Money help

[feelingsilly123]

hi guys,

just wanted some advice about clearly credit card debt. Stupid I know. Does anyone have any personal experiences about paying this off and the best way to do it?

I currently have £6277 on two credit cards.

My montly outgoings are £462 ( still live at home)

Just wanted some advice really, sometimes its easier if someone else suggests a solution or a way to do it!!!!

sorry I forgot to say my monthly take home is £1700 but I don't ever seem to shift any of the debt, there always seems to be something...car repair...birthday etc

Why not try keeping a diary of everything you spend, so you can see where the money is really going. Then decide what your priorities are.

I never buy coffees at costa etc as I don't think it is a good way to spend my money.

I know I should take a packed lunch, but never get around to it.

Oh yes, and consider putting them onto interest free deals, or low rate balance transfer deals.

Have you got a budget? Have you ever worked out how long it will take you to clear the debt paying only the minimum repayments? If not, there is some good advice on the moneysavingexpert.com site. You should also get into the habit of making extra repayments as soon as you are paid, not waiting to see what you have left at the end of the month. Oh, and most importantly, cut up the cards do you can't use them!!

www.moneysavingexpert.com/banking/Budget-planning

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

How much are you paying off the balance each month or are you only servicing the interest and minimum payment? First thing is to cut up the cc and stop using it . Go to CAB or speak to one fo the government debt charities like Step Change to help you freeze the debt and interest and come up with a realistic budget for you to pay it off. If you have over 1k available each month you need to break down how you are spending it and where to cut back.

You might want to try Debt Free Wannabe at moneysavingexpert.com or Dealing With Debt at The Motley Fool. TMF also has an article about getting out of debt.

Basically you need to budget properly so unexpected expenses don't knock you off course every month. I'd be very surprised if they were happening every month but if they happen often enough, you can be so de-motivated that you're not paying down debt even in the good months.

The software I use is called You Need a Budget and you can read all about the method and look at some of the recorded classes to see if I might help you on that site. We have a thread running about it at the moment.

However, you need to do the leg work to get to grips with all your monthly (and crucially non-monthly) outgoings - the YNAB method will help you do that, as will the techniques recommended at Debt Free Wannabe and Dealing With Debt. You've got a good opportunity not just to beat the debt but beat the debt habit whilst you're still living at home - which will be invaluable later. Good luck.

to add to all this good stuff - you need to stop all luxuries until this debt is paid off. That means no 'birthdays'. You are best being honest with people and saying 'really sorry but have financial issues so I can't buy you a present/go out with you etc, and please don't buy me anything either!'

that goes for Christmas too.

plenty of fun is free.