What fools we’ve been - credit cards

[Janedoer]

Hi,

so went screwed up spectacularly! We’ve had two very expensive years of renovations to our house. In our stupidity we totally underestimated the costs. In even further stupidity we continue to overspend, using credit cards. We’ve played the 0% credit card shuffle game but it’s about to come crashing down. We fucked up and missed a loan payment and it impacted our credit files. We can now only get very high interest cards and no chance of a 0% balance transfer. This means that in February we’ll have £17k of credit card debt at 26%. This means that our current payment of 170 will be over £500. I’m sick to my stomach.

the good news is that despite the interest hike, we can afford the increase. It’s just a sickening waste of money. We were turned down for a remortgage and we’ve been advised to not apply again for at least 12 months. Probably not the best idea anyway.

were a couple of professionals with a 100k Joint salary. What utter fools we’ve been. I’m so ashamed.

Great suggestions on here to cut down monthly expenditure. Ask your mum to do the Christmas meal (you can do it next year). No presents for any adults and the 3 DC can each choose one gift (max £50). It’s all manageable and in a year you’ll have massively reduced the debt. Good luck 💐

Absolutely this! Don't wait until the interest rate goes up.

"I’ve actually had to visit the GP as it’s consumed me with stress and anxiety, albeit totally self Inflicted and avoidable."

You need to take a breather. If you couldn't afford the payments and were having your house taken off then I understand the stress and anxiety but you're not. You can afford the payments and still have money left over so let's not be dramatic.

Yes the interest is high but I'm sure millions of people live on credit cards at the moment. I think making yourself depressed about this is a bit over top. Pointless post, letting everyone know you've made a mistake but can afford it anyway 🤷‍♀️

Just focus on getting your credit rating back up. Do you use checkmyfiles.com?
It's quite good to watch it every month.
Try not to panic. It's unfortunate but not the end of the world. Same thing happened to me. I missed a flipping £5 payment to Bank of Scotland because I changed banks. Once it was a year old, the lenders chilled out.

Just do everything you can to get your credit score back up. Make sure you're on the electoral role, etc

Contact Stepchange. Non judgmental practical help - it made a massive difference to us and the stress relief was immense. They’ll come up with a plan tailored to you, not just one size fits all

I feel for you but fuck me, I wish I had 2k left over each month!! Live frugally for 18 months on 1k pay the extra off and you'll be debt free.

To be honest the debt will have been sorted by the time she gets an appointment at the CAB.

OP isnt an idiot, she made a small mistake which had a fairly large impact, she isnt unable to fix it.

I think you have fallen into the trap that catches so many people of thinking that the minimum repayment reduces your debt. It doesn't and the interest rate is huge so, before you know it, you owe far more than your borrowed. You are not the first, and won't be the last, to get caught out. Pay as much as you can afford, starting today, and get rid of this debt. You are lucky that you can manage to pay. You might have saved someone else from getting into this trouble, so don't beat yourself up.

I think you have fallen into the trap that catches so many people of thinking that the minimum repayment reduces your debt. It doesn't and the interest rate is huge so, before you know it, you owe far more than your borrowed. You are not the first, and won't be the last, to get caught out. Pay as much as you can afford, starting today, and get rid of this debt.

This.

The problem is completely remediable, @Janedoer , and it won't involve hairshirts.

Pay twice a month if that works better for you. You need to chip away at the principal. If you can throw 1k per month at the cc, you will have made a big reduction in it by next February. In your shoes, I'd see if you could pay even more.

And don't ever fall into the trap of minimum payments again. That's where you and your H went wrong.

I do not know where you are, but citizen's advice offer debt management services. Your building society and bank should both have a debt advice team, but it does seem they are being unhelpful. I might be more aggressive and tell them you may have to default and be homeless if they do not help out