Mumsnet Talk

Oooh sorry everyone I had assumed there were no more posts on this thread!

I've decided to quit work in April and go back to Australia then, and in the meantime start an Australian-based business. The setup costs, although small, won't help me get rid of the CC debt but in the long run it may not be such a problem.

There are some brilliant ideas here.

1. A governess job would be PERFECT (from term 2 now obviously). Accommodation and a space to work on developing my business until it pays itself <fingers crossed>

2. I didn't know you could ring a bank and ask them to work with you to reduce the debt!

3. The 0% balance CC worries me - I've applied for one before and was told I didn't have enough credit history to get one?! So am a little nervous about leaving a footprint although there's probably nothing to worry about if I'm leaving anyway.

It's so heartening to read that this does not have to control my life as lots of you have done this!

OP, definitely do what will make you happy!

I moved to China with a variety of debts (card, overdraft, mortgage) in the UK, that I'm currently paying off at a cracking rate, and way faster than I could be if I'd stayed in the UK. Money goes a lot further here, so I have more left over to throw at my debt.

I agree with the sensible poster (sorry I forgot the name) who pointed out that before you quit your UK job you should apply for another card with a 0% balance transfer offer and take advantage of that. I have 2 UK cards and I swap my remaining debt back and forth according to their deals.

It wouldn't stop me but I would call up the bank and see if they can work with you to reduce the balance. This will help you pay it off faster. If they know you are moving to a country outside of the EU I would thnk they would be more open to writing off some of the interest or offering you a lower interest rate to help you repay the balance faster.

Aroomofherown I know that their are quite a few governess jobs going for the beginning of Term One, plus meals and accomidation are taken care of and some give you a fuel allowence. You can get between $500-900 a week governessing, some of them you have to be self employed but not all of them.

If you do leave your job at Christmas, would you be able to claim a refund of tax you've paid come next April? I did this the year I left my job in the UK to go travelling, and also got a similar refund when I left my job in Oz. As far as I know, tax is calculated assuming you are working for the full financial year, so if you only work for part of it, you may be entitled to a refund. Might be worth looking into as you may get a couple of hundred quid at least to help pay off the debt.
Good luck with the move!

You'd be moving back home and the debt is "only" 5k? Go for it! If it'd make you happier. We moved to Canada while we were still paying for the bloody double glazing on the house we'd lived in previously, and with a similar amount on our credit cards in the Uk. We kept our uk hsbc current account active (completely open about the rather drastic change of address!) and had to transfer funds from Canada to the UK regularly (we use XE Trade) but neither of our credit cards in the UK (Barclaycard Platinum & HSBC Mastercard) had any problem with us converting to a Canadian billing address. The loan we had for the windows was through Nationwide and they didn't care where we were located as long as their monthly direct debit payment was honoured.

Make sure your credit card in the uk is a good one before you leave your job, transfer it all to a 0% interest one - that way when you send money back to pay it off the debt is not getting any bigger! We're in oz and have a uk cc and just send back money as and when we can - into the uk bank account and a direct debit oays the cc minimum, we are aiming to save up a lump sum and then pay it off. it all seems easy, we use a bank transfer thingy where you build up points and get extra if you recommend someone else tp use it etc. shop around, ask around etc and find a good transfer rate etc.

Thanks everyone. kakapo I understand exactly what you mean about the damage to your mental health - I'm not far off.

I have applied for two jobs abroad in exciting new places which are closer to home and I am feeling a lot better. Whilst I really do love my job it's the only thing keeping me going here, and I already feel like I've lost a year or two in this situation. So as soon as I land another good job, I'm off!

There is no way I'd stay somewhere I was unhappy for an extra 6 months aroomofherown, if there was a way around it (and there is). Speaking from experience, those final months can do a lot of damage to your mental health. And it's a lot of time to effectively 'lose' from your life. I say resign and organise repayments from Aus, go for it!

I transfer money back and forth from and to Australia all the time. It really is very straight forward and given the price of everything here I buy very little so we are saving a fortune.

I use Xoom.com to transfer money back from the US to pay my UK credit card. Currencyonline is good too but they don't do transfers from the US any more so I had to stop using them. It's easy to transfer funds internationally, don't let it stop you going.

Go home-then you can enjoy the summer with your family and friends! Hanging around for another six months just to pay off a debt is madness. Do it from back in oz

Where are your family living? You should apply to teach in that state as soon as you possibly can. It took me a very long time to pull together everything I needed to teach in Victoria so if you can start now on the paperwork you should.

Yes I'd need to resign in the next two weeks. I'm going to contact some recruitment agencies today if possible and just feel out the market.

I didn't realise how easy this would be!

We live abroad and use our UK /Canadian credit cards to pay for things like flights and hotels. Then we transfer the money back to cover it ( I know we are paying more in exchange rates, but we can't get a cc here).
It is super easy, never had any problems. Just keep your UK bank account and transfer the money when you have it.

I'd do it and we have done it.
We owe Lloyds about 2k, I just transfer it from Malaysia using the magic power of embanking.
Don't just go (although I know you aren't planning to). Banks have long memories.
Good luck with whatever you decide. Presumably if you handed your notice in soon, you'd leave at Christmas?
I think the new school year starts then in Aus so you'd be ideally placed.

Really crabb? That makes it pretty easy.

So do I resign in the next fortnight, which is the deadline for leaving at Christmas? (Don't worry, I know no-one can really answer that question for me, I'm just musing out loud )

You can do international bank transfers via National Australia Bank online banking now, it's one of the normal transfer options. Don't know if all banks offer it, and it costs $20 per transfer at the Australian end.

But then - would you wait for another 6 months (really not an easy 6 months, I'm finding it really tough), save really hard and go back with some money?

Yes I personally hate having debts too. It makes me feel so unworthy and disempowered and tied down - probably why I'm in such a quandary about this.

But it seems like that is not going to be what holds me back then.

We emigrated to Australia over a year ago & are paying off our UK credit card from here, although our circumstances are slightly different, ie we may return to UK so have kept house & bank account etc.

However, if we return to the UK next year then we will be paying off an Australian credit card from there!!

But I do agree with throwing all your money at it now to get it paid off if you can, I personally hate having debts & it's a horrible feeling having them in 2 countries. (Actually my DH's credit cards but used for family stuff)

I moved abroad with student loan debt and just paid it by cc each month. As someone else said there's feck all they can do - especially as you intend to leave the EU. They'd just be delighted that you're offering to pay it back full stop!

You're right about the exchange rate too - I'd forgotten about that!

Savoy that is interesting - how did you transfer the money?

Hmmm. Forgot about deposit from house. There are a few bits I could definitely ebay. I don't mind at all picking up extra odd bits of work either.

If I moved out for the last month and managed to find somewhere cheaper that might be an option.

I'd still have a debt though, but it would be significantly smaller than it is now. Acutally If I focus I can probably pay off £4000 just from my income, and use the rest to get my ticket home. Just means that I'd have no spare money when I arrive in Australia, although one friend has offered a couch for a few weeks. And there are a few others whose place I could abuse use for a week or so at a time. Not ideal but not impossible.