not very knowledgeable on this topic.
I just made this account in order to ask this, I hope this is the right place and sorry if there's an answer elsewhere in the forum, I couldn't find anything with the same situation. Please do bear with me, as this might get a little long... The debt I have is actually due to my parents. They're really bad with money management, and have put me in a lot of difficult situations, two of which I will expand on. Forgive me for not being specific with the items.
1. This item is under my parents' name and is used exclusively by them. The loan, however, is down on my name. The total loan amount, with credit included, was ~£20,000. My monthly payments are £350. They said they would help me pay back the loan, but haven't. I have about £12,000 to go until I pay it off.
2. This item's loan amount was £3000, and I am paying £200 monthly. I have £2000 to go until it's paid off. Again they promised to transfer the money monthly to my account, which has not happened at all.
So each month I'm paying £550. Rest assured that I'm now immune to any requests to use my credit!
The problem is, I want to move abroad within a year. I've given it a lot of thought, and it's the right choice for many personal and health reasons. The salary there is a lot lower than in the UK, but this is offset by the much lower cost of living (plus I'm actually very good with cutting costs and living frugally and without luxuries) The problem is the debt I'd still have here. I would still be paying it off, but the exchange rate would not make it possible for me to live, as £550 would take up too much of my salary.
Enter debt consolidation. I'm very weary of taking out loans (I can't even look at credit card ads
) and I know in the end I'll be paying more, but a lower monthly cost would be a lot more feasible for me to pay from abroad. It would also be more feasible for my parents, who will remain in the UK for longer, and I'd feel a lot more comfortable asking them to contribute if it's a lower amount.So that's the gist of it. Basically, would debt consolidation be a good idea in this situation? I'm open to any suggestions you might be willing to share, as I fully admit I'm not very knowledgeable on this topic.
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Comments
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To get an informed answer, you'll need to tell us terms, rates, income, and at least an idea of your credit history.
If you're weary of taking loans, then you won't want another loan. But if you're simply wary, then you need to make the right decision after reviewing your options.0 -
As English is my second language, do forgive me if I misunderstood anything.
I don't have the paperwork to hand, but my loans' rates are fixed. My income is £24,000 and I've never missed a payment. However, my credit score is poor as my parents show up in the financial associates, and so does their history.
As for debt consolidation options, I'm looking at Sainsbuy's. I'd borrow £15,000 with a 2.4%APR, with monthly rpayments of £276 over 5 years. This is if I get accepted, which I know isn't certain. But I'm just considering what options I have and trying to plan ahead. Thank you for replying.0 -
You're not going to get much additional credit to consolidate based on your income.
Your only chance may be to get a money transfer card and hope you can shift a small amount of debt, this will jump to a higher rate once the promo is finished, so it will need to be paid off before then, as you won't be get another from overseas.
We don't use credit scores in the UK, so ignore that. What do your three credit files show?
Why are your parents listed as financial associates? What is linking you?0 -
It was very kind of you to help your parents out in this way but why did they need this help? What prevented then from taking out these loans themselves?
I am wondering what this 20K item was that you bought for them. If it is 'under their name' is it something like a car?.
You say that your parents have promised to help you with the repayments but consistently fail to do so. Why? What excuse is given?
You could try to repossess the items from your parents. Just take them away and refuse to return them until your parents provide the financial assistance promised.
As for consolidation, it would appear you currently owe about £15K over 2 loans. You don't state the interest rates and terms on these loans but with that amount owing already I think you may have some difficulty in getting a new loan at a lower APR or at all. I can almost guarantee that a Sanisburys loan at 2.9% is not going to happen. Don't even consider taking out a secured consolidation loan.0 -
@zx81 I'll do some research on that, thank you for the suggestion. Are credit files the same as credit reports? I'm not sure what you mean, sorry. The reports I've ran (experian, equifax, etc) just showed me my score.
I believe the reason they're listed is that we have very similar names and share an address. One of my siblings shows there too, all because of the similar name. I've written to the company to hopefully get this corrected, as nothing links us financially.
@Ben8282 Their credit history means they would get refused. Like I said, they're very bad with money and I often only find out about their debts once it's too late. I also couldn't take any of the items away, we live together and that would lead to a very unpleasant situation. I've tried to help them manage their finances multiple times but it's all in vain. At this point I've given up on helping other than paying off these two loans as I'm the one liable for them. I'm not aware of the interest rates and terms, as they took care of it and the paperwork I have simply states the amounts of the loan and credit amount and repayments. (Item 1's loan amount is ~£13 000 and the credit is ~£7000, for a duration of 59 months.)
I realise I'm not giving all the needed information, but I honestly don't have access to it/know what it is. I was very naive and just wanted to help them. However, my question has been answered, debt consoliation doesn't seem like a good (or likely) choice, so I will continue looking at my options and will get some more advice. Thank you both for replying.0 -
@zx81 I'll do some research on that, thank you for the suggestion. Are credit files the same as credit reports? I'm not sure what you mean, sorry. The reports I've ran (experian, equifax, etc) just showed me my score.
The credit files/reports show you your credit history- accounts, payments, defaults, CCJs etc.
The score is just a gimmick they use to keep you interested. It has no accuracy and is not used by anyone. Ignore it.0 -
You do realise the place you get the loan from will be assessing you on affordability of the loan plus your current debts.
So they will asses you on 30k. On an income of 25 it!!!8217;s very very very unlikely you will get itMortgage free wannabe
Actual mortgage stating amount £75,150
Overpayment start date 1/3/23.
Starting balance £66,565.45
Current balance £63,787.160
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