Credit card debt - advice on best approach

[SnowdropEirlys]

I'm facing £20k of credit card debt across 4 different cards and determined that this is the year that I will clear the balances. Balances are;
£11k
£800
£6k
£5k

I've been in denial and spend far too much, have ignored the total balances for too long, and just paid the minimum amount per month for years.

I'm now in the fortunate position of a temporary contract that pays well which should go on a few months so have the opportunity to pay off almost 4k a month, as long as this contract continues.

I'm willing to change my lifestyle, change my spending habits and will quite enjoy the challenge of finally bringing these balances down - I think the relief of seeing them finally come down will spur me on.

I'd be grateful for advice on how best to tackle this. Should I chip away at each balance, or aim to bring the largest down first?

I'm not sure that I want to take out a consolidation loan which means I will be paying less per month for longer, years even - I'd rather just tighten my belt for a few months and blitz this, once and for all, now I have this opportunity.

I'd be grateful if anyone has any other suggestions or has any experience of tackling large credit card balances and bringing them right down?
Thanks in advance.

Thank you so much for everyone's encouragement and support - it truly means the world.

Another one rooting for you OP! I'm a debt advisor as my job - it's so rare someone can pay off the debt at the rate you are, I'm astonished! And I'd absolutely love to know what your contract is - is it Only Fans?

In typical cleaner has a dirty house vein, I have some annoying debt I am trying to get on top of, around £8k - I am paying off +£500 p/m but can't seem to stop the silly spending - I know all the debt tricks but love spending money (& have nothing to show for it!). I'm going to channel my inner Snowdrop from now ok!

Please keep us regularly updated, I'm so happy for you!

Well done OP!

Haha, @rachelohrachel it's definitely not Only Fans!

So one thing that I have found has worked for me is flipping the silly spending around and challenging myself to see how much I can save or how I can spend as little as possible - and actually focussing on what I do have rather than thinking I need more and more new stuff - which I don't. Mumsnet has been great inspiration for that. Yesterday, I used the Too Good to Go app to collect a huge roast carvery for £3. Literally enough food for three evening meals.

@SnowdropEirlys Amazing progress! I paid off my cc during Covid - we were in a very fortunate position of having the same income but much much lower outgoings. I'm a very impatient person so I paid off really big chunks each month - before, I had been paying a couple of hundred each month and progress was painfully slow. It was way more motivating to do it like you are (though your payment is astonishingly fast!). Now I'm approaching savings in the same way to put away my 6 month emergency fund which is nearly done. The next step will be longer term investing to supplement income in retirement, as well as overpaying the mortgage. I think I read somewhere that people who are good at paying debt are often equally good at saving because they Just Want To Get It Done - that's definitely the case for me, I never even consider buying things I don't need on a CC any more because of the absolute boredom of paying off debt when you know you could be doing something so much better with all of that cash.

How have you got on in the last few weeks OP?

Thanks for checking in @BlueSpottedGiraffe - so I paid another £500 off the 11k-er last week and I'm hoping to pay another wodge off later today once my pay arrives in bank this evening. I will update later once I've actually done this - I'm hoping to all but clear this balance today, fingers crossed!

And so after 11 weeks, the 11k card is CLEARED!!!!!!! All paid off!! It doesn’t feel quite real but the relief feels wonderful.

Sooo, on to the next two!

What exciting news. Really well done.

Wow that's incredible! You have done so well

Amazing! I've taken a leaf out of your book and cleared a chunk (not as much as you but every little helps!) of mine too!

What are the current balances - are you nearlu done?!?

V. disappointed its not OnlyFans!!

Thank you @Grandville and @BlueSpottedGiraffe - that means a lot.

@rachelohrachel what has worked for me (apart from complete stubbornness!) is just determination and a mindset shift that this debt is real, it has cost me goodness knows how much over many, many years and that unless I wake up, grow up and make sacrifices, it will hold me back from ever achieving my long term goals.

I theoretically could live month by month by paying the minimum payments but I would still had the debt hanging over me. No-one else is going to solve this problem for me. The other issue has been that the debt has been a secret that I haven't been able to discuss with anyone, hence the posts on anonymous Mumsnet. I'm single so this doesn't affect anyone but it has made me consider how I would feel entering into a relationship with someone with 20k credit card debt - I think that would influence how I would view them.

The support here has helped in terms of accountability and the commitment to see this through. I was dreading the critical posts and have been relieved and genuinely surprised (and hugely grateful) at the hugely supportive response I have received.

I have known people who have absolutely buried their heads in the sand around debt, attended court, ignored payment demands, not faced the truth, not paid off their debt but let messy divorces or house sales absorb what they owe - I want to be able to finally address the mess I have only brought on myself, own it and take responsibility for it, and also never let myself get in this mess again. (Or resort to Only Fans as a way out!)

So outstanding balances are - let's call them;

Card #1 - £5400
Card #2 - £5800

I'm aiming to clear Card #2 first. I'm also busy trying to secure a new contract for beyond June.

Well done.

The two outstanding cards are with Sainsburys and Tesco. Sainsburys has the highest balance of £5800 so am concentrating on that one first.

My pay will be less over the next few weeks than previously due to the bank holidays we had in April (not paid on BHs) - I've also had to pay my fuel bills this week so - I've just paid £450 off the Sainsbo's card. I'm hoping that I can make another £100 payment by the end of the week if I can keep spending to an absolute minimum.

Remaining determined. Actually have to keep reminding myself that that huge 11k debt is no longer there!

You're doing brilliantly.

OMG! @SnowdropEirlys you are doing so well!! Keep going - just imagine how you will feel when the debt is gone! x

Just a little update from me. I’ve got a few weeks left of my current contract and been making payments each week off the Sainsbury’s card so that is now down to £3700 as of today. Satisfying to see that come coming down now.

The milder weather and bank holidays have brought extra challenges with limiting spending as much as possible and I also lose days of pay on BHs. Petrol costs are through the roof and we’d normally be heading off for weekends away now summer is here. Still walking a lot instead of spending on days out, home cooked meals instead of expensive meals out etc.

The good news is that I’ve secured a new short term contract from July which pays less than current contract but will enable me to keep paying lumps off the two remaining cards each week for a few months, which is a big relief in short term.

Keeping on going.

Nice!

Did you consolidate them into a cheaper loan to avoid the high interest rates?

Could be a quicker / cheaper route to debt freedom.

Great progress OP, what does that being the total down to now?

Great news about the new contract too, hopefully by then end you will be nearly there!

Thanks @LimesandClementines - so the total amount I still owe is £9100.

This is down from just under £23,000 four months ago when I started last February. I am never going back to that place again!

Wow that's amazing that you have more than halved it in 4 months!

Summer will be harder but now that your mindset re spending has changed you might find it's easier than you thought to go without some things and continue to save money in places.

@SnowdropEirlys well done fantastic update. Keep on chipping away.

You have done so well op! It's fantastic to read your updates 👏🏻👏🏻👏🏻

Consolidate if you can to a zero interest card....you'll get up to 22 months interest free....gives you a bit of breathing space to bring the rest down....try to transfer the ones with the highest interest rates first....it's the interest that kills you....always tackle the ones with highest interest first and keep up minimum payments on the rest....I found some good advice here...

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