Anyone know about borrowing money when you have bad credit history?

[keilan303]

Bit of a longshot this and none of you here know me but I am sort of running short on ideas so wondered if anyone here had been in similar situation....I am in dire need of a loan but have been unable to get one (or any sort of credit for the past 5 years) due to bad credit history (missed payments, ccj's) a lot was due to my two finger attitude to the bank who were never able to help with a consolidation loan but this has had major repercussions. A few years back I binked 50k in the lottery and was able to clear my debts of the time and used the rest as a deposit on a house, bought a car and stuff for new house...it didnt last very long. the change in house meant cost of living went up and i changed jobs resulting in a loss in salary due to stress with some wankers in my work at the time...so started putting some extra expenses onto credit card which bank practically forced onto me after i deposited the 50k (same bank who wouldnt loan me a pen just a few weeks before) i was stupid and took everything they offered me thinking i didnt need it, life was sorted and i thought i could use it responsibly to help rebuild my credit score. then one day on sky TV i came across poker! Have never been interested in any sport in my life, but this was something else and I was immediately hooked, it was a night long special on challenge TV of the full tilt red rock championship....before the end of the night i was already sticking a few hundred dollars on my CC at full tilt. I lost it pretty quick so redeposited hoping to win it back. but i didn't, so i redeposited again. skip forward a few months and I had transferred my CC to another for 0% apr, and managed to max out the existing CC (5k) at various sites. it was at that time that i decided to learn more about poker than what hands beat what and came across some glorious advice like BRM etc....of course I had to deposit some more to try out this BRM and I became obsessed with the chris ferguson challenge...but being perfectly honest (which i have never been until now) for the past 2 years i have deposited, tried to grind, tilted, spewed off, redeposited. I have the luxury of having a decent paying job and my partner earns money too so Ive never needed to borrow money off people (aka staking) to lose at poker...but effectively im ripping my kids off as we have had a pretty shitty life these past 2 years to be blunt....its pretty obvious to me that i am never going to win in poker as much as i love the game, and i would still like to keep at it as a hobby...i am capable of playing good poker and sticking to a tight brm....but every so often i come to my senses about just how much i have lost, i panic, and suddenly all logic goes out the window and it becomes a race to turn my $200 roll or whatever i have at the time into $20,000 overnight. i have a terrible gambling problem, simple as.

I want to clear my credit cards and overdraft and raise a bit of extra money to patch up some of the problems caused by funnelling away every spare penny ive had for the past 2 years into the poker economy, namely making it up to my family big time. i devised a plan and worked out how much it costs to pay off my existing debt in the current setup, and compared it to how much it would with a new loan...and the savings/benefits are just huge...just now if i was paying my debts as i should, it would be £850 per month...thats before mortgage shopping travel etc....my take home is 1900  a month and my partner takes home over a grand. i probably waste about 500 a month on poker. i wanted the bank to give me a 15k loan which with good interest could work out around 3-350 a month. the bank wont loan this to me on account of my bad credit record and consider it irresponsible lending, but clearly i have the money to waste (if paying off debt was as easy and as enjoyable as depositing money to a poker site, i would be debt free several times over!!) looked into some of the p2p lending sites such as zopa etc. but they still credit score so no dice.

what im trying to ask is, does anyone know of any way of borrowing money with a means tested approach to eligibility rather than a computer says no response? has anyone been in a similar situation and been able to find a way out? i have spoken with debt management companies but tbh these are no use, they dont really reduce how much you are forking out and my debt is mostly all cc's with huge apr's...i want to move this elsewhere but get some extra money out of it aswell as we have lived 2 years pretty much in the gutter. i was reading the railtard1 thread and had to laugh at how he managed to get himself out of his mess, and wonder why me as someone who knows what money means (well i used to) and works hard have nowhere to turn.....sorry this is a bit of a tl;dr and obv of no concern to anyone here but im guessing i cant be the only one whos been in this mess so hoping someone knows a better way out?? cheers.

keilan (the guy who contributes towards your wages!!!!)

[byronkincaid]

man up and snowball imo

http://www.fool.co.uk/Get-Out-Of-Debt/guides/Snowball-Your-Debts.aspx (also see page 9 re consolidation)

http://boards.fool.co.uk/dealing-with-debt-50079.aspx?mid=12064042

poker is marketed as some cool way to win a fortune but the reality for 95% of people is that you lose. keep $100 online and play micro's if you can't knock it on the head altogether.

then one day on sky TV i came across poker!

made me smile.

GL!

[keilan303]

Urghh...motley fool....been there....5 years ago....didnt help...binking on the lottery was the only thing that helped...hence chasing the gambling dream ever since....biggest problem is i have now fallen into the scam of payday loans, so every month i lose my entire wage and need to reborrow it....snowballing/traditional debt management is not going to fix this...just a big stash of cash to blitz it all, its maybe blinkered vision but i just cant see past it...

[RED-DOG]

This is probably the advice you don't want to hear, but imo...


Stop gambling.

Stop borrowing.

Work hard.

Speak to your creditors and agree a sensible, sustainable payment plan.

[StuartHopkin]

What Mr Red said.

You say you want to continue to play poker and get extra cash because you have had a bad few years, this definately isnt the right attitude.

Youve had the good times, you need to cut everything you possibly can now and live on the bare minimum.

On a side note how on earth have you got payments of £800 on £15k of debt?

[TheChipPrince]

Could you not bite the bullet, downsize house, clear the debt that way and start from scratch?  Or is does your partner not know about things?

Good luck whatever you do.

[tikay]

Red's advice is as good as it gets, but I'll add a little.

Most of us have been in a self-inflicted money hole at some time in our life - I know I have.  In my case, at least twice.

There are LOTS of ways out of it, lots & lots. Borrowing to feed the borrowing is NOT one of them, you are just pouring petrol on the fire.

At 32 years of age, I was.....

Penniless.

Homeless

Car-less

Job-less

Not a bean to my name, nowhere to live, no car, no job.

I begged a job, & applied myself to it.

The next 3 years, as I oh-so-slowly worked my way out of the hole, gradually clearing everything up, bit by bit, week by week, was the most satisfying of my entire life. I "allowed" myself a daft amount of money to live - a tenner a week I believe -  & had to find ways to manage. Beans on toast every day never tasted so good.

PLEASE don't think borrowing - again - will solve anything. It won't.

And deffo do NOT mess with poker, or any other gambling, during the fightback, it will do your head in to claw back 100 quid here & there, & then do it at poker.

Good luck.

Time to show if you have any backbone.....

[StuartHopkin]

Mr K, thats soooo wrong.

Borrowing at a sensible rate to consolidate keilans credit card debts is with out doubt one of the most sensible things he could do.

If he has 3 credit cards at £5k and 20% interest paying £200 a month on these cards is no where near as effective as paying £600 a month against a £15k loan at 8%.

The problem is peoples self control. Most people who consolidate then either re spend on the credit cards, or they reduce their repayments to say £300 a month so they can have some spending money.

Debt consolidation is good but you must still follow it up with your beans on toast approach.

[tikay]

Mr K, thats soooo wrong.

Borrowing at a sensible rate to consolidate keilans credit card debts is with out doubt one of the most sensible things he could do.

If he has 3 credit cards at £5k and 20% interest paying £200 a month on these cards is no where near as effective as paying £600 a month against a £15k loan at 8%.

The problem is peoples self control. Most people who consolidate then either re spend on the credit cards, or they reduce their repayments to say £300 a month so they can have some spending money.

Debt consolidation is good but you must still follow it up with your beans on toast approach.

It's just my view, Stu, based on having been there myself.

I just don't think borrowing is the way out of it, working out of it is my idea of the permanent solution.

Each to their own.

Whatever he decides, I wish him the very best. It's not so nice being in a hole, but getting out of it  - properly getting out of it, by his own efforts, & not the easy route of moving the problem down the line - is the bestest thing ever.

PS - I'm glad we agree that the beans on toast approach does play a role.

[StuartHopkin]

Mr K, thats soooo wrong.

Borrowing at a sensible rate to consolidate keilans credit card debts is with out doubt one of the most sensible things he could do.

If he has 3 credit cards at £5k and 20% interest paying £200 a month on these cards is no where near as effective as paying £600 a month against a £15k loan at 8%.

The problem is peoples self control. Most people who consolidate then either re spend on the credit cards, or they reduce their repayments to say £300 a month so they can have some spending money.

Debt consolidation is good but you must still follow it up with your beans on toast approach.

It's just my view, Stu, based on having been there myself.

I just don't think borrowing is the way out of it, working out of it is my idea of the permanent solution.

Each to their own.

Whatever he decides, I wish him the very best. It's not so nice being in a hole, but getting out of it  - properly getting out of it, by his own efforts, & not the easy route of moving the problem down the line - is the bestest thing ever.

PS - I'm glad we agree that the beans on toast approach does play a role.

Beans on toast is just an amazing meal, its when you start to sprinkle cheese on top you know you have got above your station.

I think your view of debt consolidation is correct in probably 80% of cases, its just a way of someone refinancing so they can spend more.

This is the person though not the debt consolidation, done right it can be a ladder and everyone knows that ladders, when your in a hole, are a god send.

PS - I want some beans on toast now, thanks.

[skolsuper]

Mr K, thats soooo wrong.

Borrowing at a sensible rate to consolidate keilans credit card debts is with out doubt one of the most sensible things he could do.

If he has 3 credit cards at £5k and 20% interest paying £200 a month on these cards is no where near as effective as paying £600 a month against a £15k loan at 8%.

The problem is peoples self control. Most people who consolidate then either re spend on the credit cards, or they reduce their repayments to say £300 a month so they can have some spending money.

Debt consolidation is good but you must still follow it up with your beans on toast approach.

It's just my view, Stu, based on having been there myself.

I just don't think borrowing is the way out of it, working out of it is my idea of the permanent solution.

Each to their own.

Whatever he decides, I wish him the very best. It's not so nice being in a hole, but getting out of it  - properly getting out of it, by his own efforts, & not the easy route of moving the problem down the line - is the bestest thing ever.

PS - I'm glad we agree that the beans on toast approach does play a role.

Each to their own yes, but how is a £15k loan "more borrowing" than £15k on credit cards? It's the same amount of borrowing, just done smarter. It's like the old question, which is heavier, a ton of feathers or a ton of lead? Credit cards are the lead.

[tikay]

Mr K, thats soooo wrong.

Borrowing at a sensible rate to consolidate keilans credit card debts is with out doubt one of the most sensible things he could do.

If he has 3 credit cards at £5k and 20% interest paying £200 a month on these cards is no where near as effective as paying £600 a month against a £15k loan at 8%.

The problem is peoples self control. Most people who consolidate then either re spend on the credit cards, or they reduce their repayments to say £300 a month so they can have some spending money.

Debt consolidation is good but you must still follow it up with your beans on toast approach.

It's just my view, Stu, based on having been there myself.

I just don't think borrowing is the way out of it, working out of it is my idea of the permanent solution.

Each to their own.

Whatever he decides, I wish him the very best. It's not so nice being in a hole, but getting out of it  - properly getting out of it, by his own efforts, & not the easy route of moving the problem down the line - is the bestest thing ever.

PS - I'm glad we agree that the beans on toast approach does play a role.

Each to their own yes, but how is a £15k loan "more borrowing" than £15k on credit cards? It's the same amount of borrowing, just done smarter. It's like the old question, which is heavier, a ton of feathers or a ton of lead? Credit cards are the lead.

But smarter not to borrow, imo. That's all I'm saying. Pay it off, move on.

[Hairydude]

Mr K, thats soooo wrong.

Borrowing at a sensible rate to consolidate keilans credit card debts is with out doubt one of the most sensible things he could do.

If he has 3 credit cards at £5k and 20% interest paying £200 a month on these cards is no where near as effective as paying £600 a month against a £15k loan at 8%.

The problem is peoples self control. Most people who consolidate then either re spend on the credit cards, or they reduce their repayments to say £300 a month so they can have some spending money.

Debt consolidation is good but you must still follow it up with your beans on toast approach.

It's just my view, Stu, based on having been there myself.

I just don't think borrowing is the way out of it, working out of it is my idea of the permanent solution.

Each to their own.

Whatever he decides, I wish him the very best. It's not so nice being in a hole, but getting out of it  - properly getting out of it, by his own efforts, & not the easy route of moving the problem down the line - is the bestest thing ever.

PS - I'm glad we agree that the beans on toast approach does play a role.

Beans on toast is just an amazing meal, its when you start to sprinkle cheese on top you know you have got above your station.
I think your view of debt consolidation is correct in probably 80% of cases, its just a way of someone refinancing so they can spend more.

This is the person though not the debt consolidation, done right it can be a ladder and everyone knows that ladders, when your in a hole, are a god send.

PS - I want some beans on toast now, thanks.

Pfft I cant eat it without Caviar on mine

Seriously tho- alls good and well taking out more debt to consolidate your current debt at a lower rate(but consolidating is the key thing) poster has already said he took out debt before to clear other debt and ending up maxing out his previous Card too so seriously has a problem with control. Whats to say he wouldnt do the same this time.

If your gambling splurges are seriously under control then good luck I hope you get the loan to pay off current debt but one thing Gamblers do A LOT is lie to themselves... the safest and most probably cheapest way of doing this is taking red's advice

P.S Beans on toast with Cheese grated over the top is the bomb!

[DaveShoelace]

You are probably away of it already Keilan, but this really should be your number one checked website every day, it has helped millions get out of debt.

http://www.moneysavingexpert.com/

[Eso Kral]

You are probably away of it already Keilan, but this really should be your number one checked website every day, it has helped millions get out of debt.

http://www.moneysavingexpert.com/

+1  great advice and savings