# hi i need help!!!



## KELLIE123 (3 Oct 2007)

we have 2,000 savings,,,
mortgage of   1053
credid card x2 200 
credit union     700
dentist             100
plus 3 kids 2 cars 2 dogs esb gas clothes food and that lot up there out of 2300


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## Purple (3 Oct 2007)

KELLIE123 said:


> I'm up to my eyes in debt at the min,, Just applied to blue cube and found this site which has told me a thing or two about them,, anyway;
> Balance	Payment
> MORTGAGE..........................?...........€1054
> credit card..........................2000.........100
> ...



Apologies if I'm out of order but I have copied and edited your post from the other thread here as it gives more details.


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## KELLIE123 (3 Oct 2007)

thanks purple i couldn't find that,,


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## DrMoriarty (3 Oct 2007)

Purple said:


> Can you lay out your details a bit better please?
> Do you have any savings?
> Can you generate any other income? (weekend job, students in house etc)


I've deleted the posts in the other thread started by asia1.

Purple's right, can you be a bit clearer? And in the longer term, you're going to have to try to increase your income (or reduce your expenditure, though it's hard to see how) to avoid getting further into debt. Consolidation might not be the best option for you.

In the meantime, can you maybe ask the CU for a temporary repayment holiday and clear the credit card debt as quickly as possible? (and then get rid of the credit card!)


KELLIE123 said:


> hubby wages........€2,300


With two kids and only this income, have you checked to see if you qualify for anything like Family Income Supplement? Do you have a medical card?


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## KELLIE123 (3 Oct 2007)

thats what i think i will have to do,,,i saty at home with 3 kids well 2 at school in a new area so no one around to mind the baby,,plus i wouldn't earn that much,,not enough to pay a child minder,,


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## Purple (3 Oct 2007)

Can you down size either car?
Can you take in students?
Can you or hubby get a weekend job? (I know that's hard with three kids!)

Your first priority should be to get rid of the credit card debt. Can you use your savings on one and reduce other repayments to get rid of the other?
Once you have done that then adopt a policy of only using them when you need them (buying on-line etc) and have the money saved to pay the bill before you spend it.

You have loads of smallish short-term debts. It’s not a mountain you have to climb, just a load of hills. The reality is though that you don’t have anywhere enough disposable income to get out of this in the short term without making some hard changes.
Can you give an indication of how long you have left on the loads? (You may find it easier if you “quote” my post –quote button on bottom right of my post- and copy and paste it into a word document before adding your extra details and deleting the quote tags).


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## Purple (3 Oct 2007)

What about childrens allowance?


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## KELLIE123 (3 Oct 2007)

Can you down size either car? *they pretty small anyway*
Can you take in students? *too far away from city*
Can you or hubby get a weekend job? *he could i suppose*,,
Can you give an indication of how long you have left on the loads? *they all prety new we just moved house,,about 4 yrs left*


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## KELLIE123 (3 Oct 2007)

oh ya childrens allowance goes toward one credit union loan


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## DrMoriarty (3 Oct 2007)

From that page on _FIS _that I linked to:


> ...to qualify, your net average weekly family income must be below a certain amount for your family size.
> [3 children => €625/week (= €2,800-ish per month?)]
> It's important to be aware that, no matter how little you may qualify for, you will still get a minimum of 20 euro each week.


You should look into it. You could be entitled to more than you think.

Have you had a look at the _MABS_ website?


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## KELLIE123 (3 Oct 2007)

i must look into that,,thank you every little helps,,


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## DrMoriarty (3 Oct 2007)

Good luck. Let us know how you get on.


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## Purple (3 Oct 2007)

KELLIE123 said:


> oh ya childrens allowance goes toward one credit union loan


That gives you an extra €515 a month. Still not much to feed and clothe a family though...


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## D8Lady (3 Oct 2007)

What is the interest rate on the credit cards? If you haven't done so already, I'd suggest you move them to a tesco card, 0% for 6 months. Any money you pay will go off the loan and not be chewed up by interest. 

After 6 months, move the card to Ulster bank. They have 9 months interest free and so on until it is all paid off. 

It only really workes if you stop using the cards as well. Take them out of you wallet. 

At 200 per month, it will take you 25 months to pay them off if no interest. 

Good luck.
D8L


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## Vanilla (4 Oct 2007)

Could you do some childminding yourself?


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## KELLIE123 (4 Oct 2007)

Could you do some childminding yourself?*I HAVE BEEN THINKING ABOUT THAT TOO,,BIT SCARY LOOKING AFTER OTHER PEOPLES KIDS THO,,HAVE ALREADY CHANGED TO TESCO WILL TRY ULSTER BANK NOW WITH THE CREDIT CARDS,,THANKS GUYS*


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## Neadyk (4 Oct 2007)

Get in touch with mabs - www.mabs.ie.  They are great to help with money issues and the service is free and confidential. I dont work for them but they gave a talk in work recently and seem to be able to help people. Good luck.


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## KELLIE123 (4 Oct 2007)

has anyone heard of mint credit cards,,just got an e-mail saying they have 0% balance transfer until dec 2008


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## Sherman (4 Oct 2007)

KELLIE123 said:


> has anyone heard of mint credit cards,,just got an e-mail saying they have 0% balance transfer until dec 2008


 
I could be wrong but I think Mint is a UK-only credit card, so that won't be much use to you. Also, I would run a mile from any unsolicited financial services offerings - unless you contacted them?

I reckon in your situation you should look seriously at minding other peoples' kids - it may seem scary at first, but I'm sure you do a great job with your own kids, so minding another few kids wouldn't be any great challenge, and it would sure help with your situation - you could earmark any money earned from it purely for paying off your credit cards. 

As others have said, you really need to cut up the credit cards and stop any further borrowing.


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## KELLIE123 (4 Oct 2007)

ya mint is uk only,,have syarted doing up flyers for the child minding,,fingers crossedxx


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## KELLIE123 (11 Oct 2007)

*blue cube loans*

hi i have just been approved a loan by blue cube loans but i'm a bit nervous about it i dont know why,,think it's because i have never heard of them before till last week,,has anybody had any dealing with them good or bad,,thanks


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## ClubMan (11 Oct 2007)

*Re: blue cube loans*

Did you shop around? Why did you choose this crowd? What are the details of the loan - i.e. amount, type - variable/fixed, rate (APR), term, purpose etc.?


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## KELLIE123 (11 Oct 2007)

*Re: blue cube loans*

tsb boi turned us down it's 7.9% over 5 yrs 20,000 €502 at month to consolidate our other loans 2 credit unions 2 credit cards car ins and christams coming


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## ClubMan (11 Oct 2007)

*Re: blue cube loans*

OK - I see one of your other threads here that sheds some more light on your situation.

Did you not try more than just _TSB _and _BOI_?


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## KELLIE123 (11 Oct 2007)

*Re: blue cube loans*

no i got bored,,and we really needed 30 but thats all they would give us,,so we have to keep one of the other loans too which kinda defeats the whole purpose of it all!!!have a form here for ulster bank might try them,,


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## daveccork (11 Oct 2007)

*Re: blue cube loans*

is it a personal loan? If so isn't 7.9% quite good?


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## KELLIE123 (11 Oct 2007)

*Re: blue cube loans*

well hubby thinks it's 7.9 ya it's a personal loan,,just feel it's never ending now, constant loans, big mortgage, 3 kids,,


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## irishpancake (11 Oct 2007)

*Re: blue cube loans*



KELLIE123 said:


> well hubby thinks it's 7.9 ya it's a personal loan,,just feel it's never ending now, constant loans, big mortgage, 3 kids,,



Hi Kellie

I'm sorry to say this, but those figures do not indicate €20k @ 7.9%. 

If this was the rate, monthly payment should be €405p.m. (approx).

I feel that you are being charged the top rate advertised by these sub-prime lenders. 

This would be 16.9%, according to their website info.

[broken link removed]



> This is a variable rate loan agreement as defined by the Consumer Credit Act 1995. An APR rate, ranging from 7.9% to 16.9% will apply and the actual rate charged is dependent on our assessment of the information provided by the applicant and the applicant’s creditworthiness.



Putting this amount through my [broken link removed], this would work out at €496 p.m.

The figure you quote, €502p.m. may also contain "credit payment protection", or could be an APR adjusted rate.



> The Credit Payment Protection Plan is subject to eligibility. The Life Assurance element of the Credit Payment Protection Plan is underwritten by Irish Life Assurance plc. The other protection elements of the plan are underwritten by Cigna Europe Insurance Company S.A.-N.V.



This is almost robbery, and I would not advise signing up for this, you should have a cooling-off period, is it 14 days?

Remember, the difference per month from 7.9% to 16.9% is almost €100, which adds up to €6000 for the term of the loan.

I personally feel that you would be much better off confronting the issues which have lead to this situation, i.e. don't consolidate, go to MABS and work out some accomodation with your creditors.

Please don't go down the never-ending cycle which only ends with an ever-increasing burden for you and your loved ones. 

Take control, go to [broken link removed], take the first step out of debt, don't go further in.


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## ClubMan (11 Oct 2007)

*Re: blue cube loans*



irishpancake said:


> Take control, go to [broken link removed], take the first step out of debt, don't go further in.


Indeed. This advice was already given in the other thread that I linked to above but I have no idea whether or not it was followed up on but the original poster.


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## ClubMan (12 Oct 2007)

*Re: blue cube loans*

I have merged this thread into the original _Money Makeover _thread since the two issues are so intimately linked.


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## Bronte (12 Oct 2007)

OP I cannot believe you got bored with looking for the best deal.  Do you not care about what interest rate you will pay?  That's what has gotton you into this situation in the first place.  As for hubby 'thinking' it's the lower rate - he should know exactly what the rate is.  Did he not sign some documents with it clearly written thereon?  If this new loan is at circa 17% it's a huge amount to pay and still keeping one of the other loans, seems to me you are going to sink further into debt going down this route.  I think you need to go back and look at the figures again.  And cut up the credit cards, save for Xmas and agree to buy (very) small presents.


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## Sherman (12 Oct 2007)

*Re: blue cube loans*



KELLIE123 said:


> and christmas coming


 
I don't get this deal of going into debt for Christmas.

Kellie, you came here looking for help and a bit of advice. I think it's now time to cop the hell on. 

If you have to borrow for Christmas, you can't afford it. Your kids will be just as happy with cheaper presents, and friends / family really won't expect presents if you explain you're doing a bit of belt tightening (no need to tell them anything more).

Seriously, are you going to borrow for Christmas every year? If so, your fears are correct, you'll end up in a never-ending cycle of debt, and ultimately poverty - is this how you want to live your life? Blue Cube must love people like you - too lazy to look around for a better deal - your laziness will cost you thousands extra over the life of that loan.

P.S. Did you never think that maybe there's a very good reason why the main banks have refused to lend you any more money? Take it as a friendly hint and try to get control of your money rather than just borrowing your way temporarily out of trouble.  

Golden rule - if you have to borrow for it, you can't afford it.

As others have said to you repeatedly *contact MABS today - no delay!!*

Look, I'm even putting their number here so you have no excuse - just pick up the bloody phone! *MABS 1890 283 438*.


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## KELLIE123 (12 Oct 2007)

thanks to everyone ye are so right we not taking blue cube loan,,,


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## KELLIE123 (12 Oct 2007)

sherman made me cry,,,boo hoo, but thanks really needed a kick up the backside,,told everyone no presents this yr..going to get out of this never ending circle,,thanks again ye have been fantastic,,


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## ClubMan (12 Oct 2007)

Did you contact _MABS _yet? If not why not?


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## KELLIE123 (12 Oct 2007)

i did i have an appointment with them next week,,it's just the embarrasement of it at least with online loans you dont ever see antone


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## ClubMan (12 Oct 2007)

You should not be embarrassed contacting _MABS _about this. Thats is what they are there for. You need to get over your boredom and embarrassment and start looking at practical steps that you can take to sort your finances out. People have already provided some useful tips here in this thread and in lots of other similar threads. _MABS _will probably give you more suggestions. But only you can put some of the suggestions into practice and sort your situation out.


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## so-crates (12 Oct 2007)

> it's just the embarrasement of it at least with online loans you dont ever see antone


 
You might not see with your own eyes a person when you are dealing online but in every case there is at least one person that you are dealing with. They know about your problems or at least they can guess at them, why otherwise would you be dealing with them? And they don't have your best interests at heart, in fact they don't have any reason to care about you at all. The embarrassment is a perception fraud - because you don't see a face or hear a voice you can deceive yourself into thinking that there is no-one there - even if you consciously know that there is, the absence of any personal interaction allows you to push it to one side.


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## irishpancake (12 Oct 2007)

Hi again Kellie

I am so glad you have decided to go the MABS route  

Don't hesitate to seek further support and advice here.

For Clubman, I'm sorry, I hadn't realised there was a second thread, didn't notice your link  

Hopefully the AAM Community has helped Kellie, and others in similar situations, to realise that there is help and advice out there, particularly from MABS. 

Just realise that there is no easy or overnight solution, but seeking and taking advice is a very good start.


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## Bronte (12 Oct 2007)

1. "thanks to everyone ye are so right we not taking blue cube loan,,,"

First step - well done

2. "no presents this yr"

more progress

3. "i did i have an appointment with them next week"

Fantastic, Kellie123, 3 simple steps to help you on the right track, it's difficult but you will get there. 

You should not be embarrased to deal with MABS that is what they are there for.   You will be glad you did.  Best of luck with them next week.


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## bubbles26 (7 Nov 2007)

KELLIE123 if you dont mind me asking what did you find otu abotu blue cube loans, i am between them and tesco at the mo looking for a loan


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