# Money advice needed if possible please



## needadice198 (10 Jul 2008)

Hi there

im looking for advice on debt consolidation and general budgeting 




Age: 27

Spouse’s/Partner's age: n/a

Annual gross income from employment or profession: 
Annual gross income of spouse: 25000

Type of employment: Full time 

In general are you spending more than you earn or are you saving? 
Spend more than i earn

Rough estimate of value of home

I rent this is 600 per month


Other borrowings – 

Overdraft 1200 
HP on Laptop 50



Do you pay off your full credit card balance each month? 
If not, what is the balance on your credit card? 

Credit Card X 3 = 1 x 6000 1x5000 1 x 1000

Savings and investments:

Credit union= 700

Do you have a pension scheme? no

Do you own any investment or other property? no

Ages of children: n/a

Life insurance: n/a


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

I have gotten myself into huge debt with credit cards and would like to know the best ( and lowest interest!) way of getting out of this 

Every month im crippled with outgoings i need to find a cost effective way of reducing my debt and getting expenditure under control

last month 1500 of my wages went on bills 

i would like to go traveling / change job but this is impossible at the moment with all this debt

also who would be the best to borrow off?
thanks for your help


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## cancan (10 Jul 2008)

I would say forget the travelling idea for now, unless you plan on leaving and not coming back!

Usual advice of cut up the cards - transfer to a 0 balance if you can, and take on a part time job to help with debt reduction.

You have a hefty amount of debt there, and you'll need to change your liefetyle to a huge degree to fix that.

Take it in steps, with lifestyle changes and extra work, you may have to suck it up for a year or more, but you will be for the better for it when you are done.

Think of it as a hangover after a party - but you will need to take action soon to get this resolved.

Why are you asking about borrowing? That's about the last thing you need now. The credit tap got you in this mess - first step is to turn it off.


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## needadice198 (10 Jul 2008)

Hi there

Thanks a million for your reply 

Yes the travelling thing will have to go on hold

I was thinking of getting a consolidation loan maybe at a varible rate
i could afford repayments of about 500 a month so i figured this might get me out of the hole a bit

I find paying 3 different credit cards and trying to sort my overdraft a nightmare with other household bills and rent i havent a clue where my money is going!

I would rather have one repayment and no credit cards  

Thanks for your response


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## cancan (10 Jul 2008)

I still do feel that by getting a consolidation loan, you run the risk of having to pay off the debt for a much longer period. It seems like the easy option, but just drags out the misery in the end.

You really have the choice of getting stuck in and trying to resolve it asap, and get yourself in a healthy financial state, or dragging it out over a longer period leaving you in debt for a much longer time.

Personally, I feel that doing whatever it takes to get this down asap, including taking part time work on top of your main job, will give you the opportunity to have financial freedom sooner rather than later.

I may be a painful year or more, but you'll be thankful in the end, and may be able to travel much sooner than you would like, as you will have accustomed yourself to living very frugally, and hence have the ability to save for whatever trips you wish to take at that point. If you ever hope to go travelling, you will need to take these drastic steps in the end.

A long consolidation loan will rob you of your youth IMHO.


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## needadice198 (10 Jul 2008)

Thanks again i can see where your coming from 

Maybe it would be easier to pop all the balances on one card then i would know how much is going off the overall debt? im afraid cos the repayments are 200 + on both that they wont get cleared and i will miss prepayments 

Cheers for your response its really helpful


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## cancan (10 Jul 2008)

To be honest, I am not too well up on balance transfers on cc's and the like, but am sure someone here could advise you as to the best approach.

You have your youth on your side, so can fix this quickly, so it could be a lot worse if this was 10 years down the line...


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## DeclanP (10 Jul 2008)

If you can afford €500 a month repayments then this should be divided proportionally between the three credit cards and the overdraft and you would be out of the woods in two years. The consolidation of the debt is madness and may seem like the easy option but you need to take some responsibility for the debt. A part time job would ease the situation. Finding cheaper accommodation should also be achievable (any chance you could live at home for a while?) or even sharing. Have you spoken to the Credit Union, where you have shares, about your situation or even MABS, who are also very good with people in similar financial messes.


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## michaelm (10 Jul 2008)

If it were me I'd refinance by borrowing around 13k, variable loan over 3 years but I'd aim to pay it off over 2 years or less.  I'd close CC accounts (maybe keeping 1 for emergencies only), clear the overdraft, try end the HP agreement and start living within my means on a cash only basis.


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## television (10 Jul 2008)

Aggreed with Michaelm, but cut all the cards.


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## aishling (10 Jul 2008)

I agree you should cut up all the cards but also think you need to sit down and really work out how you got into cc debt in the first place so you don't end up paying it all off just to repeat history...


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## television (10 Jul 2008)

aishling said:


> I agree you should cut up all the cards but also think you need to sit down and really work out how you got into cc debt in the first place so you don't end up paying it all off just to repeat history...


 
Aggreed. Most important aspect of your suituation is to do just this.


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## Flax (10 Jul 2008)

michaelm said:


> If it were me I'd refinance by borrowing around 13k, variable loan over 3 years but I'd aim to pay it off over 2 years or less. I'd close CC accounts (maybe keeping 1 for emergencies only), clear the overdraft, try end the HP agreement and start living within my means on a cash only basis.


 
I agree with this.

For a quick fix to your spending-more-than-you-earn, give up booze and restaurants. It'll dramatically change your finances and improve your health.


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## needadice198 (21 Jul 2008)

Hi Guys

thanks for all your advice i called my branch and they have given me a loan to consolidate i have cut up the credit cards and once they are paid off iw ill cancel them 

i took the loan over 5 years at a variable rate with no payment protection they want 340 a month for this but i am going to pay 600 

hopefully this will come down quickly!


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## pc7 (21 Jul 2008)

I think you need to start keeping a spending diary to see what your are spending and where you can cut back etc, so you can avoid getting into further debt. Can you move to cheaper accommodation (or home), can you get a 2nd job, bring lunch to work, don't do any shopping for clothes, hair, cut back on nights out etc.  Set a monthly budget and stick to it!


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