Just opened our credit card statement

[Mooycow]

And am so shocked , it’s over 25.000, ! My husband deals with all the bills ( I do everything else) ,he gets online billing and tears up the statement when it arrives , we have together spent the money ,it’s all way too easy ,obs, AIBU to be shocked that we owe that amount .

My husband watches Dave Ramsey all the time now. The guy can be quite funny but insulting at the same time!

Get the interest stopped so it doesn't get worse

It must be expensive doing it on a credit card... I would consider getting a loan to pay it off as the interest rate may would out that you pay less In the long run

Oh dear god. That, to me, is something akin to serious denial by DH. You ought to tackle this with him, and get this debt right down asap! The interest on this must be colossal! Please take steps to resolve a very worrying situation. Remember that should the worst happen, you could be also responsible! Best of luck to you.

Oh my god... that is just not savvy! Get a loan at a much cheaper rate and pay off the card ASAP.... you need to start listening to Martin Lewis.....

Missing you can't just get them to stop the interest though, can you?

I’m in a similar situation. My 2 year old daughter opened the post last October (which I hasten to add she doesn’t ever do) and I discovered my hubby accrued £25k cc debt. I was horrified to say the least as I knew that the credit card was at 10k but he told me he had been paying it off and it was down to £3,700.
The reason he didn’t tell me was that he didn’t want me to worry as I do suffer from anxiety.
Well, when we sat down and discussed it he showed me it was spread across 3 credit cards, they are all at 0% interest and he is paying off £1,100 per month. Every month I check all 3 statements and sure enough the overall debt is now down to £20k and by my calculation the whole debt will be paid off next August. Although this is really bad, we do have £8,000 in savings.
Needless to say we have made cuts and are foregoing a lot of things this year in order to pay back the cards but at least in 18 months we will be debt free.

Barberaofseville. I can assure you when I read the stories on here I’m quite happy to cut my nose off to spite my face. Got to 48 without one, hired cars also believe it or not on many occasions, in many different countries. Don’t have thousands in the bank no, but I certainly buy using only what I know i can afford. Incidentally my husband has got to 55 without owning one either. I’m sure there are lots of perks and money saving ideas on them, just happy to not have one.

Yes you can stop them adding more interest. See my previous post.
Contact them yourself, or use stepwise or similar. Say you are in trouble and want to make a payment plan

I do wish people would read the update that mooy posted at the weekend.

The debt is entirely manageable.
She hand her DH have a plan to clear it before she retires

• without taking out a loan
• without talking to Stepchange
• without adding it to the mortgage

just by using my spreadsheet to pay what they currently pay, every month for the three years it will take to clear the debt.

£25k is a lot to some people. Not to others.

where is the spreadsheet?! probably skim read thread.

I think it's entirely easy to get into that much debt, i have a bit. I am aiming to pay off the smallest one first the pay off the largest. living is very expensive these days! though i have paid off the mortgage.

mercury
Link to it is on this thread - along with explanation of why / how it works
www.mumsnet.com/Talk/legal_money_matters/1987219-SPREADSHEETS-for-Debt-Control-Budgeting-Mortgages-etc

It's going to require some trimming of the sails to (a) pay it off and (b) not add to it. There will have to be new habits when it comes to decision making on things like holidays, home renovations, etc.

Math
OP has admitted to frittering HUGE amounts of money on insanities like electric blinds on her windows.
Not much hardship giving up that spending

Talkin. If a credit card is on 0% why would you pay it back on a sliding scale?why not divide it by the number of months you want it paid in? I don’t understand your spreadsheet, does it only work if paying interest?

fontsnob
You need to look at how Credit Card companies collect their money if you are paying the minimum.
They take a percentage of the balance.
For 0% cards its much less of an issue
but the people I wrote the sheet for do not get access to such luxuries.

Yes I’m aware of the perils of all types of credit card debt. Thank you for answering

You need to have serious chat to dh. Your best net may be to re mortgage and pay off debt. Cut the cards up you pair clearly cannot manage them. Set out incomings and outgoings. What can you cut out? We have full Sky package and BT sport but know we could do without if necessary. There are always things you can cut out. You need to be making sure your outgoings do not get above incomings. Go to CAB and het help to make budget if you need to. If you do nothing you could easily end up loosing your house.

caringcarer
Please RTFT
she does NOT need CAB or Stepchange.

she does NOT need CAB or Stepchange

We'll see if the OP returns after her last update.

Cutting down on luxuries may not be as simple as first thought.

thanks for link talkin, it is really useful.

There's one thing that really shines through to me on this thread. The silly old idea that if you don't use your debit card or hand over hard cash, oooer, you aren't parting with any money - doh! Mounting debt like this is all too easy, and can quickly become very scary, like in this situation. Oh dear me 😞

If he’s been ripping up statements before you get a chance to see them, then there could be something else going on (I had a friend with a secret gambling habit and I made the mistake of confronting him about it directly) so find out what the money’s been spent on- either way you can get interest reduced or sometimes even written off - if you call the credit card company directly and tell them your situation. Good luck!

Just be open and honest with the credit card company. These days all such companies have depts that deal with those struggling to make repayments. (Even if you are not struggling as such at the moment, you soon will be! The interest alone is crippling!)
Seems to me that your OH had not been honest. I can’t imagine how he could not have seen the debt mounting up month by month. Sounds like the proverbial ostrich burying its head in the sand.
If the debt is in joint names then you have every right to know the whole backstory to this.
Get professional help with this debt now, don’t leave it to get worse exponentially. Have you spoken with your OH in detail about this? Is he being evasive? Cards on the table this needs to be sorted by both of you as any fallout will affect both of you.
Good luck

OP I work in debt management. You might need to talk to Step CHANGE debt charity or PayPlan, Money Advice Service or the National Debt Helpline. They are free debt management charities that do not charge you. They will help you work out a repayment plan. It’s easy for these bills to go through the roof but you can start doing something about it today.