Severe personal financial debt

I disagree about the gym membership, I see it as a huge luxury, if you want to stay fit you can do so cheaply or for free. Go jogging, walking etc.

is there anything you could do to earn a little bit extra cash, car boot sales? or could you teach something (an instrument/grinds for schoolkids)?can you cut down on other spending (thrifty food shopping, no cds or renting dvds)?

Along with all the good advice about clearing debt with current savings I would put every spare penny into this until it's gone, and then go for my next drink.
good luck with getting to the end of the debt.
 
pernickety said:
I disagree about the gym membership, I see it as a huge luxury, if you want to stay fit you can do so cheaply or for free. Go jogging, walking etc.
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This person spends 58 euro a month on gym membership and the rest (from his/her post) goes on bills and servicing the debt!! Endorphins are released while exercising which lifts the spirits. Yes the OP could go walking or jogging but these are often solitary occupations which give one plenty of time to think. The gym has a social aspect connected to it.
 
liteweight said:
This person spends 58 euro a month on gym membership and the rest (from his/her post) goes on bills and servicing the debt!! Endorphins are released while exercising which lifts the spirits. Yes the OP could go walking or jogging but these are often solitary occupations which give one plenty of time to think. The gym has a social aspect connected to it.
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Yes - but the point of the exercise here is to identify how best to clear or reduce expensive debts or replace it with lower cost debt and to identify budgeting/spending patterns conducive to achieving this goal. Making savings by cutting back on non essential spending is just one step in the right direction.
 
ClubMan said:
Yes - but the point of the exercise here is to identify how best to clear or reduce expensive debts or replace it with lower cost debt and to identify budgeting/spending patterns conducive to achieving this goal. Making savings by cutting back on non essential spending is just one step in the right direction.
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I agree with you Clubman but I believe that if someone becomes too isolated and penny pinching with themselves, they can only hold out for so long before they have a blowout or spending spree! I see some form of socialising as conducive to achieving the goal. I've noticed that people who run up this kind of debt often do so because spending makes them feel good about themselves. I realise there are some who do so simply because they 'want it all now' but to go from that to 'I'll do nothing other than pay the debt', is IMO an unbalanced approach which might well lead to failure in the long term.
 
From the OPs initial numbers he still has 1250 a month left over. Find out where that money is going and you shouldn't have to worry about the E58 for the gym.
 
Hi TomThumb1,Just a few suggestions in addition to what was posted before:Rent:Have you applied for rent relief? Don't know if you've already doing this, but you can claim tax relief on the rent you're paying. That would be worth 254euro to you. Also if you rented in the past (before you went on hols) you can get relief for that too. Think you can only apply for relief for the previous 5 years though!Gym:Also, some companies refund employees for membership of sports and social clubs.. Might be worth checking out if you can claim for that?Petrol:250 a month sounds a bit high to me..Any chance of taking public transport?Hope this helps!
 
Im lost, is there about 1200 euro floating around every month after all bills are paid???
I dont think alot of people would have close to that free every month after all their bills were paid

My advice consolidate 2 boi loans.
Cut up credit cards (goes without saying)
Pay of credit card with highest interest, you should really throw as much money as possible into clearing them.
 
First thing I would say is not to panic! Your finances are not good, but with your SSIA and CU savings maturing soon, and your large (~€1200) excess funds a month, you can easily have this debt paid off in 12 - 18 months.

Also, I am sure you had 2 - 3 years of great fun, so it's not a total disaster.

How much do you spend on alcohol and eating out each month? Can you cut both out for a year or so? As you say yourself, your health is your wealth, well as I've discovered cutting out boozing dramatically helps your health and your wealth...
 
having been the pennypincher getting a house deposit together and a wedding in the same year i reckon that the OP needs to get to grips with just not spending and doing other stuff instead going drinkin or whatever. 18 months would fly and it does not need to be so isolated - have mates to your house to watch the match, dinner etc, go to free museums, for walks join work soccer/ rugby leagues, paint a room in your house to make you feel good about yourself!! a better spent €58 IMO.
The way i worked it was set up standing orders to savings accounts in credit unions that only opened in the mornings, chopped credit cards but kept the number so i could book stuff online but not go shopping, and started walking around the place and noticed free stuff to do, go for a jog in the park on a saturday instead of town!
it can be done - i don't think you will be a hermit either, just plan your outgoings logically - do i need it, will i miss it, is it worth it etc.
 
you should consolidate your 3 BOI ireland loans including visa card and then rip it up seriously if you have to buy with your visa card even with 1000euro left over from your income then you dont really need what your buying ...one visa card is enough.. then when you get your ssia pay off the other visa card and the credit union loan with the remainder plus your savings thatll leave you with 1894euro to save for an emergency.. Honest to god best thing is get rid of visa cards they are so lethal... once everything is consolidated visa cards gone ssia finished you will be loaded... I earn alot less then you and pay a mortgage and car loan etc and am doin alright
 
Hi all,
Thanks again for your support. Just a quick update.

I am getting a new bank of Ireland loan that is joining all the previous loans together including the Visa card for around 23000.

I applied for a Bank Of Scotland Ireland loan to cover the rest and it was rejected.

I have applied for a Bank of Scotland Credit card and a Tesco Credit card. I am hoping one of them will transfer my MBNA balance for a interest free 6months credit. I will then have my SSAI maturing 2months later and I will put it in against the credit union loan and take the 6000 in savings and put it off the credit card. Hopefully at that stage I will be left with the one loan which I will try and pay off as early as possible.

I will know about the credit card transfers in about a week or so....so I will update the forum when I know more.....

Thanks again and fingers crossed it will work out.
Tom
 
Hi all,
Just a quick update on my situation. Mixed news really....
I got the bank of Ireland loan for around 23,000 with no insurance(would have cost 5000 approxover 5years, which was actually more than the interest) I cut up one credit card and reduced the limit to the other to 2000. I need that limit for work etc....

I have applied for a credit card and loan from Bank of scotland but they refused to give me a loan and a credit card. I applied for another credit card with tesco but they also refused. I want to transfer my balance across to an interest free credit card that will tie me over till the ssai comes out in April/May. I have 15000 due then approx which I am going to use to pay off my credit union card loan 12,000 and then use the balance to pay and 4000 gran of my savings in the CU to pay off the other credit card. I would hope to put the money I was saving in the SSAI and paying the credit union off the Bank of Ireland debt.

Would it be worth to try another company for an interest free credit transfer credit card to tie me over for till the SSAI comes out?

thanks again for the support. I might be able to pull myself out of this situation yet!!!
Tom
 
Hi TomThumb

Good start with the initial consolidated loan. How much of a CC transfer are you trying for - is it the full 8k mbna?

I don't think that will ever be taken by another provider at that level.

I would recommend to immediately use the 6k credit union savings to pay down the mbna card - you are being creamed on those charges at the moment.

You should be able to get a 0% transfer then at the lower level.

Failing that you could pay 2k of your salary straight in, which would clear the remaining 2k - stop the remaining monthly charges and then you can use the card to pay for all your monthly bills as normal - (as you would have from your current account). You need to be very disciplined for this and gradually reduce the amount you pay on it each month.
 
paddyodoors said:
I would recommend to immediately use the 6k credit union savings to pay down the mbna card - you are being creamed on those charges at the moment.
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Not an option as the 6k savings (or at least part of this sum) is part of the CU loan agreement.

No harm in keeping up the trying for a 0% transfer. The worst they can do is say no. AIB offer 0% transfers too, apply to them all if you have too (and keep paying down what you can from the total so a transfer would be easier).

You should already be starting to see some more light at the end of the tunnel so hopefully this is helping keep up your motivation!
 
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