A thread for people trying to pay off debt?

[moneyworries8]

Would there be any interest in this?

I'll start us off. I'm 30, a SAHM with 2DC.
Our debts are:

£4,000 loan that we've been paying off for 6 months.
£2,300 on a credit card

The debt is manageable but I've had the realisation that if something doesn't change, these figures are going to get bigger and bigger. I know it's a hard time of year to start but I don't believe in "waiting until the new year!"

We could post on here for advice/support as well as sharing our successes (and failures, but hopefully there won't be many of those) with each other. I feel like I need some people to help keep me on track.

So, is anyone interested?

Thanks Ta4kin, where do I find the sort code and account number? Will it be on the statement?

Yup, it HAS to be on the statement somewhere - or you can pull the details by inspecting the direct debit in your online banking

Hello bumblebee39, sorry you're in the same boat, it's going to take a lot of self-discipline to turn things around but it is achievable. We're lucky to have sound advice and encouragement on hand, the rest is up to us.

@NEVERTWERKNAKED...thank you for the great tips on sorting & decluttering!! My house is really in order already but I thought I would do my wardrobe today,maybe give me an incite into what I'm buying..slightly embarrassed & shocked to find three identical tops from joules,one with tags still on,one never worn..seems my budget is being blown on luxuries that I don't need & can't really afford XX

@castielchace glad to help ... sell the top with labels on, you can normal get a reasonable amount for an unworn Joules top

Talkinpeace thank you also..great advice on mindfulness & spending..looks like I've been bumbling along happily with my beautiful kiddies for the past few years trying to replace the whole my expartner left by buying all sorts of weird & wonderful things.First action today was cut up m&s card,next has been paid off & closed & my dearest friend the credit card has been chopped into peicesnow to start paying it off XX

Nevertwerknaked ..think that is best .a job tomorrow could be eBay as I have a pile of unworn things X

Thanks @talkinpeace. I am determined to tackle it this year. Some months depending on how much freelance work I get I may be able to pay off extra so here’s hoping.

Hi all, I've been reading this with interest. I have one personal loan which is £7000 and I am comfortable with the repayments at £150 per month. I'm not overly happy with the 5 year term (4 remaining) but I had to refinance a 3 year loan over 5 years last year to obtain a mortgage.

The current situation enables me to save each month, and having read about the concept of a credit card as emergency savings; I'm wondering if I'm looking at this the wrong way and I should be more concerned about paying this loan off quickly? I'm just trying to be smarter with my money and looking for any advice.

Willows
Fixed repayment loans are less of an issue on the speeding up as the interest rates are usually significantly lower than cards.
Also a lot of them have limits on incremental overpayments (ie the odd £4 or £6 that the Standing order trick does on cards.
On the other hand, throwing the occasional £300 overpayment will significantly reduce the term if possible so is well worth it.

Well I've done the scary add up of what I owe part..
Barclaycard 1,900
Very 600
Littlewoods 98
Aquacard 2,150 ..
Any help or advice what to get paying of the fastest would've great,I've read through the other posts & I've got a small bit of money put aside for emergencies,it's not big but it will cover essentials for a few weeks or a new washing machine X I don't have a mortgage as I rent,I work & have three children on my own & don't get any maintenance money (ex did a runner & has vanished) so anyway I'm not in huge debt but need to get on top of these amounts before they get worse...would like to calmly do this without my kiddies thinking I've turned into Scrooge overnight though if possible x Any ideas would be greatly welcome,I am pinching the idea of writing everything down..starting tomorrow XX

Hi, I've just seen this thread for the first time. I've had a bad year and was in debt but am gradually get on top of it all. My debt is not as bad as many of you , but a worry still.
I've paid off my overdraft and I owe one more payment to clear my credit card in February, 0% interest.
I dont use the card, haven't done for ages. Keeping it for emergencies.
My son lent me £800 , I've paid him back £300 so far. Hes not in any rush for it, he got a large inheritance a couple of years ago. I'm just really grateful that he helped me out!
So I can see the light at the end of the tunnel. My MOT is due in 10 days time, so I'm keeping my fingers crossed. Good luck everyone, we will get there in the end

casteil
Okidokes.
They all need to go onto standing orders.
Cut up the ones you will not use again.
Then work out which has the highest interest rate (FAR more important than amount owed)
and throw and extra £10 a month at it.
When its gone, divert all of those funds to the next one
Martin Lewis calls it "snowballing"

So you will be repaying the amount you do at the moment
but making a difference.

Depending how old the kids are, would they be up for some ebay / facebay decluttering to give them more space and shared funds for new things?
It will help them learn the value of stuff
and achieve the bigger goals

Hi everyone,

First post on the money board. Really hoping I can clear my debts in 2019 and begin saving for a mortgage.

I currently have a Barclaycard debt of £2,371. The interest rate they are taking on my £150 a month payment is £70. This is heart breaking to me - I've read about switching to an 0% credit card but have absolutely no idea how to do this???
I'm well over paying the minimum payments asked via direct debit (I believe they are asking for around £90/95pm)

I also have a Next debt of £581. Minimum payment is arpund £30. I pay £40-50pm.
The monthly interest on this is around £10 I believe.

Absolutely any advice woild be so gratefully received. I am going to

• sorry posted too soon. I am going to sit tomorrow and do a budget so i can reduce my spends. My biggest faults are days out and trips with my children. I do not use the credit card or next account at all anymore.

I know my debts are not life changing but they feel like a weight on my shoulders and I'm desperate to clear them.
Tia

Morning, I have had a breakthrough!
Last night I joined the Martin Lewis Credit Club as I thought it looked as though I could find out some interesting info.
To my surprise my credit score is actually very good, it's just my affordability that is poor due to the amount of credit I have.
I did their wallet workout exercise and it suggested that I would be 100% accepted for a virgin credit card with 0% balance transfer.
I risked it and applied and to my amazement I was accepted. They have allowed me to transfer both of my credit cards so about £6900 altogether and it is 0% for 29 months. I am determined to have it gone by then!
Obviously I will now need to do a bit of jiggling with figures to work out the best thing to do. I need to wait and see what the minimum payment is on that card to work out the best way to split my repayments.
I feel so positive this morning. Not only will it save me money and be paid off quicker, it was such a nice surprise to know my credit rating is much better than I thought!
Happy new year!!

Yay! Well done AleC4!

Have you closed all your expensive debt options now that you have transferred the money away?

I'm just waiting for it all to go through and to see the balances as 0 then both cards will be cut up and accounts closed!

Good plan!

Excellent news @AleC4

Once the balances start dropping it is really motivating as being debt free starts to feel more achievable.

I’d recommend doing little things like e-baying / Facebook selling stuff and putting that money towards paying off the debt too, especially the Very and Next cards.

Yes that is a good plan. I'm not sure I have much worth selling but I'll have a look o we the next few days.
Now the credit card is on 0% I guess I should make Very my first priority as the interest is awful, then Next? Is that sensible? Do I pay the minimum payment on the 0% one and three all other money at those two store ones?

One thing we did many years ago when we were in big debt, was to calculate how much money we needed in a weekly basis for food shopping, dinner money, bus fares and petrol. We then withdrew that amount every Saturday and didn't touch our cards at all, in fact we left them locked up in the house. Every Friday, if we had enough cash left over we would treat ourselves to a take away supper.
It became a big challenge to do this, and we soon reaped the benefits of getting used to dealing in cash again rather than spending on plastic.
Regarding paying off our CC debt, we had a card that would not allow us to change the DD, except to either minimum payment or pay off in full monthly, but we could set up monthly bank transfers via the app to top up those minimum payments. We set up £30 monthly and it's amazing how soon the card got paid off.
Interestingly, we did have a consolidation loan many years ago which took 7 years to pay back. A couple of years ago, I used the MSE Resolver tool to check for PPI, which I didn't believe I had, and ended up with a refund of £7K! Those of you with loans and credit cards, make sure you check this out, you might be in luck! We also got some money back for misselling of an endowment mortgage and used this to pay off some of the mortgage.
Try to be savvy though, if you get money you didn't expect to get, make sure you use it to pay off a debt, not just fritter it all away. Psychologically, seeing your debt reduce does so much more for you than a new handbag or pair of shoes!

Spent all morning trying to wrap my head around 0% credit cards. Applied for a Halifax one that is 0% for 18 months and was accepted.
Going to up my payments to £200 per month for the CC debt (£2371) to have it done in 12 months.

Unsure how to link the next account to the 0%? (Debt around £550 - made payment last night)
Just wish I understood this more, i suppose this is how people get into debt in the first place - well me at least!

Next step - budgeting. Downloaded YNAB - looks very confusing !
Any tips, advice so appreciated!?

Will be following for some good ideas