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?

Hi there bohbell
I'll be honest, in your shoes I would transfer all of the unsecured debt onto the mortgage
BUT
At the same time set up a budget and keep to it
AND cut up all but one of your cards
AND shorten the term on your mortgage by five years to stop you letting the debt grow
Work out where your money goes and take control

DH has spoken to his clerks and they have said the issue won't be able to be resolved in time for this months pay and they are hoping the money we should have had will be in his pay at the end of March! So frustrating. I just hope we actually get it next month. We've had this sort of thing happen before and last time it took ages to get it all resolved. Fingers crossed it's different this time 🙏🏼

money
Bother. Is that the Crapita outsourcing team ?
If they have verified that its an error so the March pay will be right, are they going to make sure that the NI and pension percentages are not buggered up?
And will they offer you a sub so that you are not in hardship due to their error ?
A bit of playing hardball can work wonders with pen pushers

Thanks Talk. I'll speak to DH and have him check all of those things with the clerks. Honestly the army are useless with this sort of thing.

We do have a £7,000 credit limit on our credit card and have less than £1,000 on it now so luckily we're not completely buggered! It's just annoying and feels like we'll be taking a backwards step if we have to use the card. Will do our utmost to survive on the pay we get.

Is that the Crapita outsourcing team?

Most probably! lol.

talk that would be a good plan but mortgage is already massive and I’m not sure we can borrow any more as we are up to five times salary. Oops. No choice but to work hard and chip away at it. Good advice though so 🙏.

bohbell
Ah, OK, then yes, get a budget, get the cards onto standing order and when they are gone, start throwing money at the mortgage.

money
Credit card headroom is VERY useful stuff.

@bohbell if you are maxxed out in the mortgage as well then now is definitely the time to get things under control. Because otherwise only a small ish dip in fortune could see your equity being eroded. We are in a fairly similar position - decent equity but also a hefty mortgage and cc debt. It’s why I am determined to get cc paid off so I can shift to overpaying mortgage!

We currently have four of my nephew's to stay for a few days today. So had to go food shopping for meals for everyone. I was under budget by going to Aldi for lost of the stuff and just picking up from Asda the stuff I couldn't get from Aldi. I've gone for slow cooker meals so it'll be cheaper.
With the extra money that we set aside for the shopping and didn't use, I've spent £6.99 on a treasure trail outdoor activity for tomorrow and we'll take a picnic. Saving us a lot of money for tomorrow rather than buying them food when we're out.

There's still money left so we've bought a movie and put the rest onto my husband's credit card bill.

It does feel good knowing how cheaply we can do things but a little tiring too, having to preplan a picnic etc.

Hi all would a fellow despairing debtee still be welcome to join? Have been lurking for a while I think I did join one previously a while back but fell off due to family health circs. DH and I both have personal debt but this is for me to crack on with mine as we have separate finances( so we are both kind of motivating each other to get them cleared) I want to get mine gone ASAP! Sooo this is what I have
3700 visa (the beast)
606 overdraft 1
431 overdraft 2
580 tax creds 1
550 tax cred 2 ( these after some investigation are from 20 10 /11!!
465 my parents (this was 1250 beginning of last year)
And just for good measure 50 argos!!!
Phew. I'm working 40 hours a week and have ( if they will have me) joined the £10 a day thread so am motivated to get it gone hopefully by the end of 2020 at latest.

Hi there Jukebox
Is the visa on a standing order ?
Once that is done you can focus on the others
prioritise by interest rate - Argos then overdraft then overdraft then tax credits then tax credits then parents
You can do this

gruffalo
Planning and budgeting is a lot harder than mindless spending.
But it is worth it

Probably should have said (sorry) that the overdrafts and visa are with a debt company but have honoured the banks agreement ( no interest) I am currently paying off at 10 a month on the overdrafts and 20 on the visa which I can review every 6 months. I was putting any spare cash in a savings account to then offer them an early settlement but I have been looking this up and apparently a settlement can adversely affect credit score so not sure if I'd just be better paying them all in full ( even though I'd save a few hundred settling).. Any thoughts? Argos will hopefully be paid on my next payday in full.

Jukebox
There is ZERO point in having money in a savings account earning diddly squat when you are paying crippling interest on your borrowing.

Pay off the Argos right away.

Rather than lump sums, divide what you have in savings by 6 and offer that between them every month - make a nice dent in all three.
OR
Clear down the tax credits which will be accumulating interest

Thanks talkin I shall be getting stuck into some number crunching and I've been playing with the snowball technique to get the time down. Ive just managed to squeeze 25 off Argos and the other 25 WILL go on payday. Yes tax creds are my next point of attack as interest frozen on the others.

Unexpected money came in yesterday. A £50.80 cheque from capital one as a remittance payment. No idea why. £50 from family members because we did some manual labour to help them out, and £160 from my mom because of the same reason.

So I paid £200 off my loan straight away. Still waiting for the cheque to clear

Hello, just thought I’d check in. I did spreadsheets etc a few weeks ago with the idea of beginning extra payments etc with February’s pay (thankfully tomorrow!). But I’ve managed to be careful this month and start this month instead. I’ve paid an extra £100 to each of my CC and put a little into my savings. I know savings are a bit pointless when I have debt but I want to build up a little buffer to get my girls some new summer clothes and school uniform etc. I get stressed every year when it’s time to get new uniform and it ends up going on credit cards. I’ve also put loads of their clothes and mine on eBay and have already had some bids so that will be used for that too. Feeling a bit more determined and in control! This will be the year when I crack it!

Hi there Anxiouslady
WELL DONE on building a plan
taking control of spending / debt is very empowering
and PLEASE make sure you tell your girls about where / how money comes from
as it will save them ever having your stress

Yes absolutely Talk, I never want them to have this stress with debt!

Hello everyone,thought i had better check back in again...bloody aqua card is still high at nearly 3800,I've been paying just over minimum but have brought next down to 600,cleared very &closed my account &the best news is my Barclaycard that was 1300 at Xmas is now down to 325!! Question is doing finish the Barclaycard this month &close or leave it pay minimum &start paying everything to aqua?? Help 😮

Just checking in too.
Does anyone else countdown to payday just so they can see their balances come down?!
@cast, will psychologically feel better to clear Barclaycard I'd expect but check out the difference in interest. Are you able to balance transfer to zero interest?
By next month I'll have cleared £4000 since Christmas.. although still have a way to go

castiel
Which has the higher interest rate ?
If Barclaycard is 20% and Aqua is 30% then it has to be aqua
if they are similar then get the smaller one gone
and then hammer the big one
and WELL DONE on your progress.
Once they are all paid off you'll be able to use half that money to live a bit more relaxedly and the other half for savings
its worth it

@coffeechoc yes I really look forward to the numbers going down after pay day each month . It’s my motivation to keep the standing orders as high as is bearable. I can’t wait for the day it is paid off, but on the plus side it will have given me the good discipline to switch quite a chunk of those payments into standing orders for savings/ mortgage overpayments (I think I will allow myself a little more breathing space though!)

@anxiouslady that sounds like really good progress

Well dine everyone in the great progress.
I am STILL waiting to get my new mortgage sorted, I feel like I'm in limbo until then.
Still hopeful I will be able to pay off the bulk of my debt with it, just leaving a few hundred on one card.