Need some advice in connection with my financial situation.

Age:27
Spouse’s/Partner's age: 27

Annual gross income from employment or profession: 30k
Annual gross income of spouse: 35k

Monthly take-home pay: me=2000, spouse=2000


Type of employment: Employed & self employed

In general are you:
(a) spending more than you earn

Rough estimate of value of home: 150000
Amount outstanding on your mortgage: 240000
What interest rate are you paying? 4%ish, tracker mortgage

Other borrowings – car loan for 3000

Do you pay off your full credit card balance each month? No
If not, what is the balance on your credit card? 2500

Savings and investments:

Do you have a pension scheme? no

Do you own any investment or other property? no

Ages of children: none

Life insurance: yes approx 30euro per month


What specific question do you have or what issues are of concern to you?

Hi All, basically I have been very worried lately and been juggling around my finances alot but now it seems to have come on top of me all of a sudden. I was forced to stop working for myself last year with a debt of approx 30,000. I was sole trader therefore could not just walk away. This was due to creditors not paying, building industry.

I have managed to pay approx 10,000 off this chunk over the past 8-10 months but now find myself under a bit of pressure from my ex-suppliers to pay the balance. The problem is that I physically do not have the money at the moment. Since becoming employed I have consistantly paid back at least 1000euro per month to my supplier usually slightly more. In this time I have managed to pay my mortgage off and all household bills on time. I still have the company trading and at evenings and weekends try to work in this so I can make more money to shrink this debt. I have been paying up front for any supplies therefore not running into any further debt. I havent been able to pay money off my credit card in over a year, the bill on this was for material for a job that I was unpaid for.

I have cut back on my general spending and lifestyle as much as I possibly could. My question is that I want to know should I approach a bank/credit union and try receive a loan to pay off this 20,000 debt or where do I need to go from here? My supplier has been very patient and I want to make sure that they are fully paid the amount. I feel that its my debt therefore my spouse should not suffer as a result.

Any advise would be great

I'd definitely think about a loan in these circumstances, as much for your mental state and to take the stress off you. That way you'll know exactly how much you've to pay each and every month and don't have constant calls from this supplier.

The alternative is obviously to work out a set payment plan with them.

Thanks for your quick reply. I know I can make enough money to pay it back but some months are obviously harder than others. Where would be the best place to ask for a loan? Ive previously had small credit union loans and currently have approx 4k in savings there but that money was to secure my car loan which I still have approx 3k left on. Would a bank be a better place to go to try get a loan? Sorry for all the questions but finance isnt my strong point!

Is the supplier charging you interest ? If he is tell him you will not pay any more. If he is not then stop paying him immediately and pay off the credit card instead. When you're supplier comes asking you simply say you will pay if the person who let you down starts paying you. You need to start playing some poker here. Forget about a loan, just concentrate on playing your supplier. If he threatens legal action let him. Make an offer and keep negotiating. Remember if he brings legal proceedings the judge will not appreciate him hassling you given you have tried to come to an agreement. And finally, don't worry too much about it. He can't touch your home and he is just playing the game to see who blinks first.

To be fair to him, he is playing ball and not hassling me too much, I suppose the way he looks at is that he is getting at least 1000 p/m from me, its better than nothing at all. He isnt charging me interest either. I do not have a hope of getting any of the money that was owed to me as most of these were builders that have gone out of business thats why Im working my ass off now to repay anything that I owe. But thanks for the advise, its quite reassuring to hear other peoples non opinionated views on the matter

I'm afraid you need to still try and pay off the CC debt first and foremost. Maybe explain that to him and he will accept that. Don't forget you will have th CC paid off in three months so you can get back to his debt then. Good luck.

elcato said:

I'm afraid you need to still try and pay off the CC debt first and foremost. Maybe explain that to him and he will accept that. Don't forget you will have th CC paid off in three months so you can get back to his debt then. Good luck.

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+1, even a small cheap CU or similar loan to pay off the CC. or see can you get a 0% balance switch for a period.

1st, the bright side, Your situation isn't really that bad relatively speaking.

2500 on the credit card - Just pay off the minimum each month to keep it ticking over. Yes the interest rate is hight but the balance is small so dont worry unduely about this. Somewhere along the line you'll get a break, a bonus, a gift or something. You can pay it off then........

Your main Creditor is the one to focus on. As you said he's being reasonable. so be reasonable back. He's not charging you interest so lay your cards on the table with him. Explain the situation and assure him that you will continue with the monthly payments. That should be enough to keep him happy. If its not, there's not much you can do. Also theres not much he can do so take comfort from that.

I'm afraid there's very little chance that anyone will give you a fresh loan to consolidate debt. Most banks have a policy against it. You also have substantial negative equity which will scupper chances of a further loan.

Hang in there. You're doing the best you can do so Well done for that.

Fair play to you for trying to pay off suppliers when others have left you unpaid, I admire your honesty and attitude.

What about paying off the 3k car loan or the 2.5 cc debt out of savings (whichever carries higher interest)? I know it leaves you with a small amount of savings but you can build those back up quickly if you have a smaller monthly outgoing in future. Then perhaps see about the possibility of going interest only on your mortgage for six months, that will give you some breathing room. Am I correct in thinking that there is 20k left to pay to your supplier? If you could go interest only for a short period and eliminate either the cc bill or the car loan you could have this paid off in 18 months if things go well.

I would imagine that your supplier has been unpaid by many of his/her customers in the last few years and appreciates your efforts, I would hope they would be glad that you are paying down the debt on a regular basis and will agree to the repayment plan.

I'm sure your spouse loves you, and as the vows go, for richer or poorer so just keep the faith you will get there. I hope business keeps coming in for you.

And just think when you have that supplier paid off you know you can put 1k each month into your savings account if you are frugal. But perhaps you could plan a nice holiday with your spouse for three months after the debt is paid out of those savings, that will give you and him or her something to look forward to and help get through the hard part while paying it off.

Thanks everyone for the advice! Its very reassuring. I honestly am doing the best I can! Appreciate it!

Your supplier is very lucky to have you as a customer. I hope they appreciate you. The supplier will have had plenty of customers who will have just walked, or will offer to pay 50% or 30% as full and final settlement on the bill. You are already being very honest and fair with the supplier. I would not take out a loan to ease the supplier's position further. The interest on that loan would make your life more difficult. The supplier should be happy once you are paying him something regularly.

What I would do to improve my personal financial situation
* Transfer the credit card to a 0% for 6 months offer (if not possible use credit union cash to pay this off as it will be the highest interest rate)
* Pay off car loan with credit union cash (if not possible pay off credit card debt with credit union cash)
* set up standing order to pay the supplier 800 or maybe 1000 euro per month on first of every month without fail
* put the excess into a savings account.

SPC100 said:

What I would do to improve my personal financial situation
* Transfer the credit card to a 0% for 6 months offer (if not possible use credit union cash to pay this off as it will be the highest interest rate)
* Pay off car loan with credit union cash (if not possible pay off credit card debt with credit union cash)
.....

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Your CU should allow you to withdraw up to €3,250 from savings while keeping the loan of €3,000 OR simply transfer the savingts to pay off the car loan and put the balance to the credit card debt but best to pay off CC debt first.