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

[buzzard]

Due to some poor financial decisions in the last couple of years, a relocation and some unlucky circumstances I found myself with 30K debt, unfortunately mostly at higher rate (Credit cards) and with a poor credit score (as I maxed out my credit capacity).

I want to expose my current situation to have inputs and advice, on how to better tackle the situation:

Currently I have the following outstanding debts:

1. Bank1 Loan - Outstanding balance: € 12.000 @ 10.9 % (monthly repayment 386)
2. Bank2 Loan – Outstanding balance: € 200 @ 13.4 % (monthly repayment 105). Final payment end of November
3. Bank3 Loan – Outstanding balance: € 1800 @ 0 % until Feb'24, 20% afterward (monthly repayment 100).
4. Avantmoney – Revolving Credit Card – Outstanding Balance € 7000 @ 20% (min repayment 180)
5. Foreign Credit Card – Revolving Credit Card – Outstanding Balance € 6500 @ 18 % (monthly repayment 210)
6. Bank1 - Agreed Overdraft € 2500 @ 15%
7. Bank2 - Agreed Overdraft € 1000 @ 15%

In addition to the above my monthly outgoing are:

1. Rent, € 1300 for one bed Apt, where I live on my own. I do not have additional commitments/dependents, I am single, with no children/pets, no maintenance costs.
2. Bills € 150 : 50 WiFi+Mobile, 100 Power, Water.
3. Car related cost € 180 (80Fuel, 100 Insurance+MotorTax)
4. Gym € 35 (this is actually paid by my employer on top of my salary)
5. Frugal Lifestyle € 350 updated to € 200/250 (groceries) {still space for reduction}

Now some details on my incomings:

1. I work as an employee on a 58K salary, my monthly net salary is € 3500 Eur.
2. I am also receiving a small income from a small property (abroad) I am renting: € 350 after tax.

Additional considerations:

The two repayments on the revolving Credit Cards (4 and 5) are mostly used to repay just the interests, hence I feel I am stuck, if not slowly sliding down a slope. I attempted unsuccessfully to obtain a Refinance loan (or some balance transfer Credit Cards at least for 12K to tackle the Credit card debts, but I understand that I maxed out my credit eligibility, also due to the stucked debts on the card.

My tenant actually showed interest to buy the property for 72K which I agreed, to clear off my debts. This took longer than I expected and apparently currently he is no longer interested.

I considered moving to a shared accommodation, it would probably cost at least 900/1000 +bills (and the hassles of relocating, closing my contracts, etc) so I am not sure it is worthy.

I considered side hustles, or extra job, but I could not find anything suitable yet.

Add.on

Hopefully I should receive a bonus of 5/8 k before year end but that is not confirmed yet.

I would prefer my tenant to buy the property to get rid of the burden on my shoulders, anyway I am leaving the decision up to him, he is not 100% sure of what to do, he carried on the last 7/8 months leaving me under the wrong impression that he was sourcing the funds. This left me in an vague position, without planning long term.

Regardless the 2 above factors (not fully under my control) my current plan is to close Bank Loan 2, clean the Overdraft 6 and tackle the Avantmoney CrCard. My aim is to be in a better position in a few months to obtain a single cumulative refinance loan at 6/7% with a 500/600 monthly repayment and the option to put extra cash whenever it is available.

TLDR

• 31k debt (half of them on high rate revolving credit card)
• minimum monthly repayments 1000 a month
• 58K salary => 3500 per month
• 15.600 yearly rent to pay => 1300 per month
• small abroad rental income roughly covering life expenses/bills

Feeling overwhelmed, burnt out, looking for advices/suggestions

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Overall Comment​

The thread has been really helpful. Most of the comments have real gems.

The situation looks to me now more manageable, general consensus seems to bend towards keeping my abroad property, get rid of my bad habits, possibly negotiate the interest rates and with an oculate budget I could get rid of the debt in 24/30 months (reducing every month the burden on my shoulder). The asset could also be leveraged to get better conditions in a few months' time.

The above is my current roadmap / Scenario 1. just some details to adjust, but overall I got the plan. Monthly income 3500+350 to pay rent, bills and any leftover to cover the various debts. 2/3 years of strong commitment would allow me to keep my apartment.

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Funnily enough my tenant came back to me saying that by end of year he may be in a position to close the deal (buying the apt for 72).

This would be my Scenario 2. I am not excluding this as it would opens up further option alternatives (main one I feel free to upskill change job with no debt' pressure).

72K net revenue - 31 Clearing all debts/Overdrafts will leave me with 40K cash availability, and a monthly cash surplus of approx 1500/1600 (salary - rent/bills/living cost).

I am pondering whether such figures could allow me to get me to get some extra income aside for my 9-5 job. A few years ago I had a side hustle (Amazon FBA) which generated 40K a year in net profit (after tax), which I could start with just 5k. I put that aside as it started to require more time/energy than my regular 9-5 job allowed.

Options which came into mind... Real estate/derelict property, E-commerce, KDP, faceless Youtube channel, but I am sure I am missing many others

I will likely open a thread to brainstorm ideas in the evenience that the scenario 2 will get real





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Thank you​

I thank sincerely anyone who commented and participated in any way or form. It took me a while (too long) to share and publish this, and all the contributions worked as a brainstorming and helped me a lot to get some clarity in my mind. I am aware that those are just comments from strangers on the internet, anyone with his own experience, not necessarily applicable to my situation, but genuinely I felt part of a community, even if just virtual. Unfortunately one of the consequences of the situation described above is me being more and more isolated over time, and I felt I had no one to share my issues with. I am not good in seeking help, and I am not at all an example on how to face and handle difficult situations, anyway I strongly recommend to seek for help, share your concerns before it became problematic and hardly bearable (as I did).

genuinely thanks from the bottom of my heart

 

[renewright]

@buzzard So when you deduct the expenses listed from the income you are left with about 1.8k a month. After paying off the minimum required amounts off each, chip away with the balance on whatever has the highest interest rate.

I'd also question the 350 a month on groceries as being frugal, that sounds like a very hefty grocery bill for 1 person. Some savings to be had there I'd say.

 

[sumeria]

@renewright Agreed. Mine is €50 and I’m a big chap lol

 

[resjudicata]

@sumeria €50 a month?

 

[sumeria]

@resjudicata Week apologies. 200-220 monthly

 

[sheshe11]

@sumeria Still good going, it probably costs me a tenner a day, need to figure out getting cheaper meat.

 

[sumeria]

@sheshe11 My big thing for meat is that when there is reduced meet, il buy it in bulk and freeze it. I also plan out (within reason) what I’m going to eat for the week. I found myself dumping items, which can be money saved.

Other random things:
- bulk cooking
- buy a whole chicken. More meat, also can make chicken and sweet corn soup out of carcass
- frozen fruit for porridge
- buy rice/pasta in bulk

I know to some it’s but extreme but honestly not as bad as it sounds, makes a difference. For example the extra €20 you save weekly would be roughly €1k a year, nice Christmas pot.

 

[kansasgirl]

@renewright I cost a 100 a week to feed but I agree it’s def not frugal

 

[resjudicata]

@renewright Not in my country fkn hell. We had a lettuce hit what equates to 9 dollars USD. Fuck that.

 

[yesushidao]

@renewright 350 for gorceries sounds cheap.

 

[andramaxy]

@yesushidao Family of four and we spent 550 in Lidl last month. We’re in the fortunate position that we don’t pay much attention to what goes in the trolley, so there is wine and copious amounts of fairly expensive berries etc for the kids in there. I can absolutely see how you could spend 350 or more for a single person, but it not frugal by a long shot!

 

[mariemarie89]

@buzzard One thing no one seems to have focused on is your post history.

While I'd say it's admirable that you are keen to clear your debts I must caveat that you should ensure you are seeking help for the gambling prior to doing so.

It would be awful to clear your debt and suddenly end up in a hole again due to the untreated addiction. The worst thing you could do is to sell your apartment, clear your debts and have a wad of Cash left over that you don't know what to do with it (and then gamble it away).

All the best with clearing the debt, I hope you get the help you need

 

[heart4him4ever]

@mariemarie89 That's a big omission from the original post.

 

[buzzard]

@heart4him4ever

That's a big omission from the original post.

well yes, problematic gambling played a part into driving me to me current situation. I did not want to hide the cause, just wanted to see which strategies to use to get out of it (taking the cause element out of the equation)

 

[mariemarie89]

@buzzard It's a fair point but if you don't address the root cause it's a bit null and void, it would be like getting antibiotics for a chest infection and ignoring the fact you have mould in your room, the problems will just come back

 

[buzzard]

@mariemarie89

hing you could do is to sell your apartment, clear your debts and have a wad of Cash left over that you don't know what to do with it (and

good point. I am addressing that as well

 

[rehmet07]

@buzzard Yeah dude, do you have a relative you can trust to manage your finances for you? Change your passwords and take away your cards etc and just leave enough cash or in a revolut or something to get by day by day. Take away your access to the gambling shit while you work on it.

 

[resjudicata]

@buzzard Quit gambling

 

[alexsonofmatthew%E2%80%A0]

@buzzard Do not sell your apartment for the promise of a rainy day fund unless you have someone extremely trustworthy to manage your finances, you will gamble it & be fucked altogether.

Cut up the credit cards & wipe them from your phone. You then need to look into a debt consolidation loan with the best rate. If your credits gone to shit, then the credit union may be your best option. They will get your credit score like the banks but may still be able to offer you the loan, it will go to the committee for final say. This could actually significantly lower your interest.

What part of the country are you in? As most credit unions are independent it will really depend where you are on interest rates. Credit union plus for eg have a sale on loans of €25k+ at a rate of 5.9% I think. The stipulation is you can’t pay anything extra within the first two years of drawdown but after that you can fire away. The fact you have some property for collateral will likely secure a loan consolidation so doing this rather than selling the property is definitely your best bet.

 

[girlis62]

@buzzard First thing, cut up all credit cards right now.

Call or email all of the credit cards and tell them that you have difficulty making payments and can they stop interest or assist you,

Keep making payments, clear the small loan.

Overdraft 1&2 clear them as quickly as possible, close one of the accounts

Get a second job, on weekends or evenings, doing food delivery's.

This might take you 2 yrs to sort out, but don't use stupid expensive debt to fund life.

Don't sell your property asset