One in three women are £10,000 in debt with many borrowing at an alarming rate.
According to new figures a ‘buy now - pay later’ culture has emerged and women are earning more and spending more than ever. Savings, pensions and getting on the property ladder are put on the back burner.
Whilst according to Harpers Bazaar magazine, a quarter of us prefer to buy shoes than pay bills with one in ten spending over £1,000 on footwear. Before your partner heads for the door or cuts off any access to credit, it may be time to assess your spending habits. Read on for ways to pay off your £10,000 debt today.
Pay less for your plastic with our best buys Two simple ways to reduce your debts Women owe over twice as much than men and with Christmas round the corner credit card and store card spending is likely to increase. According to Reuters, credit card spending is set to rise by 35% over the festive period, with the average consumer spending £1,270 on their plastic. If you are set for a big spending Christmas and New Year then make sure you cut your costs back with a cheaper credit card and some simple budgeting tips.
A personal budget plan will help. Grab a notepad and keep a record of everything you spend to get an accurate picture of your expenditure. Divide your yearly income by 12, which gives you a monthly sum of what you have to spend.
Then note down all your outgoings and take account of expenses that occur monthly such as mortgage payments, council tax, dental costs and insurance. Then look at your variable expenses and see what you can cut back on. Sasha Spencer, 34 is £10,065 in debt and we looked at her budget plan to see where she could reduce her spending.*
The MBNA Amex Rewards card offers 0% for 12 months | Monthly Outgoings | Amount Spent |
| Rent | £650 |
| Council Tax | £70 |
| Utility Bills | £100 |
| Broadband/Tel. | £35 |
| Mobile Phone | £35 |
| Oystercard | £100 |
| Dental Costs | £42 |
| Clothes | £1,000 |
| Food | £240 |
| Beauty Treatments | £120 |
| Restaurants | £500 |
| Socialising | £600 |
| Total | £3,492 |
*Based on yearly income of £30,500 (after tax)
Spending less is easy with a plan Her monthly income is £2,542 and her outgoings exceed this by £950. It will be easy for her to look at her monthly expenditure and cut back.
In the short term, Sasha could cut back on buying new clothes for a year she would save £1,000 a month – there must be plenty in her wardrobe already! She could also cut her social expenses by £380 a month and save a further £620 on beauty treatments and restaurants each month. That’s a massive £2,000 less spent a month.
Of course, Sasha is overspending by £950 a month which is where her £10,000 debt came from in the first place. So out of the £2,000 a month she is no longer spending only £1,050 can be used to pay off her debt. But this is still a huge amount, after a year she could be 100% debt-free.
Check out our balance transfer card best buys here Not paying interest on credit card balances is simple With a little savvy shopping around Sasha can also get the credit card companies to help her get debt-free! Ditching her old credit card and transferring her balance to a new card charging 0% interest for 12 months will mean that every penny of that £1,050 she is saving each month will go to reducing her debt – and not into the credit card company’s profits.
| Provider | APR | Interest Charged |
| First Direct Classic card | 19.90% | £2,068 |
| MBNA Amex Rewards card | 0% (12 months) | £0 |
| Interest saved | | £2,068 |
*Based on debt of £10,065. Ignoring balance transfer fees.
With the combined savings from her budget surplus and from swapping her credit card, within a year Sasha would have paid off her £10,065 debt completely in twelve months. And, in fact, would have £2,535 left over to stick in an
instant access saving account as a rainy day fund (or buy some new clothes!).
Click here to see our instant access best buy accounts
