To ask for help with £10K debt

Sorry I don't have time to read everyone else's posts, but just in case nobody has said it already.... pay for everything you can in cash. If you start with an amount of cash, it's sad when you see it go down, so it makes you think more about what you are buying and if you really need it. I know there is a more technical way of putting it, like you see it as real money, where you don't on your cards. But I get disappointed when I see my cash going down so it really helped me. And as an added bonus if you are lucky you can get rare coins in your change that you can sell...

I’ve been doing the opposite, saving furiously with a target(stay with me here I’m not being a dick!). I have never been so aggressive with saving 😂 but I keep it simple

I run a spreadsheet every month, I know when I’m due each income payment and when each bill is. I have a regular bills account , and I leave enough in there for that.
I shovel the rest into Monzo (daily account) , budget for the months worth of shopping etc, and the rest gets thrown into my savings/pots. You could try this for a month but leave the money in the pot rather than putting it on the CC straight away, just for safety’s sake. Once the month is done throw that money on the CC

I used to use Chip and Plum, and they’re great if you want some easy going saving, but I’ve found I’ve saved much faster by going for a harsher approach. I’m also using Intellizoom and AttaPoll for surveys.

I have 8k on 0% so we're in this together.
I pay something a day to my debt minimum of £1. I know it's a drop in the ocean but I do it and have paid off £4k this year alone on cc debt.

We also bank with monzo and use pots. I have 20 pots set up with things like food shopping, dog stuff, eating out. Once all bills are paid I divide whats left into the weeks of the month, then take 1 weeks worth and split it out amongst pots. When the week is over I take anything left over from pots and pay half towards credit card and i put half into a longer term bill such as car insurance or car repairs and then start over again on a Friday. Monzo does most of this for me tbf.

I also do things like prolific and use any cash from that half to credit card and half to long term savings.

I am of the opinion that you cannot just throw every spare bit of cash at debt as its unsustainable. You get to month 3 and your fed up of beans on toast and saying no to your friends who want to meet in a cafe and you end up borrowing more to help that debt. But if you budget for this stuff (maybe on a smaller scale) you can actively make every £ have a job.

Just some of my tips.

Write down how you currently spend your money. Account for every penny.

Then review.

If you lack the discipline to save...

• Set up a fixed payment of GBP500 to go to the CC on payday, so you don't have the money available to spend on anything else
• Close/freeeze your CC account so that you aren't tempted to put any more money onto it
• Towards the end of the interest free term, open a 'balance transfer' credit card to transfer the balance from the existing card onto there to stop incurring interest cost. Then do as above with this card til your entire debt is paid off

If you work and make over 30K outside the South East, it's really not too bad to have this amount of debt. Just focus on paying it off as opposed to getting into more debt.

Try selling stuff on Vinted/ another side hustle to make a few extra pounds as well

In addition ring your utility companies and see if you are in credit with them, they are quite happy to hold on to £100s of your money that can accumulate if your payments are over what you're actually using - if there is any credit there have it paid back to you.

Do you have any dance related costumes that you can resell? These are massively expensive new and would hopefully free up some space too.

It’s not the grocery shopping, you are actually doing great there. It’s the dancing and debt that is eating the money.

I agree some meal planning would help you to spend a bit less on food shopping OP.

If you aren't already, I would write down all of your miscellaneous spending, as that seems to be your current pot of 'unaccounted' for funds. Do it for a month so you can account for every penny.

It sounds like you could take your own coffee to drink when running your daughter to dance class, or use the library for books, but having full oversight of your household budget will enable you to find the most efficient savings and balance treats, daily expenses and a savings pot.

I also second the advice to declutter and sell any good but unused items- most of us have unused stuff cluttering up our homes and this is an easy win

If you kids' activities are expensive, reduce the number/frequency of them. Or have your kids get a Saturday job and contribute to them, if they're old enough. (That's a great lesson for your kids, regardless of your financial circumstances.)

I'd caution against giving this advice to someone who is poor at saving, as the small amount of interest gained needs to be balanced against the risk of dipping into those savings.

OP - have a serious think about whether you are likely to do this, and if you are you may be better off paying down the credit card balance as and when you can,

The term MSE used is Stoozing. It's an excellent way of managing your money and cash flow, but only if you keep very strictly on top of things. It's a way to take advantage of the high(ish) interest rates on savings accounts being offered.

Also something like plum is good, as you save without knowing it

Work out what you can realistically save, and set up a standing order to move it from your account the day you get paid. Don't wait until the end of the month as you'll just spend it if it is there

Second the Moneysaving Expert link. No-one can say anything else without a full picture of your incomings, essential outgoings and what non essentials you buy.

You don't need to post it here, but you need to know whether you have enough on paper or if not, what the next step is. But if you can afford to, hopping between 0% credit cards and just paying off over time might be the way to go.

But question every expense. Follow the MSE advice on reducing your broadband, mobile phone etc costs to make your money go a bit further.

Watch what you spend on food and be honest about needs and wants. Perhaps your DD needs to drop an activity or if she's an older teen, could she get a job to pay towards them?

Get easy supermarket food instead of takeaways if you spend on those. If you have things to sell, sell them. If you fritter on crap and 'bits' just stop.

Absolutely. Interest free borrowing is great, I’ve had up to 36 months before now on cards. Next time I’m going to use the hedging technique I think 🤣

Switch to the cheapest own-brands and don't buy more than you need.

as a counter to this, buy in bulk if you can and have space to store it.

Start throwing every spare penny at the credit card debt. You can go online and make payments over and above the monthly direct debit. Even if it's just an extra few quid each week. Keep making the payments as often as you can.

Sell all your unwanted and not-needed stuff on eBay or Vinted.

Start meal-planning, batch cooking, and making good use of your freezer.

Switch to the cheapest own-brands and don't buy more than you need.

Get rid of subscriptions (Netflix etc).

Make sure you are on the cheapest tariffs for all your utilities. Don't be afraid to ring them up and ask.

Put a halt on any non-essential expenditure like takeaways, going out, etc.

(When I was in debt I just wanted it gone asap so I did all the above and a lot more just to get it over with. It's the best way to do it in the long run.)

Once you've been paid, move the £500 you would like to save straight out your account into a separate account, and try to live on the rest - checking your account daily if necessary. At the end of the month you should hopefully be able to transfer the £500 to pay off the card.

If it just sits in your normal current account then it will just get spent on every day things.
If it sits in a savings account then you still have it in case of emergencies throughout the month.

I've used them when something big has broken and needs replacing urgently where my savings are depleted but I know I can clear it when the term is up.

True. They're also certainly cheaper than payday loans.

@Asusefulasamarzipandildo This, basically. Proper hedges are far more complex, but the principle employed by saving in high interest to offset a 0% loan is a basic hedge 😊