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It's time to deal with it...

Bobbino
Posts: 39 Forumite
So heres my first every post....
Time has come for me to finally deal with my debts, finally in a position where i think i can.
So i have around £5,500 in debts... I'm not really sure how it all got there, because i have nothing to show for it... Ok i do know how...Credit cards.
Erm i guess the place to start is with my SOA...
Monthly Incomings:
My salary - £1,000 (Around £836.08 after Tax and NI)
Total - £836.08
Monthly Outgoings:
Phone (Orange): £49.60 (Latest bill.. Varies slightly month to month...But by no more than a few ££s)
Phone (3): £25 (Paying off an old contract...7 months to go If i remember right) (Reduced the contract down to £25 a month)
Phone insurance: £9.99 a Month
Smokes: £100 a month (There abouts)
ood at work: £80 a month.
Pet Food: £40 a Month. Total: £314.59
So that doesn't look too bad does it? i live with my parents, and don't pay any rent... I'd like to, infact i'd like to move out... But my debts eat up the rest of my income..
Paypal Credit Card: £4,258.10: £4,000 Limit. 3% min payment and 1.02% a month, with 1.74% a month on 305.18 Cash (not sure what that is APR sorry.)
Mint Credit Card: £482.26: £400 Limit. 2.25% min payment and 1.167% a month (not sure what that is APR sorry.)
Vodafone: £546.66 Debt Collection letter sent with notice for immediate payment. (Payment plan sorted at 182 a month)
3: £90.80 In arrears (Paid Off all Arrears on this account, it had escalated to £141)
LoveFilm: Around £120
So the Vodafone bill is the worst, requiring immediate payment, however i have spoken to then on the Phone and they offered me a 3 month settlement plan of £188 a month.. Is this the best to do with this debt? i assume it is..
3 i keep forgetting to pay the bill and they are phoning me every day to settle this amount. Going to settle it tomorrow evening after work (Today is pay day) However they have been very threatening and threatened court action, and requiring a settlement of the rest of the contract (around £360) so i hope that it's not escalated that far yet and i can sort this one out over the phone tomorrow....
LoveFilm i have lost the letter from the debt collection Agency, and i'm not sure who it was from to phone them and try to come to an agreement over payment. If anyone happens to know that would be greatly appreciated...
So i want to be debt free A.S.A.P... Of course i do, but, i always want enough money spare so that i can still go out with friends etc... i don't do it often, but i'd like to not have the entire of my income sunk into my debts so that if i want to...i can.
Any suggestions? And please... be gentle
Bobbin.
P.S. Oh and thankyou for anyone who posts
Edit: If forgot a couple things... as always... Most of my debt was racked up while i spent 18 months working at a cinema...for around £6,000 a year...
I'm now in a much higher paying job (£12,000) a year...with a pay rise coming in december... In december... Well January after xmas i will be able to devote much more of my income to managing my debt.. the pay rise will be quite substantial as i will no longer be on probation anymore, not sure entirely what my pay rise will be, but should put me to around £15,000+ a year at best guess.
Time has come for me to finally deal with my debts, finally in a position where i think i can.
So i have around £5,500 in debts... I'm not really sure how it all got there, because i have nothing to show for it... Ok i do know how...Credit cards.
Erm i guess the place to start is with my SOA...
Monthly Incomings:
My salary - £1,000 (Around £836.08 after Tax and NI)
Total - £836.08
Monthly Outgoings:
Phone (Orange): £49.60 (Latest bill.. Varies slightly month to month...But by no more than a few ££s)
Phone (3): £25 (Paying off an old contract...7 months to go If i remember right) (Reduced the contract down to £25 a month)
Phone insurance: £9.99 a Month
Smokes: £100 a month (There abouts)
ood at work: £80 a month.
Pet Food: £40 a Month. Total: £314.59
So that doesn't look too bad does it? i live with my parents, and don't pay any rent... I'd like to, infact i'd like to move out... But my debts eat up the rest of my income..
Paypal Credit Card: £4,258.10: £4,000 Limit. 3% min payment and 1.02% a month, with 1.74% a month on 305.18 Cash (not sure what that is APR sorry.)
Mint Credit Card: £482.26: £400 Limit. 2.25% min payment and 1.167% a month (not sure what that is APR sorry.)
Vodafone: £546.66 Debt Collection letter sent with notice for immediate payment. (Payment plan sorted at 182 a month)
3: £90.80 In arrears (Paid Off all Arrears on this account, it had escalated to £141)
LoveFilm: Around £120
So the Vodafone bill is the worst, requiring immediate payment, however i have spoken to then on the Phone and they offered me a 3 month settlement plan of £188 a month.. Is this the best to do with this debt? i assume it is..
3 i keep forgetting to pay the bill and they are phoning me every day to settle this amount. Going to settle it tomorrow evening after work (Today is pay day) However they have been very threatening and threatened court action, and requiring a settlement of the rest of the contract (around £360) so i hope that it's not escalated that far yet and i can sort this one out over the phone tomorrow....
LoveFilm i have lost the letter from the debt collection Agency, and i'm not sure who it was from to phone them and try to come to an agreement over payment. If anyone happens to know that would be greatly appreciated...
So i want to be debt free A.S.A.P... Of course i do, but, i always want enough money spare so that i can still go out with friends etc... i don't do it often, but i'd like to not have the entire of my income sunk into my debts so that if i want to...i can.
Any suggestions? And please... be gentle

Bobbin.
P.S. Oh and thankyou for anyone who posts

Edit: If forgot a couple things... as always... Most of my debt was racked up while i spent 18 months working at a cinema...for around £6,000 a year...
I'm now in a much higher paying job (£12,000) a year...with a pay rise coming in december... In december... Well January after xmas i will be able to devote much more of my income to managing my debt.. the pay rise will be quite substantial as i will no longer be on probation anymore, not sure entirely what my pay rise will be, but should put me to around £15,000+ a year at best guess.
Debt at Highest: £9,370.34 || Current: 9,370.34
Vodafone: £182.66 || Mint: £8.50 || GE Money: £4170.18 || 3: £59.00 || Orange: £200 || Parents: £4,750
'Proud To Be Dealing With My Debts'
DFW Nerds Member Number: 756
Vodafone: £182.66 || Mint: £8.50 || GE Money: £4170.18 || 3: £59.00 || Orange: £200 || Parents: £4,750
'Proud To Be Dealing With My Debts'
DFW Nerds Member Number: 756
0
Comments
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Hi there and welcome!
My initial thought is you don't need to spend all that amount on food at work. Take sandwiches and your own drinks.
And you know what I'm going to say about smoking, don't you? If you really can't give it up then see if there is a way to do it cheaper, such as cut it down or go onto rollups.
These two together will go a long way towards your vodafone bill.
Can you get your credit card bills within their limits? This alone will save money as there will not be the charges for going over and then that will be more you can use to pay them off.
I'm not in anyway a debt expert, but I'll give you these things to be going on with until someone comes along who can give you more detailed advice.(AKA HRH_MUngo)
Member #10 of £2 savers club
Imagine someone holding forth on biology whose only knowledge of the subject is the Book of British Birds, and you have a rough idea of what it feels like to read Richard Dawkins on theology: Terry Eagleton0 -
Hello and welcome. Try the snowball calculator to see which bills to pay 1st. Keep a spending diary, that will help you with frittering money away, even a few pounds each week extra of your debts helps. If you don't want to give up smoking, try switching to a cheaper brand or cut down.
Good luck anyway.Find out who you are and do that on purpose (thanks to Owain Wyn Jones quoting Dolly Parton)0 -
Hello, Welcome to the Boards! I'm sure we will all try and be gentle;)!So heres my first every post....
Monthly Incomings:
My salary - £1,000 (Around £836.08 after Tax and NI)
Total - £836.08 Is there any way to get another part time job? Maybe at a pub so you can still socialise with your friends?
Monthly Outgoings:
Phone (Orange): £49.60 (Latest bill.. Varies slightly month to month...But by no more than a few ££s) How long is the contract? Could you reduce it down some more and go on to Pay As You Go?
Phone (3): £35 (Paying off an old contract...7 months to go If i remember right)
Phone insurance: £9.99 a Month Do you really need this? Can you not just be really careful?
Smokes: £100 a month (There abouts) Rollies:p
ood at work: £80 a month. Take a packed Lunch. you spend £960 a year on food at work!
Pet Food: £40 a Month. Total: £314.59
.
In your SOA, you need to account for things like going out, birthdays etc and then you can get a better idea of what you have left to spend on your debts. Well done for getting this far though, this is the worst bit, I promise!:T
Well Done,
Danni[STRIKE]£2200[/STRIKE] [STRIKE]£1950[/STRIKE][STRIKE]£1850[/STRIKE] £1600 on my credit card
£1200 of £6000 Savings0 -
Completely forgot to add.
If you think you will be broke for Christmas you can join Pigsback and Quidco and that should be able to help a little bit! If you also take your self off over to the freebies board you can see what else you can pick up!
Danni[STRIKE]£2200[/STRIKE] [STRIKE]£1950[/STRIKE][STRIKE]£1850[/STRIKE] £1600 on my credit card
£1200 of £6000 Savings0 -
Giving up smoking will save you £1200 a year, stop your hair and clothes from stinking like a bonfire, improve your level of physical fitness and give you on average about 15 years extra life expectancy. No one seriously trying to sort out their debts can afford to smoke.I used to think that good grammar is important, but now I know that good wine is importanter.0
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Hi Bobbino and welcome. well done for realising you need to sort this out. You seem quite young so from someone who is way older sort it out now so the rest of your life can be easier. It appears you are trying to have a lifestyle that you cannot afford. Get rid of the contracts ASAP and go on payg. That way you can only spend what you have got available. Forgetting to pay bills is not an option for you as you will just keep racking up charges. Get yourself organised and things will fall into place so long as you are determined to succeed. Good luck5 Year plan. April 2020 to June 2025- CC and mortgage free by time I'm 60
Currently CC £23,674.36 /£14,895.41/£14315.42
Mortgage £28,214.65/ £26,254.71/ £25,746.43
By end 2020 I want CC at £ 19,000.00.
By end 2021 I want CC at £10,000.000 -
Thanks for the advice..
A part time job sounds good, but getting something decent enough to be worth taking the extra income tax hit, would be tough, plus i already work Monday to Friday, i was trying to keep my old job at the cinema on just for weekends, but they didn't want me unless i did evenings as well, which i would rather not do...
The Orange contract has about....14 months to go, get the option to reduce it down in erm... another 6 months i think... i still have internet on it though that i keep meaning to remove as i don't use it, then keep forgetting...so that'd be £8 a month less..if not more.
as to phone insurance...yes and no... I've claimed on insurance policies twice...about of about the 10 different policies I've held over the years... i think i'll cancel it..
i do try and take pack lunch every day...but most days I'm lazy... i will endeavor to do better though!
and Rollies...yeah, i always smoke rollies at the end of the month, when i'm well and truly skint, but... beginning of the month when i have a nice influx of cash, i get lazy... smoking duty frees at the moment though, so thats good for another fortnight or so.
And to the person who told me to quit smoking...thanks but no thanks. I've been smoking since i was 11, and I've tried to quit more times than i can count. NRT is generally more expensive than actually smoking... and i can't do it on will power alone, trust me, i tried... A lot.
Gonna sign up for Quidco and Pigsback later today... Also signed up for a couple of those get paid to take surveys sites so hopefully that could involve a little extra pocket change for me...
Gonna have a clear out at the weekend and see what i can eBay...i have a £400 digital camcorder i never use, so that will go... and anything else i no longer use...like old computer parts... But there is no way I'm selling my DVD collection... I just won't add to it as much anymore (Some months in the past i have spent over £100 on DVDs)
I got paid today, so first step after work is to phone all the people that i owe money to, ask the credit card companies if i can bring my accounts within their limits this month and resume normal payments next, and work out a decent plan with Vodafone too...
Will work out what i spend on birthdays and x mas etc when i get home too.
Oh, and after reading round the forums, i think i might start saving my £2 coins too! Lol.
Thanks.
BobbinDebt at Highest: £9,370.34 || Current: 9,370.34
Vodafone: £182.66 || Mint: £8.50 || GE Money: £4170.18 || 3: £59.00 || Orange: £200 || Parents: £4,750
'Proud To Be Dealing With My Debts'
DFW Nerds Member Number: 7560 -
If you look on other places on the forums you'll find the template letters for reclaiming bank charges if that applies to you? Keep a note of how much they say they will take, some credit cards will give you a small break in interest if you explain that you are having difficulties.
Danni[STRIKE]£2200[/STRIKE] [STRIKE]£1950[/STRIKE][STRIKE]£1850[/STRIKE] £1600 on my credit card
£1200 of £6000 Savings0 -
If you look on other places on the forums you'll find the template letters for reclaiming bank charges if that applies to you? Keep a note of how much they say they will take, some credit cards will give you a small break in interest if you explain that you are having difficulties.
Danni
Bank charges would apply to me... at £38 a month for the past.... 3 years?
but there is a freeze on them at the moment correct? So i can't do it...plus if they close my account i'm screwed...my credit is so messed up from missed payments i can't even open a new bank account...i've tried!
Going to send a letter to Paypal and Mint though...plus, i used to have a Capital One card...which i managed to clear... can i claim the charges off that even though i don't have an account with them anymore?Debt at Highest: £9,370.34 || Current: 9,370.34
Vodafone: £182.66 || Mint: £8.50 || GE Money: £4170.18 || 3: £59.00 || Orange: £200 || Parents: £4,750
'Proud To Be Dealing With My Debts'
DFW Nerds Member Number: 7560 -
I think you can still claim if the account is closed, but please dont quote me on that! Co-op i think have an account that you can have when you have really poor credit ratings, look over on the accounts forum. If the bank charges are a no go then concentrate on the credit card ones. If you dont ask, you dont get!
Danni[STRIKE]£2200[/STRIKE] [STRIKE]£1950[/STRIKE][STRIKE]£1850[/STRIKE] £1600 on my credit card
£1200 of £6000 Savings0
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