Wwyd?

[Gohackyourself]

Ok, here goes.

Split with ex 4 years ago and built up a fair bit of debt whilst sorting out.
I'm in a good paying job, been in 12 years, as most companies we re entering frugal times so in mid transformation process- my job and wages could change but unlikely.

Currently have around 14k of debt on cc's.
Only repaying the minimum each month for while but in better position now with spare cash.
Trouble is that spare cash id like to start saving so I don't get into same position again.

Was thinking of taking out a loan for say 4 years that equals the payments I'm making now but it would actually be paying it off, then I'm able to save my cash alongside to quite a considerable figure.

Or do I plough the extra monies across all the cc's and try to get them down?

Wwyd??

Why have you posted the same question twice ?

Oops! Was posting on one board- it said access denied then worked - (confused) crazy Friday

It depends on how the debt accumulated. If it's from General overspending and burying your head in the sand, then a consolidation loan is a bad idea, and always frowned on. However, I think if it's from a specific event and you are confident not to start again, then it would probably give you a more structured repayment. Didn't work for me though sadly!

Hi OP

A loan may not necessarily be the best option here. Consolidation has a high "fail" rate despite good intentions!

Also a loan for £14k to cover £14k of existing debt = £28k total debt so as a rule of the thumb most lenders would require you to have a minimum salary if £56k as they don't like total debts to exceed 50% of your annual salary.

Try posting on the "debt free wannabe" part of the money saving expert forum.

There the posters will help analyse your situation and advise the best way forward...... they are fantastic (although brutal, so be prepared!).

A lot of the time a technique called "snowballing" is recommended, it involves paying the minimum on each card and throwing all your extra spare cash at the one with the highest APR and once it's paid off, you move onto the next highest card.

Most research shows that borrowing to pay off/manage debt rarely works and people end up worse off.

You need to 'snowball'. Get an emergency fund, then pay down your debts gradually:

www.daveramsey.com/blog/how-the-debt-snowball-method-works

Thanks for the advice folks- sensible An kinda what I was thinking

I'd just pay the debt down as much as poss. there is more interest on loans than savings so you'd be out of pocket if you try to save instead of paying your debt off. Also, once you've put money towards paying debt down, you won't (hopefully) take it money back out and will be less likely to fritter it away.