Help with financial debt

LegacyUser

Looking for some advice to get me out of a financial hole, same hole everybody else is in probably.
Married with 1 child, starting school soon.
Stupidly have debts that I am repaying 700euro a month on, debts are circa 17K, credit union and credit card.
We desperately want another child but cant really afford to at the moment with this stupid debt.
My parents are very helpful but dont know the full extent.
Here it is, they own their own home so is there any easy way I could take some of my inheritance to pay off this debt.
Thanks for the advice.

Inheritance is passed to you when your parents are deceased because they don't need it anymore. You're hardly going to get your hands on it while they're still alive and using it.

If you want money from them the only real way to do it is to ask them for it. That said, with one child starting school soon, it would be best to be independently financially stable before thinking about having another.

jobless

i'm not sure about the inheritance thing but as regards the credit card debt you should get a loan and pay off that debt, the interest rates on credit cards are very high so this would save you some money because the loan interest rate would be a lot lower.....

another option is to get a new credit card, a lot of providers offer 6months to a year interest free credit so if you transfer your balance you wont be paying any interest..... you could then switch to another provider after a year and so on

ABajaninCork

I would make an appointment to speak to someone in MABS. They will negotiate with your creditors on your behalf, and might be able to lower your repayments or extend the life of the loan.

Pinewoo

You could ask parents to sell their house and move in somewhere smaller, so they can give you early inheritance.

ABajaninCork

Pinewoo wrote: »

You could ask parents to sell their house and move in somewhere smaller, so they can give you early inheritance.

WHAT??? Why would the parents do that? . Without wanting to sound harsh, the OP got themselves in the sh1t. They should take steps to get themselves out of it. First thing is to speak to MABS.

Next thing is to stop thinking about getting an 'inheritance'. How does the OP even KNOW they're getting one? For all they know, the parents might decide to leave the whole lot to one sibling (it's been known to happen) or to Battersea Dogs Home!

car.kar

Pinewoo wrote: »

You could ask parents to sell their house and move in somewhere smaller, so they can give you early inheritance.

That's a pretty big ask. As a previous poster said, inheritance is passed to you when your parents die, that's the point of it.

Would your parents loan you money, do you think? If you borrow small amounts at a time from them, the good thing about parents is that unlike a bank they usually won't charge you interest

And I know all you said was that you do at some point want another child, but definitely don't properly consider it until you are financially stable enough.

jam_mac_jam

That's a lot to ask of your parents. They may need it themselves for their retirement. Could you get a loan and pay it over a longer term. A loan would have a lower interest rate so you would pay less for your debt.

ABajaninCork

I wouldn't advise borrowing any more money TBH. All that will happen is that the problem's shifted somewhere else. I'd take steps to reduce the level of debt.

ElleEm

I feel like this is such a selfish thing to even consider.
If your folks had €17,000 just lying around, I'm sure that you would ask them outright, but the fact is that you are considering asking them to give you a loan based on the house that they have worked hard to own.

You should really contact MABS, and speak to your bank about reconfiguring your credit card debt into a loan. You created these debts, so you should be sorting them out, not counting the cash you will get when your parents die. They may have other plans for THEIR money, and shame on you for assuming it's coming your way.

steosbaby

I had bad debts and was sinking into depression. But came to the stage i needed ti talk ti my debtors. The thought if that was very stressful and the days dragged while i was waiting fir the meetings to come up. But when i had the meetings i walked out with a new lease of life as they listened and understood the situation i was in. And gave me alot of breathing space. Only because they said i took the time and steps needed to get help fron them and didnt just ignore there letters and calls. They said i was fair ti them and i deserved the same. I can never thank then eniugh to this day fir the help which got me out of debt.

ck83

Pinewoo wrote: »

You could ask parents to sell their house and move in somewhere smaller, so they can give you early inheritance.

I assume you were joking/being sarcastic, and that you just left out the smiley face???

OP what is the term of your credit union loan? If you're in good standing with them, I wouldn't go to mabs yet. Go to the credit union and talk to them yourself first. It's quite likely that they would lend you money to pay off the credit card, and maybe increase the term of your current loan to allow you to do this, while refucing your monthly outgoings. Or they might let you pay interest only for a few months to allow you to clear your credit card, and then go back to paying them.

I just went onto my local credit unions loan calc- 17k over 4 years is 550 per month, over 5 yrs is about 400. I know you might be anxious to get the loans paid off sooner rather than later, but there's no point being totally strapped for cash while doing that, if you can avoid it

thefeatheredcat

Your folks don't know the full extent of the financial problem and would most likely come as a shock to know the full reality in asking for the inheritance which anyway would be taxed.

You're thinking illogically about money - that inheritance, should there be any when your parents have passed on, after tax might be something special for you and your family for the future and should not be squandered in present tense, because then you will have NOTHING. A small amount even somewhere in the future is better than it already having been spent in the present, especially as it could impact how your parents choose to live their lives and how comfortably; what they have is an asset that might be needed to fund their even later years or sudden medical problems - if you put them under pressure to dispose of that now, are you prepared to shell out whatever they need from a roof over their heads to medical expenses to nursing care?

What you need to do is contact MABS and get an appointment and sit down with your creditors and negotiate a way for you to repay your debts. If you get onto MABS immediately you might get help quicker but you must be prepared for you and your spouse to sit down and have a real look at your finances and be prepared to pare down your standard of living and expenses because you will have to come to some agreement on budgets to afford paying your debts in a structured way. And you will have to stick to it for it to work. It will require commitment and time and sacrifice but it will work and it will be worth it when you see the capital amounts getting tackled rather than just the interest. Even with a credit card you can't just pay the minimal amount indefinitely (or the interest charged) and never touch the capital, eventually you will have to do both for the credit card and the credit union loan. The sooner you get the capital or principle amount tackled the better for you, not just financially but mentally and emotionally.

mikemac1

You've taken a good first step by talking about the issue.

It's all too common to ignore debt problems and do nothing about it.

I don't know MABS but your CU will certainly talk to you about moving the credit card debt and the existing loan into a loan you feel works for you.
They want you to approach them!

It's a relief and a weight off your shoulder once you get this out in the open and talk about it.

You'll have lean times ahead trying to knock the loan down but you'll see progress and eventually you'll get there.

MissFlitworth

What do you mean by "take"? An inheritance isn't a an actual thing until someone has passed away and, as other people have pointed out, you have zero entitlement to one. It's not like your parents are sitting on a pot of gold that legally belongs to you but you can't touch until they're gone. Their property =/= your inheritance.

You could ask your folks for a loan/money but if you're at an age when you're thinking of kids they're probably at an age when retirement is either already here or on the horizon and that seems like an unfair ask.

misschoo

Hi I can't recommend MABS more - I have 5 months left paying off a 30K debt & I couldn't have done it without them. It took me 5 years & they were top notch in helping me deal with the people I owed money to. The first thing to do is to get an appointment with MABS & then speak to the people you owe money to & explain that you are in difficulty & that you are going to be talking to MABS. MABS will act on your behalf & speak & organise a payment plan that is acceptable for all parties - once this is put in place you won't get those annoying embarrassing phone calls looking for money in work etc - they can only talk to MABS - please phone them - they are non judgemental & totally on your side! Good luck!

LegacyUser

You can't expect your parents to sell there house to pay off your debits.
At this stage you need to do the following to get out of debit.
a) Look at all the bills you have - esb, gas/heating oil, home insurance, health insurance, house phone, broadband, sky tv/upc, mobile phone bills, car payments, food, clothing, bank charges, car insurance ect.

b) Use the internet to find out were you can get a better deal - bonkers.ie for gas, esb, tv and broadband deals and current accounts.

c) Stop using your clothes dryer and watch the amount of time you have an immersion on.
Both of these can bring up you esb bill a lot each month. Turn off lights in the rooms or the hall your not using and don't leave products on stand by.

c) Use the hia.ie website to compare health insurance prices. Your child can be put on a lower plan. Have a look at corporate plans for adults.

d) Start to put money aside each week or month from now on for the school expenses when your child starts school, also put money aside for heating oil each week from now on also.

e) Shop in Aldi to save you money. Bring a lunch with you to work and stop buying a coffee each day in work. This will give you an idea of what you could save.
€5 a day for lunch x5 = €25 a week x 48 week = €1200 a year
€2 d day coffee x 5 = €10 a week x 48 week = €480 a year

f) Make meals rather than eat takeaways. Make a large amount of stew, chills ect and have dinners frozen so when your short of time you can use these rather than buying takeaways.

g) Get rid of your bill phone or look for a better tariff for you phone. Get a pay as you go phone - e mobile have good offers as do tesco mobile.

h) Ring a few insurance companies when getting car insurance or home insurance ( look on the net also - some companies give a discount when buying off the net.

i) Use the nca.ie website your money section to help work out your debits and then use the budget planner to make out a new budget which you need to stick to.

j) If you have 2 cars could you get rid of one and use public transport instead. Look at the cost of car ownership and running costs. You need to start saving money in this regard.

When you have done this you need to go the the credit union and explain that you have credit card debt of x amount and that you want to speak to them about paying this off.
You can then show them what you are doing to save money and the budget plan you are now working from.
If you are getting calls from debtors I would contact mabs as they may be able to help you.

At this stage you need to take charge of the debit you have. You need to cut back your expenses so you can pay off your debts. Also with the credit union put some money into savings each time you make a payment or when you have some extra money.
When you are debit free you will have some money in savings.
I would not consider having another child until you are debit free as you can't afford to have more children at the moment.

LegacyUser

Thanks to all for the advice.
I know i mentioned inheritance but was not that serious about it.
I just dont want 2 stupid years mean my child doesnt grow up with brother and sister.

I have actually gone to my CU to see if they would give me a loan to pay off CC but not too confident they will give it to me. Wouldnt mind but I am with them near 20 years and never missed a payment on any loan I have had with them.

They were saying that if the loan was approved the monthly payment they would be looking for would be 576 which is no problem at all.

sending a mail to mabs to see if i could have a chat with them

thanks to all