Help with debt...any experience with sorting credit cards - Reposted from Money section

[Masterplan2021]

Second post but no replies in other section.

I have about £10k total debt. Not sure if I have any options. As you can imagine the monthly cost is huge, with only the bank loan actually decreasing significantly (but still slowly).
Wondering how to approach. Are the debt consolidation schemes to decrease monthly repayments just a way of getting into more debt/repaying more over longer.
Are the formal type arrangement going to create a bad credit history?

Can you give us a split with interest rates and terms

How is you current credit history? Have you tried a balance transfer card with 0% interest? I used the MSE website to find one and transferred just under £4K from my credit card with 18.9% APR to a new one with Virgin Money at 0% interest for 27 months. Cost £130 ish for the balance transfer.

Stepchange would be a good place to start: they are a legitimate charity and can help you with payment plans that aren't going to make you worse off further down the line.

I'd also recommend the Money Saving Expert website for debt reduction and budgeting, loads of good tips to help you learn how to manage your money going forward.

And learning how to budget properly is going to be a key part of making sure you don't get into debt again. Don't forget how you got to where you are today, and make sure every month you make a budget and stick to it. Again, the MSE website has some excellent resources.

Well done for getting on top of it and good luck!

Wading through at moment as have stupidly been ignoring. Looks like 4.5k on 2 cards high interest (37.9 and similar)
£1500 on interest free about to run out
2k overdraft (think the interest in this is bad, can't see it anywhere)
£3k loan 7.5%
Eek.
On the plus side I have reduced the credit card balance by £1100 over last year. Loan repayment is high but least the balance gets reduced significantly.
My credit history shows as good on online Experian check but applied online for two different balance transfers but turned down.
That was possibly my only option.

I assume turned down as carrying a significant debt on fairly low income.

It's likely that the interest rate on your overdraft is 40% because they're nearly all that now.

Moneysavingexpert has everything you need, help with putting together a budget, cutting cost of essentials to free up more for debt repayment, options for balance transfers and formal solutions like debt relief orders.

Start here and good luck

www.moneysavingexpert.com/loans/debt-help-plan/

Well done for trying to tackle head on, people often plug away for years, paying thousands in interest and make little headway into their debts. If you're in that position, it's often worth buggering up your credit rating, to free yourself from long lasting crippling debt, once and for all.

Phone the card companies and explain. Tell them to freeze the card so can't use and set up a plan. They normally do this.

It's a good point re worth sacrificing credit rating as a last resort. I might give myself a year of getting the balance as low as possible and see where I am before doing that.

Maybe I try for interest free again in 6 months.

Most was accrued during specific period and no longer using credit.

Thanks for links, will look to see where i can make savings.

Look at Dave Ramsay. There is a great facebook group for him too. Its US based but there are some very motivational stories. Try and avoid a debt management plan if you can in the first instance.

Thank you. I love a bit of American style motivation.

I think I have cobbled together a bit of a plan.