all this talk of savings - however we have no savings - no worries there - however we do have overdraft, credit cards..

[ScareyBitchFeast]

and wondered if they should all be combined into a bank loan..
it is not a massive amount compared to some but the over draft, 2 credit cards, probably total ten thousand!
the bank offered us 7 thou loan.
any one any advice on this matter?

i have in the past tried to change to interest free credit card for example but the last one rejected me so am loathe to try again

The loans which the banks give you to repay the overdraft can sometimes be at a higher interest rate than the overdraft. I would pay off the credit cards first, as much as you can afford, then sort the overdrafts out by reducing them monthly. Do a budget and see how much you have left each month to clear these.

thanks for that avenanap.

Message withdrawn

agree. do your best to pay as much as poss off most expensive etc
reduce outgoings massively - really cut down on everything. use cash not any kind of card - makes it seem more real when you pay the bills!

do a budget
meal plan
cut out all treats eg coffee out for 1 week and put money in a pot and at the end see how much you have saved! good motivator, eg daily newspaper 80p, coffee at station £1.75, sandwich at work £3.50, kitkat 55p each day adds up to £33 a week if you work full time.

take stuff with you everywhere eg juice carton, apple, ceral bar so you dont cave in and buy stuff out. use free papers (i nip into station each day even when not at work to get paper!!)

you get the idea

YES, however
the bank did reckon it's interest was 11% on the loan, which is of coruse cheaper than barclay card.

however, i didnt check the cost of itnerest on the overdraft.
will get back to them about that.

Not sure if any 0% ccs around atm, may be worth a look at least for moving some?

i could, as i said, post office one i applied for online rejected me.
have in the past missed payments on ccards. not more than 1 month at a time, but do have a habit of forgetting.

Well the first thing to do is to take an honest look at what you can afford to do in terms of repayment. I'm assuming that you have some cash left over each month if the bank is willing to offer a loan. You need to work out how much you can afford in repayments each month. You need to be realistic about what you need to live on - there is no point in seeting yourself such a tight budget that you lose the will to love. But also take a look at where you could increase income/cut back spending.

Then you need to look at what happens when you take what you have left over and use it to repay your debts. If you have enough both to cover the monthly interest costs and to make reasonable repayments, then it is a matter at looking closely at the interest rates to see which option is best. If you are bad at keeping up regulsr repayments and always end up paying only the minimum then a bank loan will keep you disciplined.

If on the other hand you find that what you have left over each month doesn't even cover the monthly interest charges, then you should prbablly see the CAB and get the interest and balance frozen.

Can't really give definitive advice without more of the picture (incl why you have eneded up in debt). £10k of debt isn't a problem if you earn £60k, but is a significant problem is you earn £10k.

this is true ladymuck, that last paragraph you made.
just a spiral i spose.

so far i have typed out the direct debits we have.
will go on to moneysaver and perhaps will print out a budget plan,

moneysavingexpert is a good resource if you want a forum feel to the advice (though as with any forum it can take a while to work out who knows what they are talking about vs who wants to try to be helpful but is in fact clueless).

I woudl recommend the Money Advice Trust's National Debtline website. It has plenty of information and proforma letters, budgets etc to download. And obviously there is a freephone helpline as well. MAT works with organisations such as the CAB and really sets the standards for debt advice, so is well worth a look.

oh thanks again ladyM

good idea fiofio,
am tempted to do that with my earnings.
need to have a sitdown with DH