Money Struggle

intheclouds

Club55 wrote: »

BOI Loan balance €1,319 - Repayment €85 per month
Credit union Me balance (stupid as a teen) €7,000 - Repayments €175 per month
Credit union Wife (college debt) balance €5,150 - Repayments €240 per month
Credit union Joint balance €3,193 - Repayments €120 per month
Debt Collector(debt thats over 10 years old, they have settled on €50 pm) €5,120
Loan for a car €8,886 -€228 per month-Can't sell the car have tried! 2011 mondeo
Credit card debt (historic) €948 - Repayments €119 per month
Current credit card €500 - Repayments €50 per month - never reduces balance due to interest
Family loan repayment €100 per month

See will the debt collector settle for less?

The current credit card - there is no point in paying and not reducing the balance - thats basically adding to your debt each month. I suggest you address that immediately and pay off the 500 (pay less on any of the other debt to facilitate this) and bring it to zero immediately. That then frees up 50 euro a month to go elsewhere AND it is a debt that is cleared. Perhaps tell the credit union you need a loan pay moratorium to do this. Cut up the credit card then.

Next tackle the historic credit card debt - either do similar to above and pay it off all at once while letting the other debt wait or substantially increase the repayments on it to clear it in 2 or 3 months.

Both of those debts are costing you the most in terms of interest.

The credit union - can the 3 debts here be consolidated within the credit union itself - they are the next to tackle - Ive no doubt the credit union charges high interest.

What is the family loan repayment?

fits

Yep if you could get the two credit cards off your back it would be a start. I would be looking for a pause in the other loans so you can clear those.

Club55

intheclouds wrote: »

See will the debt collector settle for less?

The current credit card - there is no point in paying and not reducing the balance - thats basically adding to your debt each month. I suggest you address that immediately and pay off the 500 (pay less on any of the other debt to facilitate this) and bring it to zero immediately. That then frees up 50 euro a month to go elsewhere AND it is a debt that is cleared. Perhaps tell the credit union you need a loan pay moratorium to do this. Cut up the credit card then.

Next tackle the historic credit card debt - either do similar to above and pay it off all at once while letting the other debt wait or substantially increase the repayments on it to clear it in 2 or 3 months.

Both of those debts are costing you the most in terms of interest.

The credit union - can the 3 debts here be consolidated within the credit union itself - they are the next to tackle - Ive no doubt the credit union charges high interest.

What is the family loan repayment?

Thanks for the advice, definitely going to tackle the cards first. They are both well cut up with a long time.

The family loan is a one off situation, my parents were in a bit of trouble and needed help so myself and my 4 sisters got a loan to dig them out (loan in my sisters name and we all equally contribute monthly)

intheclouds

Club55 wrote: »

Thanks for the advice, definitely going to tackle the cards first. They are both well cut up with a long time.

The family loan is a one off situation, my parents were in a bit of trouble and needed help so myself and my 4 sisters got a loan to dig them out (loan in my sisters name and we all equally contribute monthly)

How much is left on that one?

You definitely need to prioritise on the higher interest loans. The idea is you take your monthly amount that loans cost you (1200) and you make the smallest payment possible on the lower interest loans and then make as big a payment possible on the higher interest loans.

You can do it all out in a spreadsheet but the basic idea is to cut down on how much it is costing you to actually service the debt. A good example is your current credit card. Its costing you 600 a year to service that loan and you and not paying anything off the capital. Thats madness. That loan can be cleared in 1 month and that saves you 600 per year as well as the capital amount of 500 itself. There is NO point in just servicing debt without paying money off the capital.

So you take the highest interest loans one at a time and divert the maximum amount to paying them off and as you get rid of each one it is costing you less and less to service the debt which frees up more and more to pay off the rest of the debt.

On the car loan - what kind of a loan is that? Is it Hire Purchase? Could the half rule be applied here?

m'lady

I was just about to ask could the half rule be applied, but intheclouds has just suggested it. It might be an option op..

I would be wary about the advice about downgrading the cars. You are both driving an hour to work and need a reliable car. Buying something cheaper could be a false economy if you it ends up giving trouble and you have to pump money into it.

d-gal

Club55 wrote: »

Thanks for the advice, definitely going to tackle the cards first. They are both well cut up with a long time.

The family loan is a one off situation, my parents were in a bit of trouble and needed help so myself and my 4 sisters got a loan to dig them out (loan in my sisters name and we all equally contribute monthly)

Could you ask your parents/sisters for a loan of 500 and pay the credit card off immediately and then pay them back €50 a month? At least be no interest and it gets done.

Otherwise don't pay a few bills for one month and throw the money at the credit cards. The €50 towards the credit card bill is like burning money just for the interest. You'll feel a lot better if you get the CC loans done and dusted

d-gal

Club55 wrote: »

BOI Loan balance €1,319 - Repayment €85 per month
Credit union Me balance (stupid as a teen) €7,000 - Repayments €175 per month
Credit union Wife (college debt) balance €5,150 - Repayments €240 per month
Credit union Joint balance €3,193 - Repayments €120 per month
Debt Collector(debt thats over 10 years old, they have settled on €50 pm) €5,120
Loan for a car €8,886 -€228 per month-Can't sell the car have tried! 2011 mondeo
Credit card debt (historic) €948 - Repayments €119 per month
Current credit card €500 - Repayments €50 per month - never reduces balance due to interest
Family loan repayment €100 per month

Here's a breakdown of it OP that will hopefully help and put a plan together

9 loans
- 2 credit cards
- 3 credit unions
- 1 car loan
- 1 family loan
- 1 general BOI loan
- 1 debt collector

Credit cards have to go - immediately. €1448 required

Credit union loans total up €535 p/m currently. Go to the credit union and tell them you can only pay €300 - tell them your screwed and need to or you'll be missing payments. PUSH HARD FOR THIS. Tell them it's for one year and then you'll increase it up to €400-€450p/m. They'll 90% of time accept it - money in is better than no money at all. I know at least 5 people who've done similar. So with a bit of luck you'll save €235p/m.

Current credit card has €500 left on it. Pay €285 for 2 months and that should take care of that.

Next take care of the historic credit card. €948 left. Put the €285 (current credit card repayment money) plus €119 (current repayment) together. €404 now is going into the historic credit card. Less than 3 months and it's gone.

Now you have €404 to play with. BOI bank loan is €1319 (that'll be less in 5-6months). €404 plus your €85 repayment is €489. Again less than 3 months and it's gone.

So in less than a year you've 3 loans gone. Finished.

So you'll have a couple of months left before you increase your credit union repayment. So the €489 should be thrown in onto your car loan. €228 is the car loan. Total money you could repay €717 monthly. Do that for 2 months and then bring it down to €500 per month. You'll have that paid a lot sooner.
Now you could delay the BOI loan and prioritize the car loan but I find stress levels reduce when you've literally less loans to look at.

Al that's left after that is credit union loan and family loan. That's only 2 loans. A hell of a lot better!

You've €15000 roughly to pay the credit union. Realistically once you've gotten rid of your credit card and car loan debts then start throwing money at that.

This might sound crazy but if you put your mind to this then you'll be debt free in less than 3 years. That's without redundancy packages. Push for your wage increase, tell your boss you're struggling, you have to start asking people. Credit unions, family, employer.
Simply get to work OP, work your ass for it and you'll be happier and stress free a lot quicker. Best of luck!

Edit: About your wages as well. Both of ye are not getting paid great. If your wife is not holding out for redundancy (which it doesn't sound like it) then get her to quit her job and get a local job. Even it's less pay it'll still probably work out cheaper with selling the car, no petrol and no tax. She could still be insured on your car. Plus her commute would be shorter which means more time with her kids which every parent wants. Actions are needed OP, quicker the better

Double edit: you mentioned you've a 2011 mondeo that you can't sell. On done deal the worst mondeo I can see selling for is €5600. And that's the worst one remember. If your wife moved to a more local job you could sell that and clear your 2 credit card bills, your BOI loan and over 30% of the car loan in one go. That's a lot gone immediately. Or you could get rid of your wife's college debt credit union loan and then combine the remaining 2 credit union loans together and get a cheaper repayment plan. Loads of options right there.

Sound Bite

Op, there is a lot of scope here and opportunity to make things better.

Start with the credit cards, who are they with, for example if they are with BOI ask them to consolidate them into one and over a more manageable term. I'm not sure if they will consolidate all the other debt but it's worth asking.

If they don't want to take over all debt,you have 3 credit union loans - seek to consolidate them and again reduce your repayments.

Approach both with your spreadsheet, include a reasonable amount also for contingencies I.e. car repairs, doctors trips etc.

Even with the debt collector - write to them and advise of all the other debt - tell them you need to reduce your repayment by 100 per month to ensure you can continue to repay their full debt.

If you only managed to address the credit cards or consolidate other loans it would make a huge difference.

If all of the above is too much to do on your own, mabs will help you

jockeyboard

If your car loan is a hire purchase type isnt there a clause you can hand car back and loan is cancelled if it is after a certain amount of time???
Not sure of details but defo heard something like this before. Obviously you would be down a car but also the repayments/insurance/tax etc.

Sorry i posted before read all replies....

Neyite

d-gal wrote: »

Here's a breakdown of it OP that will hopefully help and put a plan together

9 loans
- 2 credit cards
- 3 credit unions
- 1 car loan
- 1 family loan
- 1 general BOI loan
- 1 debt collector

Credit cards have to go - immediately. €1448 required

Credit union loans total up €535 p/m currently. Go to the credit union and tell them you can only pay €300 - tell them your screwed and need to or you'll be missing payments. PUSH HARD FOR THIS. Tell them it's for one year and then you'll increase it up to €400-€450p/m. They'll 90% of time accept it - money in is better than no money at all. I know at least 5 people who've done similar. So with a bit of luck you'll save €235p/m.

Current credit card has €500 left on it. Pay €285 for 2 months and that should take care of that.

Next take care of the historic credit card. €948 left. Put the €285 (current credit card repayment money) plus €119 (current repayment) together. €404 now is going into the historic credit card. Less than 3 months and it's gone.

Now you have €404 to play with. BOI bank loan is €1319 (that'll be less in 5-6months). €404 plus your €85 repayment is €489. Again less than 3 months and it's gone.

So in less than a year you've 3 loans gone. Finished.

So you'll have a couple of months left before you increase your credit union repayment. So the €489 should be thrown in onto your car loan. €228 is the car loan. Total money you could repay €717 monthly. Do that for 2 months and then bring it down to €500 per month. You'll have that paid a lot sooner.
Now you could delay the BOI loan and prioritize the car loan but I find stress levels reduce when you've literally less loans to look at.

Al that's left after that is credit union loan and family loan. That's only 2 loans. A hell of a lot better!

You've €15000 roughly to pay the credit union. Realistically once you've gotten rid of your credit card and car loan debts then start throwing money at that.

This might sound crazy but if you put your mind to this then you'll be debt free in less than 3 years. That's without redundancy packages. Push for your wage increase, tell your boss you're struggling, you have to start asking people. Credit unions, family, employer.
Simply get to work OP, work your ass for it and you'll be happier and stress free a lot quicker. Best of luck!

This sounds like a great solution. OP if you go hard at it (which you are already doing anyway) but the difference is you'd be dong it with a focused plan towards solvency then your potential redundancy would be a nice chunk of your mortgage deposit. That makes the struggle for the next few years a bit more palatable and optimistic. It would be deadly if you did get your redundancy and didn't need to put it into servicing your debt.

lisasimpson

Dont mean to sound harsh but think of needs vs wants....esp when it comes to sky...yes you said its your only ebtertainment. (A) look into a sky/broadband package (b) id recommend get rid of it for a while...and just have unlimited broadband along with a free to air box...you will still have all your programms. I lived without sky for 2yrs just unlimited broadband and netflix didnt miss the sky after a while

You have two kids..do ye have loads of toys/clothes/unwanted gifts never opened or in perfect condition??? If so esp with the toys sell them on line (oct/nov would be a great time to do this)you might not get much but every euro off your debts will help.(if you manage to sell stuff when you have the money collected no matter how smal use it against paying of the credit card which is a killer with the interest applied)
also with kids growing out of clothes so quick is there a cash for clothes near by when ye do a clearout...yes you get feck all but it could be still an extra couple of euro.. also if not already doing it plug out everthing around the house when not in use.
Someome suggested on line surveys..can be frustrating getting kicked out but withbirish opinions you get two a month earn about 3 euro a month but then can bump up points by leaving comments in the conversation tab.could earn about 50 euro in a yr whih you recieve in oneforall voucher can cash in at 15euro/30pts but can let it build up...could also come in handy for the christmas expenses
Also if you shop in tesco/dunnes/boots sign up for their loyaty cards and shop more in aldi/lidl
actually the tesco one is good you can use your points against other things apart from shopping ie passes for dublin zoo etc so still have scope to enjoy quality time with the kids

Also great to see you are using a christmas club to put money aside for that expense.i know some of the suggestions may make you feel like a right tight ass but its only for a short space of time. My own mum laughs when she hears some of my money saving tips but if i get 5/10euro for something i dont use on ebay/adverts ill take it

BaaLamb

I can't really add much in the way of advice for restructuring debt etc. but I just wanted to empathise with you as it is very tough to both work hard yet struggle so much to make ends meet. Fair play to you both for trying to sort this out. The only thing extra I can suggest is, if you haven't already done so, have a look at where you could be more energy efficient like keep an eye out for energy efficient bulbs on offer and try to replace all the ones in the house with energy efficient ones as that should help save a few euro on the electricity bill. Also keep an eye on the thermostat in the house when the heating is on as most times people have it way higher than it should be http://www.seai.ie/Power_of_One/Energy_Saving/Top_Tips/ I know you can't implement a lot of those as you don't own the house but some of them are simple enough and should help cut costs a bit.

lisasimpson

I just noticed you said about been sick. I dont mean to be nosey but was this illness in the last four years.
if so, have you enquired about adjusting your tax credits for the year when you were sick if you werent getting paid. You maybe entitled to a tax refund.
also so you file a med 1form with the revenue each year? If not have you doctor receipts for the last four years if so fill out this form and submit straight away. Always get a doctors receipt and submit this form each year.

If ye need both cars, is there any way is there an opportunity for either of ye to car pool?

One thing that sticks out is you feel stupid to be in this mess...dont stress out too much...we all do stupid things when we were younger and spent money without thinking

stillatit

I have been in debt too, fortunately my income grew to the extent that I eventually got out of it. I know it a horrible stressful situation to be in.

I think you have been offered good advice here. I think with the help of MABs or by negotiating yourself you should be able to reduce the dept payment, I think a good target would be to get it down to €900 or €1000 per month. If there are months that you don't need the money saved, just use it pay the loans.

Medical columns in news papers frequently report that vitamins are a waste of money - so consider chopping that. I know it's only a small amount.

I would get rid of sky at 28.00 and replace with a Saorview/Freesat system + netflix - a one of cost off about 250 then 9.00 per month. The Chromecast idea suggested by another poster would help too and cost even less.

Bin charges seems high at 24 Euro a month. By composting food waste I can get my black bin down to one lift every month for 10.00 - Just put on a pair of wellies and and squash the black bin every two or three days. I have 5 adults or near adults in the house.

To reduce commuting costs, investigate car pooling. Either travel with someone else or find someone who can travel with you and share your fuel bills. If even one of you reduced your fuel bills by 50% that is €60 per month.

Could one of you look at getting 2nd part time job? When I was in dept I worked part time in a supermarket in the evenings and before that worked as a takeaway delivery driver. Even if you only got 50.00 per week, that is 200.00 per month.

If you managed to do all the above you would have reduced your outgoings by 200 + 8 + 19 + 14 + 60 = 301 per month. Even half of that would help considerably.

If you could earn another 200 per month that would improve your situation by 500.00.

I appreciate that your circumstances might not make it all possible.

pwurple

You've gotten some great advice here, consolidating and paying down your most expensive debts first should be your priority. Clear the CC. Never ever run a credit card debt, the interest is bananas (as you've found out the hard way!).

On additional cut backs, you've got a pretty good handle on it I think. When we listed our major outgoings, they were, in order, 1) Childcare, 2) Somewhere to live, 3) Vehicles (including tax, insurance, maintenance, fuel). You're in the great situation of having childcare being a small one there, so that's a massive help.

Your vehicle outgoings I think you are possibly underestimating, as you've not listed fuel anywhere, or servicing, parts etc, so I reckon that's where your discretionary is going. People have suggested bicycles, mopeds etc, but I'll just mention what we did. We are a two car family, both of us working and 2 kids. We swapped one petrol car for an electric car nearly two years ago. We also went to a night rate electric meter and run our appliances at night. It's worked out well for us, saving just over 4,000 euro per year with our mileage on fuel/tax/service&maintenance as it's only about 2 euro a charge, instead of a tank of petrol, with another few perks like free parking. One of your workplaces may have a charger for it. Anyway, you can pick up a 2011 Nissan leaf for about 8 or 9k. 120 euro tax for the year, but biggest saving is the fuel cost. Track what you spend on petrol for a few months maybe. It may not suit, depending on your distance, but maybe longer term, bear it in mind for a potential saving without losing quality of life.

On sky as well, we don't have it, but I've heard when people ring to try cancel, that sky throw all sorts of goodies at you to stay. Free movies/sport package etc for a few months, cheaper broadband etc. So maybe give them a call and feel that out. If you're keeping it, might as well maximise what you get.

bonyn

Hi op. Sorry, I'm not reading through the entire thread but here's some observations.

That's 7 loans you are repaying. Consolidate to reduce repayments. I'd recommend trying the credit union, who can give you a lower rate than banks. It will reduce repayments but don't get complacent. You still need to repay all the loans before making any significant purchases.

Car loans: did you buy new cars? Fine if you can afford, it, if not your new asset is immediately eclipsed by your new loan. i.e. your net worth takes a hit. Worth looking at your spending like this in future. Your college loan may have increased your earning potential. The Eur500 you overspend on something like a holiday is dead money.. every single euro you borrow has to be paid back, with interest.

If you have any money in savings, this might be a hard thing to do but whack it off whichever loan has the highest interest rate. Your credit card may charge 19% instead but the interest you receive on your savings after DIRT is probably less than 1%.

I've been in debt before but just tightened the belt til it was clear. That meant not spending money on phones, clothes or alcohol and sticking to the essentials. Obviously you can't live like that if your debt will take years to clear, but you can stick to a household budget to ensure you do not overspend.

The other option is to increase your income. Babysitting, giving grinds, and asking your boss for a payrise (or finding a new job) are things you should look in to.

silvervixen84

Club55 wrote: »

BOI Loan balance €1,319 - Repayment €85 per month
Credit union Me balance (stupid as a teen) €7,000 - Repayments €175 per month
Credit union Wife (college debt) balance €5,150 - Repayments €240 per month
Credit union Joint balance €3,193 - Repayments €120 per month
Debt Collector(debt thats over 10 years old, they have settled on €50 pm) €5,120
Loan for a car €8,886 -€228 per month-Can't sell the car have tried! 2011 mondeo
Credit card debt (historic) €948 - Repayments €119 per month
Current credit card €500 - Repayments €50 per month - never reduces balance due to interest
Family loan repayment €100 per month

Before consolidating loads, use a snowball calculator to help you get rid of the debts in the correct order. You can put in the amount, APRs and how much you can afford to spend on servicing the debts. It'll probably say to get rid of the credit cards first anyway.

http://www.whatsthecost.com/snowball.aspx

Approach the credit unions and ask if you can reduce the monthly payments for two years. Then you can pump that extra money into the debts with higher interest rates.

If you can't sell the mondeo but can manage with the other, consider taking your most expensive car off the road for a while to save on tax, insurance and diesel.

Ring Sky and tell them you're thinking of leaving - they usually offer a reduced package or you might get some free broadband from them to stay.

Start ebaying - toys, clothes that haven't been worn in a year, household items gathering dust. Aim for the 20 free listings a month.

Consider getting a part-time job. Maybe see if you can get a weekly night shift at a local bar.