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AIBU?

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Original poster

To ask you to please help me sort this financial mess!!

61 replies

MoneyMare · 29/11/2025 19:32

DH and I have two credit cards. One is on 0% and has a balance of £3040. The other card has is not on 0% and has a balance of £3228.

We have been paying as much as possible off the one that isn’t 0%, each month, to minimise the interest payment and have just paid the minimum on the other. I have just realised the 0% runs out mid December and am afraid we are going to get hammered in interest. DH is refusing to apply for another 0% card and do a balance transfer, as he is sick of having credit cards. I get it, but it’s going to cost us loads if we don’t. I can’t get as good a deal as my earnings are a lot lower than DH’s (I’m working on that).

We currently have £4,000 in our current account, but have about £1,500 of bills to come out of that. We have other financial commitments as well as this, this is just the direct debits.

What should we do? Please help.

OP posts:
UniversalCreditBitch · 29/11/2025 22:44

MoneyMare · 29/11/2025 22:38

Really??? We have saved £27,000 and have £6,000 in debt with car loans, no expensive phone contracts. We pay £12.00 per month, total, for our two sim only deals. We try to be quite careful, but like many people, the cost of living crisis has affected us, as well as a huge, unexpected car repair. Could we cut back more? The answer is yes. And we should have done so sooner. We aren’t perfect. But your assessment that we are in “so much debt” seems a bit of a stretch.

Show quote history

Well you are.
Borrowing debt to repay debt.. where does it end?
Why can't you access savings?
Why wont you answer that?

Specialagentblond · 29/11/2025 22:41

Just show him the numbers and tell him to sort it.

Ohmygodnotnow · 29/11/2025 22:40

UniversalCreditBitch · 29/11/2025 21:38

Maybe it'll teach you both a lesson🤷‍♀️
Why can't you access your savings??

Why not put down the wine and stop goading posters asking for help? You're on another thread doing it.

Original poster
MoneyMare · 29/11/2025 22:38

UniversalCreditBitch · 29/11/2025 22:12

You are you in so much debt? What's going on.

Really??? We have saved £27,000 and have £6,000 in debt with car loans, no expensive phone contracts. We pay £12.00 per month, total, for our two sim only deals. We try to be quite careful, but like many people, the cost of living crisis has affected us, as well as a huge, unexpected car repair. Could we cut back more? The answer is yes. And we should have done so sooner. We aren’t perfect. But your assessment that we are in “so much debt” seems a bit of a stretch.

OP posts:
Original poster
MoneyMare · 29/11/2025 22:35

The £27000 is in a lifetime ISA, so if we remove the money, we lose the government bonus. May as well pay the interest in that case, with the amount of money we would lose. We are hoping to buy a house at some stage, so this doesn’t seem like the best idea.

OP posts:
UNDERCOVERELEPHANTINTHEROOM · 29/11/2025 22:24

Your DH seems utterly sick of the debt and the way he is responding makes me wonder if he blames you for the debt OP.

If he resents servicing the debt, then I can understand why he is catastrophising over getting another 0% credit card.
You say you cant get a CC on 0%, so it appears your DH is having to sort out another CC and if he doesnt feel responsible for the debt, or the majority of it, I can understand why he's feeling annoyed.

Would you be able to release some of the £27K on your own? Or does your DH need to co sign to release the funds?

cestlavielife · 29/11/2025 22:14

we have £27,000 in savings that we can’t access

Why not?
What is penalty for accessing it?

UniversalCreditBitch · 29/11/2025 22:12

You are you in so much debt? What's going on.

UniversalCreditBitch · 29/11/2025 22:11

MoneyMare · 29/11/2025 22:10

Nice! Thanks.

Show quote history

Why can't u access savings??

Original poster
MoneyMare · 29/11/2025 22:11

Thank you for your replies. DH has calmed down and realises it’s silly to let the money we do have get eaten up by interest, but that we need to have a plan to find our way out of this.

OP posts:
Original poster
MoneyMare · 29/11/2025 22:10

UniversalCreditBitch · 29/11/2025 21:38

Maybe it'll teach you both a lesson🤷‍♀️
Why can't you access your savings??

Nice! Thanks.

OP posts:
UniversalCreditBitch · 29/11/2025 21:38

Maybe it'll teach you both a lesson🤷‍♀️
Why can't you access your savings??

TootsMaHoots · 29/11/2025 21:23

Throneofgame · 29/11/2025 20:26

Baffling. People here are suggesting you get in more debt to pay off a different debt.

Get access to the £27k in savings and pay it off if you're that bothered.

But she says she can’t access it, not that she doesn’t want to access it. I think the people who are baffling you also think she should just simply use the twenty seven grand but she can’t. So they aren’t saying ‘get access’.

Just don’t get a card or loan out in just your own name OP.

Buttons0522 · 29/11/2025 21:16

The obvious answer is a 0% balance transfer, but I can see that your OH holds all the cards on this one. Call the credit card company and see if they can make you any offers, unlikely to be 0% but might be considerably less than the 20 something percent APR.

notatinydancer · 29/11/2025 21:11

The only possible things to do are another 0% card or a loan.
show him the calculations how long they’ll take to pay off at 27%

Throneofgame · 29/11/2025 20:26

Baffling. People here are suggesting you get in more debt to pay off a different debt.

Get access to the £27k in savings and pay it off if you're that bothered.

Mycatmyworld · 29/11/2025 20:18

To be brutal, it is not the only debt you have.
council tax. Utility bills phone bills are all debt & next yr, we all know these will be hiked,
I am guessing you rent which will probably be upped next yr. I would call your cc & discuss a payment plan, it might surprise you. Another cc will just exacerbate the problem. Good luck

singthing · 29/11/2025 20:04

MoneyMare · 29/11/2025 19:35

For context, we have £27,000 in savings that we can’t access. We don’t have a car loan and don’t own our own house. This is the only debt we have.

Any chance this is just a notice account, and if so, any family you could borrow off with the strict promise to start the notice period now and repay in full as soon it is processed? I have done similar for close relatives in the past.

(obviously you know your family, I knew mine would be good for it)

RandomMess · 29/11/2025 20:03

You take out a 0% credit card, hopefully without a transfer fee. What you can’t transfer pay off with the £2/£3k in your account.

If you look at the paperwork it will give you the exact date when the 0% interest rate runs out or call them ask.

Lookingforthejoy · 29/11/2025 20:01

MoneyMare · 29/11/2025 19:37

He just wants to get rid of these cards and get on with our lives, without debt. Which I understand. Especially since we seem to always have this debt following us around. I think he’s just snapped and thinks we haven’t done enough to be rid of this; and he’s right.

I understand that and he is being sensible in wanting to get rid of the debt but how is he suggesting you do that?

ImDuranDuran · 29/11/2025 19:53

There is no point applying for a loan, the OP’s husband is refusing to apply for a 0% balance transfer card, not because he’s ineligible, because he’s either thick or stubborn.

Taking out a loan, likely these days to charge at least 6% interest when you could take out a 0% card with a balance transfer fee of around 2%, is madness.

Amba1998 · 29/11/2025 19:51

MoneyMare · 29/11/2025 19:37

He just wants to get rid of these cards and get on with our lives, without debt. Which I understand. Especially since we seem to always have this debt following us around. I think he’s just snapped and thinks we haven’t done enough to be rid of this; and he’s right.

Yes but if you don’t balance transfer to a 0% you are literally just going to be lining the pocket of the credit company for longer.

paying interest = longer to becoming debt free

balance transferring to a 0% is blindingly obvious. Your husband is bizarre frankly

Ticktockwatchclock · 29/11/2025 19:50

Why can you not access the £27,000 you have in savings? It would be much better for you to take a hit on interest accessing this and using it to clear all of your debt and then you will not be paying exorbitant interest. You can then use any money you have been using to make payments off the credit card to rebuild your savings. There is never any point in having savings but not using it to clear debt.

babyproblems · 29/11/2025 19:49

Erin1975 · 29/11/2025 19:37

Apply for a personal loan for £5000 to be repaid over 12 or 24 months (whatever you can afford). Go on one of those comparison websites like Compare The Market and see what the best offer you can get is.

Whatever it is the interest rate is guaranteed to be lower than the credit cards will charge you.

Then pay off both cards, cancel them and pay down the loan as fast as you can.

I think this is sensible.
Why can’t you access some of the 27k to clear the debt??? Get rid of the credit cards and don’t get any more x

Lincslady53 · 29/11/2025 19:48

Get a personal loan to cover both balances, with monthly payments you can afford, however long the term is. Pay off both cards then cut them up so you can't use them. Gradually pay off the loan and don't spend more than you earn.