# Earning enough, but spending/repaying a lot



## BaBa25 (30 May 2008)

Age: 27
Spouse’s/Partner's age: n/a

Annual gross income from employment or profession: 42k
Annual gross income of spouse:n/a

Type of employment: e.g. Private Sector

In general are you spending more than you earn or are you saving? Trying to Save

Rough estimate of value of home
Amount outstanding on your mortgage: n/a, renting at 550pm
*What interest rate are you paying? *

Other borrowings – car loans/personal loans:
Car Loan1: 148pm approx €1500.00 remaining
CarLoan 2: €200pm- traded up without the first loan being paid off.
Insurance: 40pm
Travel/Petrol: €260pm
Phone: €100pm
Other bills: approx €70pm

Do you pay off your full credit card balance each month? No, the min balance each month.
If not, what is the balance on your credit card? €4,500

Savings and investments: Savings of €1,100 - this was €6k but recently had to pay for a college course/exams etc, have €400dd going into the savings a/cc each month

Do you have a pension scheme? Yes, contrib'

Do you own any investment or other property? No

Ages of children: n/a

Life insurance: AVC


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

The credit card is a concern at the moment. I have not used it for months but am struggling to bring the balance down. I have started a spending diary which i hope will help but I'm concerned with the lack of savings and high debt. I work outside of the county i live in, hence the travel amount. 

I also know the car loan was not a great idea when the first loan wasn't paid off but i did need something more reliable.
I'm expecting a bonus of approx €4k in the next few months. Should I pay off the CC? I was thinking of a bank loan to conver the CC as it would be quicker than waiting for the bonus..


Any advice welcome.


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## dereko1969 (30 May 2008)

it doesn't make any sense to pay 400 a month into your savings when you've got such a large balance outstanding on your credit card, firstly try and move the card to a 0% payment for 6 months and use that time to clear it, use the 1,100 in your savings account to pay off a lump of it first then using the amount you're currently putting into the savings account you should have it paid off in the 6 months.


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## so-crates (30 May 2008)

I'd second Derek, you aren't in a terrible position and some thoughtful re-arrangement of your outgoings would improve your position considerably. If you don't want to touch your savings (and I do appreciate that the sense of having some money in savings is comforting) If you decided to stop the direct debit for your savings for a year you would probably clear your credit card in that time and could then re-start your savings again. Using the lump sum would be quicker and at 25 with few responsibilities (no mortgage and no kids!) it would be a sensible risk to take.


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## ClubMan (30 May 2008)

I also agree. Saving while carrying presumably expensive unsecured debt makes little sense. Clear these debts first before resuming your regular savings/investments. And try to budget better to avoid the need for expensive unsecured debts unless you really need them. Using the bonus to clear the _CC _debt seems to make sense. In the meantime use the money that would otherwise go into savings.


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