Financial advice required badly

T

ThomasO

Guest
I have an overdraft of 2k euro that I cannot get myself out of. My wages match this every month but after my loan repayments, credit card, SSIA and rent is paid I am almost back to the limit of the OD!
I was going to get an increase in my personal loan to get me out of this but the repayments would be alot more then and I don't want that unless completely unavoidable... anyone got any advise?
 
It doesn't make a lot of sense to be putting savings into your SSIA while paying interest on an overdraft.
 
I was in the same situation for the past while too.

One step I took was to shift my CC balance over to a new CC with a 6 month 0% balance transfer (AIB Gold card in this case but Ulster Bank Zinc is another option). This gives you 6 months to pay off other debts without having to pay anything you owe on the CC. In my own case I pay a percentage of what is owed off that card every month and I do not use it for any purchases (as you will be charged the full interest rate on purchases, its only 0% for balance transfers).

On other notes, do your damndest to try to stop spending on anything you don't need (I know its obvious but still)! Cut out the drinks, fags, nights out and as much as you can until such time as you are starting to climb back into positive territory on your current account. I still have an overdraught on my account but its there for unexpected costs (which is what put me into overdraught territory in the first place). Try and figure out what you are paying out per month and work out some sort of budget.

While you don't have to wear a hairshirt all the time its just a matter of doing the best you can to stay within what you can afford (and knowing what you can afford too).

The SSIA is probably more a drain on your resources at the minute than a benefit. Once you are back in positive territory though make sure to put it back up to the top again.

I'm sure there will be other suggestions too. The CC is one way of putting of giving you breathign space but you need to take control of it and work it out properly. There was a suggestion by someone here about using the money off your CC to pay off your overdraught and then transferring the balance to another card thus putting you back in the black and allowing you to pay off the CC at 0% over the 6 months. If you have the self-control its one idea but its a bit risky if you are in the habit of spending money because its there (I'm not saying you are by the way just a general comment).

Anyway perhaps some of that may be of help.
 
Set a target

Essentially you need to save €2k in addition to whatever you continue to put into your SSIA. (I know this is obvious but this the essence of the issue.)Decide how much you can reasonably save and then you can identify when the overdraft will be cleared - eg, if you can manage €500 per month, it will be cleared in just over four months (slightly more than four months because of the interest that will be charged on the overdraft over this period). Identify all the possibilities of savings, including achieving better value for money, such as the suggestion on transferring to a zero rate credit card.
 
response

Get a 0% credit card. Switch bank loan to a credit union with a low APR look for 6% and bring sambos to work and cut back on all spending...
 
My dog is called Sambos, i don't see what he has to do with it? i'm not too sure he would agree to go to work with you. I suppose that depends on what you do, but you'd probably end up spending more on doggie snacks to keep him onside.
 
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