how do I clear debt with barely any money coming in?

[bumbleandbumble]

I have £3,400 worth of debt on 3 credit cards.
£1,400 on 1
£1,000 on 2
£1,000 on 3 at 0% for another year
I am employed, £34k salary, but have three young kids and basically after childcare and commute costs, I have no £ left at the end of the month...

So all I can do is pay the minimum and then I am not getting anywhere.
What options do I have? What can I do I feel helpless

Can you contact Stepchange?

Definitely contact Stepchange. They will help you go through your outgoings - and they allow for everything - and calculate whst you can pay as long as you have enough spare at the end of the month. If you don’t then they will advise what to do next.
You will sleep much easier after you have spoken to them and put a plan in place.
Good luck!

On 34k I find it hard to believe you have NO money left. You need to sit down and see what you can save on remembering even the little amounts add up. Try and commit a certain amount to pay things off (think of it as a pay cut). It will be hard at first but you will adjust.

As soon as you get paid put ANY remainder in a separate account (even If only £20) and you will be surprised how quickly it builds. Also on the no council tax/ water months, pay the money directly into your loans instead.

When I lost my job with £2k owing, I contacted credit B/card and they were very helpful. They froze the card for a year without me having to make any payments, then the 2nd year they wanted payments but with minimal interest (1%?) . I can't remember exactly how much. It all got paid off eventually but B/C was very helpful

Are you entitled to tax credits for help with childcare or tax free childcare and are you getting this if yes? Have your circumstances changed? Are you adding to the debt or is it just 'there'. Can you transfer the balances to 0% deals?

But yes, Stepchange could be the way to go if you don't have money to pay your debts.

Firstly you need to transfer it all onto 0%. You will never clear the balance if all you are paying is the interest.

Have a very tight budget and meal plan. Cut costs as much as possible, it's painful but keep thinking to yourself that it is for a period of time, not forever.

It may well be slow progress at first but keep chipping away at it. Start with the smallest debt so you set yourself a goal to achieve.

Increase income - any opportunity for more work, take it as long as it means you make more than the childcare costs.

Are you single? Make sure you are getting all financial help you are entitled to, including child maintenance from children's father.

Set up a fixed amount transfer so instead of paying the minimum (which decreases each month) you pay the same each month this will mean you are paying off a little extra each month so clearing the debt.

Really look at your budget and concentrate on paying as much as you can to the highest interest card (but also switch all to 0% if you can) - even £5 extra month can make a difference to getting the debt cleared faster.

Don't just pay the minimums. Pay £1 more on each than you paid last month (don't spend any more on the cards either) the minimums are continually adjusted by the credit card company to make sure the debt will last as long as possible. There's a very lovely poster called TalkinPeace who has done a spreadsheet which you can use to show how long your debt will take to pay off if you only pay the minimum vs paying more than the minimum. In my case if I pay minimum my debt would take 20 years to pay off but if I pay £1 more than the minimum it will take two years to pay off.

Another piece of advice I've seen is to pay off highest interest at first. once that's gone move to the next highest interest. See if you can do something with 0% balance transfers, either get your credit limit extended on your current 0% or try and open another one.

Standing Orders are your friend.
Whatever you paid last month on each card, round it up to the nearest £1 and change the direct debit to a standing order.
Every spare £1 you have comes off the HIGHEST INTEREST card first.
Every single pound will make a difference.

Just moving from direct debit to standing order shortens the term on a normal card debt from 20 to 2 years
without paying more than you did this month

but you have to stop adding to the debt