Recently was made redundant & was fortunate enough to get a nice pay out. I was approx £30K in debt so immediately paid half off, one loan alone was costing me £325 a month.

This feels like a massive weight off my shoulders before Xmas, I could pay off more but given I have found another job I am holding money back as a safety net in the event something else goes wrong, probably the best thing to do?

Remaining credit card debt is shifted onto 0% & also have a store card with £2K I’ll likely shift onto 0% as well. Also invested some into an ISA, Crypto, Stocks & Shares

  • All sounds very sensible except for the crypto. Congratulations on getting back on track.

    parent

    Second this, doing all the right things but be careful with crypto its much more of a gamble than an investment

    Congrats though sound like everything is on the right path

    parent root

    Agreed there is no way I’ll risk anymore ££ in it!

    parent root

    Sounds like someone missed the boat 👀

    parent root

    Thanks & yep understand the risks with the crypto but it was a small amount - You never know it might turn out OK in a few years! 🤞

    parent root

    I wouldn’t gamble any money when I know I have a debt on my back. And yes crypto is a gamble. Good luck mate

    parent root

  • Congratulations!

    How much do you have in S&S and crypto?

    We'd normally say no investments until you're debt free and have an income. So those could be sold to pay off the store card (those are usually very expensive).

    Sometimes people make exceptions for 0% debt but usually for stoozing with cash savings accounts. E.g. if you have £5000 on a 0% card and £5000 in a 4% savings account, those balance out and you pocket the profit. But if you have £5000 on a 0% card and £0 savings, you're in a more precarious position.

    parent

    £2K S&S, £2.2K Crypto

    I WILL have an income come end of Feb 👏

    parent root

    I mean we'd usually recommend what I said above (debt and emergency fund first), but if it's motivating to you to have the investments, hopefully it'll work out :)

    parent root

  • Don't invest till your debt is paid off just put the money in a high interest savings account.

    You have 15k of debt and half your money ready to pay it invested in crypto.

    This is a bad idea.

    parent

  • Nothing more satisfying the .paying of massive debt by time I was 18 I was in 35-40k debt from criminal behaviour, debt collectors, compensation and so on , by time I was 28 courts decided to consolidate all my fines in to one to stopp.me from getting even deeper , I'm now 35 and have only.just finished paying off start of this year

    parent

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    parent

  • Firstly, well done on clearing half of your debts.

    Secondly, having 2.2K invested in crypto with 2K on a store card is criminal. Crypto carries substantial risk of volatility, clearing that store card and tossing the remaining £200 into your S&S ETFs should be a priority.

    parent

  • Paying off the high interest loan straight away was the right move, especially one costing £325 a month. That is a guaranteed return and frees up cash flow immediately. Holding some money back as a safety net after a redundancy is also very sensible, even if you could technically clear more debt. Peace of mind matters, especially before Christmas and starting a new job.

    Shifting the remaining credit card and store card debt to 0% is smart as long as you are disciplined and have a clear plan to clear it before the promo period ends. Just make sure the end dates are in your calendar.

    On the investing side, I would agree with keeping it modest while you are still stabilising. ISA and stocks and shares make sense long term. Crypto is higher risk, but if it is a small amount and you are treating it as speculative rather than essential money, that is a personal choice rather than a mistake.

    Overall this reads like someone who has reset properly rather than panicked. Clearing the worst debt, rebuilding security, then investing gradually is a solid position to be in. Well done.

    parent