31K in Debt - How can I climb out of this debt hole?

@resjudicata I agree that this may be quite a debate (whether to sell or not) and I understand both positions.

There are many additional factors which may impact this decision: my age, property values in the foreign country,

I agree that keeping the property asset is generally good advice, especially if I would have mental strength to be consistent on my budget while tackling the debts. As I am in my forties this will leave me an additional income (or rent-free property) when retiring.

On the other side I have to take into account that my property is 15/20years old and with some EU 'green' regulations coming into place the depreciation may be significant. More than this a big element for me is the psychological burden of the debt (and 500/600+Eur a month which I am burning) that the sale will remove from my shoulder. Removing the debt my saving capability would raise to 1500 a month and will give me much more options available (possibly getting into property here in Ireland in 8/12 months time)

Currently I feel I could not change job/career as a drop in my salary (or any emergency) will put me in a unsustainable situation.
 
@buzzard You don’t mind me asking what country the rental property is in as would be a factor in whether to sell. In most cases, I wouldn’t sell a property now but keep the income and try make cuts elsewhere.
 
@seangibbons Assuming reasonable due diligence, putting €50 into property means some intrinsic value, over the long term there's a reasonable expectation of capital growth, in the worst case it's unlikely that the €50 will go to zero.

If you put €50 on a horse, there is no intrinsic value and a very clear date where it is more likely that the "investment" will go to zero than any other scenario.

The €50 in property can be used as collateral and adds to net worth, the €50 on a horse does not.
 
@soul2deep Same can be said with gold or silver. Property that you don't live in is just a form of luxury, speculative investment.

Man has asked for advice on how to climb out of a debt hole, it's clearly weighing on his mind and he has an assset worth at least 2x the debt value. Sell the asset, clear the debt and bank the rest along with peace of mind. It's that simple.

That property could be worth 60% of its current value in a few years time while the debt could have climbed. Selling the property now is the sensible choice.
 
@seangibbons I don't see selling the property as a bad idea at all, where did I say that?

I'm just saying that your statement on property investment = gambling is objectively a load of bollox. Both gold and silver have intrinsic value, which separates them from a fiver each way on whosyourdaddy in the fifth race at ascot, if you don't get that then you shouldn't be posting advice.
 
@buzzard If my calculations (and your amounts) are correct, you should be left with €854 a month after minimum payments and living costs. It might make sense to follow the snowball method, where you pay off from smallest to largest debt. While you could do calculations on interests rates to get the best return, it feels like getting rid of minimum monthly payments makes the most sense for you. Caleb Hammer does financial audits on Youtube where you can see people in very similar positions to you.

Very rough breakdown of how you could go about it:

You can see for example after November, you have got rid of one payment of €105 which means you have €959. Follow traditional snowball would have you targeting the Bank 2 overdraft next, but it might make sense to leave that if there is no monthly repayment. Bank3 Loan could make sense, though it's 0% now. If you did target that one though, you could pay it off in about 2 months would free up another €100 with the minimum payment gone. Then you would have 1059 extra each month.

From there, you could have Foreign Credit Card cleared in less than 6 months freeing up another €210 getting to €1269 available each month.
Then target the Avantmoney card clearning that off again in less than 6 months and free up another €180 giving you €1449 to tackle debt.

From there, tackle the Bank1 Loan until paid off in less than a year. Once done you can clear the overdrafts in a couple months as you'll have €1835 left over.

Of course making cuts elsewhere could speed this process up. Could you potentially reduce rent by moving into a share? Is any pay increases likely coming down the line? Bonuses?
 
@buzzard I'm sorry you're in this position. I find Dave Ramsey's 'snowball' method interesting and would follow that approach. You can find him on YouTube.

You note that you haven't found a 'suitable' second job yet. Nothing will be perfect - you need to reduce expenses and also increase your income, quickly. There are lots of jobs out there - pizza delivery etc. Pick the best thing you can find this weekend and go for it.

Also, could you move in somewhere else for a few months to reduce bills and increase debt payments. Parents / sibling / with a friend until the debt is tackled?

I would recommend holding the asset but if you cant clear your debts quickly, this may have to be the option. Good luck.
 
@buzzard 3 steps to do today:

(1) Stop gambling. Today. There is no bet that will get you out of this hole, no matter how much you convince yourself you can beat the system. The next one won't be the one, I guarantee. https://www.gamblersanonymous.ie/

(2) Call MABS https://mabs.ie/contact/

(3) Cut up your credit cards

After that, follow the plan that MABS will help you come up. There is no easy, quick fix. It will take a plan and discipline.
 
@buzzard The best advice I have for you, speak with MABS. Its a free advice service. They will have the knowledge and know-how to help your situation significantly better than Internet strangers on reddit.

Call them today. Start the journey out of debt, today.
 
@nixfifty Thanks, appreciated

I already spoke with them actually, but if I understand correctly the settlements agreements they negotiate will very likely impact my records on the Credit Register.

I will get this confirmed.

I would rather be available to cut 500/600 a month from my month rent, even at the cost of having to spend 2 hours a day commuting. Unfortunately my work is in Dublin city with no option to work from home.
 
@buzzard What is your concern about the credit register? There is no way you would be getting a mortgage anyway, and you can't currently get any more loans regardless. The important thing right now is to get out of this mess, and is MABs can help, the credit register is the lellast of your issue
 
@buzzard Sell the rental property or move in to it.

Also some credit unions will do a consolidation loan, likely at much lower rates than the bank loans you have. You might be eligible for one of those.
 

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