Walshyboy84's Debt Free Wannabe Challenge!

Walshyboy84

Hello All!

It seems this is the way to get me on the road to get rid of my (relatively small, when compared to some of you guys) debt. :cool:

There's two phases I want to do to this:

1st Phase - Debt Free by Christmas 2008 so that means...

Bye bye £1500 credit card!
Bye bye £2000 Overdraft!

2nd Phase - By Christmas 2009 to have £5000 in savings

Also lots of shiny things like a PS3, new TV and a better idea of where I can afford in my little pocket of the Docklands, London!

Now it's not that I'm lazy but I have no idea where to begin! Budgeting seems a godo way to start. I live with my OH and two others. We all share the bills but separate food bills. So I pay for me and OH's food, he pays for the bills.

So major expenditure comes at £40 per week on food and 'beverages' (Ok vodka and southern Comfort!)
Rent: £400 a month :shocked:
Phone bill: £20 a month
Socialising varies month to month, it's usually expensive! :beer: :dance:

Incomings: It varies, I'm on temporary contract at the moment and so that means my weekly pay varies from £375 a week to £450...

Yet somehow, with this money coming in, I'm only breaking even and so ned help, ideas, feedback on what's good to do and what's bad! The next post will have what I'm goign to aim to minimise expenditure, but any advice how to resist the little hamsters in your head when they want to buy things would be GREATLY appreciated!

Walshyboy84

Ok so far, I've now registered with Quidco to gain cashback on what I buy. Seeing as I buy most of my games and things from Amazon and Play, this makes sense.

I've also signed up for Slice the Pie. It's quite interesting hearing the music, wouldn't mind being paid more but, it's something to do in the background!

Finally, I've joined Toluna.

all these give me vouchers to allow myself a little more spending power and will go towards the PS3 in 2009!

I have a LOT of crap in my house! I've cleared a lot out when I moved here but again the notion of accumulation can't be stopped! So what sites are good for selling? I've got a back catalogue of Wii games all completed and I'm aiming to finish the rest of them very very soon to sell them on and bring in newer ones.

What are boot sales like for those type of goods?

amyandjon

Hello and welcome, a total of 3500 so lets see... are they both 0% at that small a debt you could get a 0% credit card for teh combined total so everything you pay is on teh debt save them intrest to get 5000 saved for xmas o9 lets work on a 11 month basis 454 quid per month around if your crap at saving open a savings account that needs you to go in and 7 days notice that way you talk yourself out of it before you spend much my problem when i have saved b4 i had easy access lol !! good luck on teh journey :D

hypno06

Boot sales are ideal for getting rid of clutter but maybe you should investigate a couple of local ones to see what prices are like. You don't want to spend all day in the rain if you will only get pence for stuff.

Perhaps Game or one of the other shops will buy them off you - the one in our city offers pretty good trade in prices.

Start a spending diary - see exactly where your money is going.....either a pen and paper job or on www.spendingdiary.com

If you have not already done so, join the "NSD challenge".........not always easy but very satisfying when you get to the end of the day and have spent nothing!!!

Walshyboy84

amyandjon wrote: »

Hello and welcome, a total of 3500 so lets see... are they both 0% at that small a debt you could get a 0% credit card for teh combined total so everything you pay is on teh debt save them intrest to get 5000 saved for xmas o9 lets work on a 11 month basis 454 quid per month around if your crap at saving open a savings account that needs you to go in and 7 days notice that way you talk yourself out of it before you spend much my problem when i have saved b4 i had easy access lol !! good luck on teh journey :D

The overdraft is. The credit card isn't and thanks to some issues (putting it politely!) with Nationwide, my credit is shot for a few months so I'm 18.5% on the credit card.

I'm looking into the savings account with Alliance and Leicester, it's pretty good rate and I can't access it easily so it means money stays in there!

Does this site get horrendously addictive or is it just me!?

Walshyboy84

hypno06 wrote: »

Boot sales are ideal for getting rid of clutter but maybe you should investigate a couple of local ones to see what prices are like. You don't want to spend all day in the rain if you will only get pence for stuff.

Perhaps Game or one of the other shops will buy them off you - the one in our city offers pretty good trade in prices.

Start a spending diary - see exactly where your money is going.....either a pen and paper job or on www.spendingdiary.com

If you have not already done so, join the "NSD challenge".........not always easy but very satisfying when you get to the end of the day and have spent nothing!!!

Thank you Hypno! Will look into options! The carboot I'm not so fussed with. There's a good one in Billingsgate that apparently has covers over the table!

I'll look into the spending diary and keep up to date with yours as you seem to be the guru at this!