I'm Back - and better! Final Push to Go...

No problem at all!

I'd love to have no transport costs, but it's tough for me - my job involves visiting a number of places in any one day. That said, there are certainly ways that I could reduce it, so I am going to explore those in time.

As for the loan - tough one. £2k wouldn't clear any of your debts, but it'd certainly take a chunk out of them. I'd take it, because having even a small percentage of your debt at )% is better than none of it.

I suppose if I were you I'd take the loan, pay it all of the most expensive debt (Tesco in your case) and then pay back your sister. What is the rate of repayment - that is something to consider,

The other thing to consider, which may be better come to think of it is if you pay £2k off your 0% credit card, then transfer £2k of your Tesco debt onto that. It will only work if the transfer rate makes it worthwhile though.

What's gone on with the £132 - all on debt?

MoodyMel wrote: »

Exerbusi2 - Hello You have done so well and I love your enthusiasm.

Hi Mel! Thanks for the compliment! It hasn't always been easy and I've certainly learnt a lot along the way. The forum (and site as a whole) certainly helps.

MoodyMel wrote: »

One thing I am interested in is getting myself some savings along the way, as we always end up screwed when we have car issues

Now, here's where my approach is perhaps slightly different to others. I'm a believer that the most positive way to get out of debt is to grow your income, rather than cut, cut and cut some more. All work and no play makes Jack a dull boy and all that.

Cutting your expenses is important. In fact, scrap that - it's vital. But by growing your income you can still enjoy a few luxuries.

I started by taking on some extra work outside of my normal job. I used that money to do two things...

1. Pay down debt quicker.
2. Build some savings.

After a while my extra work became my full employment. I quit my job, started my business and haven't looked back.

There are people on the forum who would (perhaps rightly, depending on your thinking) use all of their available money to pay off debt, citing its expense as the reason. The logic being, if your debt is at, say 5% but your bank only pays you 0.1%, it's better value for money.

I get that, but I think there is something else at play.

Psychologically, it helps if we can see some kind of positive in life, and a growing saving pot is that. Additionally, if you use all of your available money to pay off debt, when 'life' happens and you have car costs etc, you've got no spare money and end up having to use debt to cover life costs.

Ergo - you remain in debt.

MoodyMel wrote: »

Do you have your savings in an ISA or just a regular account?

It's in a normal account. I use it as a cash buffer for the business. Given the returns even from an ISA are terrible, I keep my cash at hand for business use and save the excess in the stock market where the dividends and share price growth means there are real returns.

MoodyMel wrote: »

Also could you tell me a bit about your shares portfolio: how did you choose what to invest in or what kind of shares do you have etc... This is something I am interested in, but I'm not exactly sure where to start

So I typically buy big, boring companies that pay a regular dividend. I do have a few growth shares (small companies you buy cheaply and gain a return from the shares going up in value).

I'm not willing to gamble on companies I don't really understand, so to give you a roundup of the kind of companies I own shares in....

Money Supermarket (who own this very site!)
Vodafone
Centrica (owns British Gas)
NCC (Online security - had them years, bought them when the shares were pennies!)
RBS (bought just after the collapse, so they are worth A LOT more than I paid for them!)
National Grid
Lloyds Bank (again, bought after the collapse)
Tesco (again, after the accounting scandal)

I like big, stable companies and often buy when something goes wrong. If the business is fundamentally sound but is going through a bad patch, I buy them. Often the price is a temporary blip and given I tend to hold onto share for years, the prices always recovers in time.

I started through my bank. I bank with HSBC and use their 'Share Dealing' option. I can't remember if I had to register for the account or not (I started investing a few years ago) and I only buy shares when I see a company I like at a price I like.

I always re-invest the dividends too.

It's actually really fun (if you make good decisions that is!) Always do your research and only invest what you don't need.

Hope that helps!