Help with my debt problems?

Question

I am a recent graduate and whilst i was at university i run up debts of £6500. I have just started a job where i get £1228 after tax but I have to pay £355 on rent £35 on phone bill £40 on car insurance and £127 travel to work so I am left with £557 a month to live and pay off my debts with plus I would like to save some money as I am hoping to get a mortgae soon. Have you got any advice on how much i should save and how much I should pay off as I am struggling? Please help I am desperate.

Answer 1

You're doing okay. You're just getting started. You'll eventually make more and have more to work with. Just keep paying off your debt and it will eventually be gone. DON'T accrue any more debt for ANY reason! Just for a house and an education. Start to save 10% of your income. Pay yourself first. It seems hard at first but once you get into the habit it's easy. You're the most important person to you and you need to take care of yourself first. Then soon enough you'll have your down payment. Relax.
You'll always want something you can't afford. That goes for millionaires and paupers alike. Get used to it and don't strss about it. You're off to a fine start. Do what's right and you'll live a better life than most.

Answer 2

Consider all of the following:

1. Talk to providers and restructure your debt so you can afford the repayments.

2. Do a lifestyle audit. Can you move back in with your parents or live in a cheaper place for 12 months while you sort things out? Do you really need to eat out or spend £35 a month on a phone? etc etc. If you cut back in the short term you will reach your goal sooner.

3. Savings will almost definitely have lower interest than your debt does. Pay it off first and then start saving.

4. Remove temptation for more debt such as credit cards. Only use them if you feel confident you will spend no more each month than you can afford to pay off. Keep them locked up, don't take them shopping.

Answer 3

It depends a little on the interest rate and minimum payments but 6,500 isn't a lot of money if you can make it longer term debt. Otherwise, it looks like you'll have to make cuts elsewhere or get a second job. Sorry dude but even a part time job (say 80 hours a month) at 7.5 an hour should net you around 400 extra a month net of taxes which means you will be able to pay off your debts in a little over a year.

good luck\

Answer 4

There are a number of ways you can help yourself because only you can figure out ways to either increase income or reduce expenses. While a mortgage is great goal, you may want to put that off until you are out of debt. With home ownership comes alot of responsibility for taxes, insurance, maintenance, etc. so if you are struggling with your debt now, adding a mortgage won't help. Concentrate on paying that debt as a priority. Now, can you take in a flatmate? work a second job? sell belongings to pay off or pay down the debt? get lower interest on the debt? Savings is a great goal as is a mortgage but free yourself up to make it a reality. Sometimes you have to give up things in order to have other things. Can you move closer to work to reduce your travel expense and lower your rent? Do you really need the phone? Do you eat out often? Review your expenses, cut where you can, and make sure your priorities and goals are realistic and you'll be fine.

Answer 5

keep payin the minimum amount to keep your credit rating up whatever you do.
Next give this below a go i got money problems at moment and just tried it and have made £33 in just over an hour Ok so its not going to clear your debts but it will give you a bit extra cash each month and if you keepit in your account then you should be able to pay a bit more off each month than the minimum. There is no end to what you can earn with this the more posts you place then the more youll earn as the more people can see the letter and take up the offer
Good luck and happy earning

PayPal Money Maker
Post by Allison Harvell on 6. January. 2007

Paypal!guaranteed Money Maker!
FORGET THE "WEBIK" LETTER.
FORGET THE "DANGOPAY" MAILER.
FORGET THE OLD "PAYPAL LETTER."
NO MORE $6 TO $6000 BY MAIL.
IF YOU REALLY WANT TO MAKE BIG CASH FAST, YOU HAVE TO GET IN AT THE VERY BEGINNING. WE ALL KNOW THAT THE LONGER YOU WAIT, THE LESS RETURN YOU GET ON YOUR INVESTMENT. WELL, THIS IS AS NEW AS IT GETS. THIS LETTER WAS STARTED ON JANUARY 6 2007. WHICH MEANS THAT EVERYONE THAT GETS ON BOARD EARLY, WILL RECEIVE THE BIGGEST PIECE OF THE PIE. DO NOT WAIT UNTIL IT IS OVER SATURATED. IN A MATTER OF DAYS, THIS LETTER WILL BE IN EVERY MESSAGE BOARD ON THE INTERNET. NO SCAM, NO SPAM, NO PYRAMID. THIS IS PERFECTLY LEGAL AND LATER I WILL EXPLAIN WHY.
THIS IS A BRAND NEW LETTER. HOWEVER, IT STILL USES PAYPAL. YOU CAN NOT BEAT THE BEST AND MOST TRUSTED NAME IN ON-LINE PAYMENT SERVICES. First of all, the other letters say that if you open a WEBIK or DANGOPAY account, you will receive $5 just for signing up. That is not exactly true. First you have to deposit a certain amount of money and they will add $5 to your deposit as a free gift. You can then withdraw the amount you originally deposited. That is too much of a hassle and takes too much time. To be honest, the main goal is to make as much money as quickly as you can. This letter will explain how you can take £3 and turn it into THOUSANDS in a matter of days, and in some cases, just hours!!! We all know that TONS of money has been made using all of these programs and this one is no different, except that it is BRAND NEW. I will explain to you the simplest, easiest, and most secure way for you to start making HUGE CASH PROFITS!!!

First, go to www.paypal.co.uk and sign up for an account. It is totally free. A business account is recommended because it does not have a sending or withdrawal limit. Paypal says you can even use your name as your
business.

https://www.paypal.co.uk click on sign up in the top right corner and open an account if you do not have one already.

Next, deposit £3 into your new Paypal account. You can do this by adding your bank account to your Paypal account. (This may take 3-4 days.) Or if you want to start right away, use your credit or debit card to make the £3 deposit to Paypal. Paypal guarantees your security when using personal information. They do not release your information to third parties. Very, very, very, secure!
Take the £3 in your Paypal account and follow these simple steps:

1) Click on the "SEND MONEY" tab

2) Enter the e-mail address in the #1 position

1. [e-mail]
2. [e-mail]
3. [e-mail]

3) Send the £3 to the first e-mail address with an attached note, or a seperate e-mail saying "ADD ME TO YOUR MAILING LIST." This makes it legal.

4) Copy this letter. To do this, simply place your cursor at the top of the page, hold it and drag it all the way down to the end of this letter, which will highlight it. Then click on "EDIT" and select "COPY."
Now open "wordpad" file on your computer and put the cursor in the top of the page in the notepad. Then click on "EDIT," then select "PASTE." This will copy the letter onto your computer. Be sure to save this letter as a text file. Then send an e-mail to the 3rd position (3rd e-mail) saying "THANKS, I'VE JOINED." This also makes this legal.

5) Now remove the #1 e-mail address and move #2 and #3 up a position, and list your e-mail as #3.

6) Log on to YAHOO, GOOGLE or any other major search engine, and type in "making money message board," or "post message," or " making money forums," or "employment," or "business opportunity," or " chat sites," or " news groups." Post this letter in at least 150-200 of these message boards and news groups. It is very important that you post as many as possible, because the more you post, the quicker your name will move up the list. When your name reaches the #1 position, is when you start bringing in the BIG BUCKS!!

Now just sit back and watch your Paypal account grow!!!

Good luck and make lots and lots of money!!!!!!!!!!

Answer 6

Get in contact with the company that you debts are with. They have to help you come to some agreement to help you if you are struggling to make ends meet. But check before you commit to something though, because a lot of these payment plans they could offer you may affect your credit rating which will make it difficult for you to get a decent mortgage.

Answer 7

Try Citizens Advice. Here's their website:

http://www.citizensadvice.org.uk/mac/index

They are very good at helping people sort out their debts, and their services are completely free of charge.

Good luck :-)

Answer 8

In "Secret History of the Credit Card," FRONTLINE® and The New York Times join forces to investigate an industry few Americans fully understand. In this one-hour report, correspondent Lowell Bergman uncovers the techniques used by the industry to earn record profits and get consumers to take on more debt.

"The almost magical convenience of plastic money is critical to our famously compulsive consumer economy," Bergman says. "With more than 641 million credit cards in circulation and accounting for an estimated $1.5 trillion of consumer spending, the U.S. economy has clearly gone plastic."

Millions of American families use their personal, general-purpose credit cards such as Visa, Mastercard, American Express and Discover to make ends meet; credit cards have been a discreet lifeline for families in financial straits.

Read more, or watch the program online. It is a great resource to help understand debt, and how to get out of it.

Answer 9

Pay off the minimum to keep your credit rating high and the rest save if possible.

Answer 10

Go to your local citizens advice bureau they will be able to help you sort out your debt problems.