# Advice required please



## anfeardearg (31 Jan 2008)

Age: 38
Spouse’s/Partner's age: 34

Annual gross income from employment or profession: 55k
Annual gross income spouse: 8k

Type of employment: Engineering (currently working as contractor) 

Expenditure pattern: Spending more than I save
Rough estimate of value of home €300k
Mortgage on home €160k. 19 years remaining.
Mortgage provider: NIB
Type of mortgage: Tracker

Other borrowings – car loan 8k, personal loans 18k, credit card 2k

Do you pay off your full credit card balance each month? No
If not, what is the balance on your credit card? 2k

Savings and investments:

Do you have a pension scheme? Yes, but have stopped paying into it

Do you own any investment or other property? No

Ages of children: 8 5 1

Life insurance: Yes, for mortgage


*What specific question do you have or what issues are of concern to you? *

I'm thinking of refinancing in order to reduce my monthly outgoings, however my present bank is only ofering a top-up for home improvements and not for refinancing. They have offered to increase the term of my loan to either 25/30 years, thereby reducing my mortgage repayment from 1090 to 914/834 respectively. This will save me 175/255 per month but I'll end up paying back a lot more in the long run.

Personal loan is costing me 500 per month and car loan 200 so 1800 going out each month.

Alternatively I can refinance elsewhere but am concerend that my status as a contract worker will affect the interest rate I can achieve.

Any advice or suggestions would be most welcome.


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## Gus2008 (1 Feb 2008)

I would think that refinancing ought to be a last resort.

Can you consolidate your loans in one monthly payment? Get rid of the credit card that way too. 

Maybe do up a detailed plan to see exactly where your money is going. that may help you identify savings. But for the sake of €150-€200 per month, it's not worth stretching your mortgage out unless you really have no other alternative.


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## ClubMan (1 Feb 2008)

Yes - as per the previous post you need to stop living off the _CC _for a start and keep a detailed and accurate spending diary to see where exactly the money is going.

Have you contacted MABS for advice?

I presume you're getting _Child Benefit _for the three kids and _Early Childcare Supplement _for the youngest two?

Could you switch lenders and then consolidate then unsecured debts onto the mortgage? This is only a good idea if you can ensure to clear the topup over a similar term to the original unsecured loans and if it is done as a once off approach to rectifying your finances. You need to make sure that you don't get into a cycle of racking up debt and then sticking it on the mortgage.


> Expenditure pattern: Spending more than I save


Is the problem not more than you are spending more than you *earn*?


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## anfeardearg (1 Feb 2008)

> Can you consolidate your loans in one monthly payment? Get rid of the credit card that way too.


 
Apart from remortgaging, I hadn't thought of this. Is it easy to get a 110 year personal loan (for instance?)



> Yes - as per the previous post you need to stop living off the _CC _for a start and keep a detailed and accurate spending diary to see where exactly the money is going.
> 
> Have you contacted MABS for advice?


 
Yes. Going to start the diary this weekend. Haven't really considered MABS. I don't think I need to just yet - I am concious of wasting their time and taking support from people who may need it more than we do. 



> I presume you're getting _Child Benefit _for the three kids and _Early Childcare Supplement for the youngest two?_


 
Yes. Benefit goes straight towards loans though.



> Could you switch lenders and then consolidate then unsecured debts onto the mortgage?


 
This is what we're now looking into. As I said earlier, I'm afraid that my employment status will rule me out of the best value remortgages from prime lenders and thus it will be uneconomic to switch.

Thanks for taking the time to reply,
AFD


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## anfeardearg (1 Feb 2008)

> Is it easy to get a 110 year personal loan


 
Sorry, this should have read 10


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## ClubMan (1 Feb 2008)

You should not be afraid to contact _MABS_. They are there to help. You can minimise the inconvenience to them by having all of your financial details laid out clearly.


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