That feeling again

Numpty_Monkey

lynzpower wrote: »

Has someone got thelink for the snowball calculator please?

http://www.whatsthecost.com/snowball.aspx?country=uk

There you are lynz

carrottopsuk

mrcow wrote: »

Well we're all in that boat aren't we? No one's jobs is 100% certain these days and even those of us with hundreds of thousands of pounds of equity in our properties are still facing difficult times ahead. All we can do is deal with our situations as we face them now. You can't beat yourself up forever for buying at the wrong time or over-borrowing yesterday.....the main thing is how you then go forward with it and the decisions that you then go on to make.

From the sounds of it, the OP & his wife have faced a level of debt that is the stuff of nightmares and have both taken it face on and are fully intent on repaying every penny. This shouldn't be taken lightly. I wish them both very well and hope that they stick around here, get familiar with the other boards on this site (which will save them/make them a small forture if they play it right!) and save buckets of money.

Very true, we're all in the same boat - It's just a pity we couldn't be on a plush cruise ship with all expenses paid;)

I agree we do have to go forward, we cannot change what has already happened. However, I think we all need to keep the lifeboats in clear view now that we're on choppy water just in case.

As you say the OP is facing up to his debt and I agree he'll find loads of help on the other boards. Some of which I should explore myself as I don't think I'm taking advantage of all the info out there.

emmy05

to be fair, you bought the house in june, with deposits borrowed, youve spent money on soft furnishings as you put it, which have amounted up to £3,700?? youd already done without these whilst renting the house, but felt the need to get it now?
then you have to pay your gran back paying £10,000 by march, but thats ok, youre going to get a loan to pay that off. youre obviously going to find one that uses your house in exchange for the loan? so on top of that, is going to be interest. and tbh, i would definately had made this my priority in paying back now, rather than in march! and rather than paying for furnishings.
i also think you shouldnt blame your wife like you have done, youre the one whos stated you made the decision about this and that, so you need to whip yourself into shape tbh
but gd luck anyway, altho with xmas so close, im not so sure that £50 monthly isnt going to creep up to alot more than what youve put tbh

andys15

urg123 wrote: »

Hi Andy

I just thought I'd suggest some ideas to reduce your outgoings. As others have mentioned - try the OS board for ideas on savings money. Plan your meals for the rest of the month. Shop to a list. Use up the food in the freezer/Cupboards.
Join a few challenges: the grocery challenge, the No Spend
Days challenge. There are a few challenges to earn money a number of ways.
Look at what you can sell - maybe there's a bit of clutter that you can make money from.
Take advantage of sites like quidco - you can earn money while you are saving or purchasing.

You and your partner have great incomes and I know that you want to enjoy the money as you work hard for it. You really need to work at addressing the overspend and then work at reducing your spending so that you can pay off the debt.

I hope this is helpful.

URG x

Council tax is for the month. I get 2 month break in jan/feb. which is going towards the blinds, which i will pay off in full in july 09, which means i wont pay interest. As soon s I am back from hols, then the outstanding balance for the blinds will be divided by the months i have left.
I had no savings for the holiday, I have paid it over the months hence where my 800 credit left over have gone. The flights are paid for, most of my spending money exchanged for dollars, and theme park tickets got. Not one penny of my hols will be added to credit cards/loans etc. The thought of this holiday has kept me going for the last 4 years,, and even though the money could have helped elsewhere, sometimes you have got to do it. and besides which, my overtime paid for the flights and spending money, and as I hate overtime, I would never have had that money if i wasn't going away, and yes I will be doing more now to pay debts.
The main reason for my post is to see where I can do better to stay out of debt. the debt i have at the moment is manageable and will be paid of, I just dont want to get into any more.

lynzpower

The main reason for my post is to see where I can do better to stay out of debt. the debt i have at the moment is manageable and will be paid of, I just dont want to get into any more.

Ok.

This is what you have to do.

Both have you have to sit down and be totally honest about how you feel about this. There is an aspect where you seem to blame her, yet state you made the big decisions. Talk honestly about how you feel about where you are aat and ultimately where you are going

It does seem quite clear to me that you really want to stop getting more into debt so thats excellent :T

If you want to get out of of debt, AND more importantly STOPPING getting ointo debt, is to ONLY BUY WHAT YOU NEED.

In a way you are saving up for things, by doing overtime so you can have the holiday. A bit of overtime once a week say could bring in extra money to pay your debts off early. So you would have a wedge of cash to give to your nan before March.

What do you have you can sell? Kids clothes? Spare car? Ebay/ car boots, make money wherever you can.

CHOP YOUR CARDS UP. What you need ( food and the basics, petrol etc) you will have that moeny sat in tyour bank account budget. You dont NEED anything on credit/ debt if you have budgeted for it,and you DO seem to have a lot of money sloshing around in your SOA unaccounted for

How much money do you tend to spend in a day?

andys15

emmy05 wrote: »

to be fair, you bought the house in june, with deposits borrowed, youve spent money on soft furnishings as you put it, which have amounted up to £3,700?? youd already done without these whilst renting the house, but felt the need to get it now?
then you have to pay your gran back paying £10,000 by march, but thats ok, youre going to get a loan to pay that off. youre obviously going to find one that uses your house in exchange for the loan? so on top of that, is going to be interest. and tbh, i would definately had made this my priority in paying back now, rather than in march! and rather than paying for furnishings.
i also think you shouldnt blame your wife like you have done, youre the one whos stated you made the decision about this and that, so you need to whip yourself into shape tbh
but gd luck anyway, altho with xmas so close, im not so sure that £50 monthly isnt going to creep up to alot more than what youve put tbh

emmy
you are correct with all you have wrote. We had our settee for 10 years and we needed a new one fast. When your renting you can put up with anything as it never feels like your house, and as long as its tidy you doont care. when i becomes your own house its a different matter. xmas pressies are sorted, its the holiday.
the one point which you are spot on about is the gran issue. If I had £3700 in cash I would have paid it to my gran, the soft furnishings i got sets me back £60 a month, which I know all adds up, but its done now. I am still looking at ways of financing the £10, and a loan over 2 years will set me back £600 ish a month on a unsecured loan. I have 2 pay rises before mar, which will cover about £300 of that.

andys15

lynzpower wrote: »

I understand this more now so thanks. But it still doesnt take away that you are going to take a loan out ( or hope to) to pay off another 10k debt from gran. I suggest you start paying her back, right now, out of the savings you wil inevitably find in your budget, in case you cant get that loan you are so dependent on.


Out oif interest, have you ever had savings as a couple? We are only just starting to really get into the throes of saving after paying debt back, weve realised that hardly anyone we know ( we are in early 30s) have no savings, and when weve asked for advice, most people dont know.

We had savings for a few months ago, and for the first time in a long time i actally got interest paid to me by the bank. Thats all gone now but i do have a savings account which will be added to big time when I pay my dad/gran/hillarys back. We are early 30s too.

andys15

lynzpower wrote: »

Ok.

This is what you have to do.

Both have you have to sit down and be totally honest about how you feel about this. There is an aspect where you seem to blame her, yet state you made the big decisions. Talk honestly about how you feel about where you are aat and ultimately where you are going

It does seem quite clear to me that you really want to stop getting more into debt so thats excellent :T

If you want to get out of of debt, AND more importantly STOPPING getting ointo debt, is to ONLY BUY WHAT YOU NEED.

In a way you are saving up for things, by doing overtime so you can have the holiday. A bit of overtime once a week say could bring in extra money to pay your debts off early. So you would have a wedge of cash to give to your nan before March.

What do you have you can sell? Kids clothes? Spare car? Ebay/ car boots, make money wherever you can.

CHOP YOUR CARDS UP. What you need ( food and the basics, petrol etc) you will have that moeny sat in tyour bank account budget. You dont NEED anything on credit/ debt if you have budgeted for it,and you DO seem to have a lot of money sloshing around in your SOA unaccounted for

How much money do you tend to spend in a day?

Not a lot really. My credit card is paid of monthly in full and its all we ever spend on. We use the credit card as we get tesco club card points. I usually pay off £1200 to ££1400 every month. We go throught our statements but it always seems to be stuff we have no control over. Last month out dryer packed in. £400 which we never planned. month before the brakes on the car go another £600. everytime we are up on the month we get scuppered. its nice that we can cover it usually except this month has been particulary expensive

carrottopsuk

andys15 wrote: »

Not a lot really. My credit card is paid of monthly in full and its all we ever spend on. We use the credit card as we get tesco club card points. I usually pay off £1200 to ££1400 every month. We go throught our statements but it always seems to be stuff we have no control over. Last month out dryer packed in. £400 which we never planned. month before the brakes on the car go another £600. everytime we are up on the month we get scuppered. its nice that we can cover it usually except this month has been particulary expensive

It all happens at once doesn't it....and it can feel as though it will never stop. ((hugs)))

Have you spoken to your gran about paying it back in instalments rather than as a lump sum or does she need the money back immediately?

If you continue to look after your finances now, hopefully they will get back in order soon.

Work on your finances but remember to enjoy your holiday too.

lynzpower

andys15 wrote: »

Not a lot really. My credit card is paid of monthly in full and its all we ever spend on. We use the credit card as we get tesco club card points. I usually pay off £1200 to ££1400 every month. We go throught our statements but it always seems to be stuff we have no control over. Last month out dryer packed in. £400 which we never planned. month before the brakes on the car go another £600. everytime we are up on the month we get scuppered. its nice that we can cover it usually except this month has been particulary expensive

Ok, this is where you can change how you think, and it will save you an utter fortune.

1) you say you had no control over events, as the dryer packing in. No, maybe not, but you could have bought a cheaper dryer? You could have bought a second hand rdryer to tide you over tillyou have more money, You could dry inside and outside for a bit and see how you go on. What im suggesting is you might not have control over the event, BUT YOU DO control how you respond to that event.

With the brakes going, the idea is that if you have cars, you have to work out how mcuh they will cost you- and pout that money aside. My mum always says "what is it with my cars its always needing something!" I agree, shes forever having to pay out for tyres/ MOTs etc. So the best plan is to put away 100 quid or so a month of your wages into a spacial car savings account. Then if and when something happens the money is there, saved AND EARNING YOU MONEY :j while you are waiting to pay the mechanic.

same with Xmas- youll have an idea what you will probably spend, so halves it, then put that money in the bank from Jan onwards. then too if you find a Xmas present in the sales at other times of the year you have the money SET ASIDE for that.

Nothing is a suprise in a budget- or a shock! Having a buget, that is that you have moeny ALLOCATED for all your outgoings, predicted and expected, then nothing will scupper you and you will be stable...:beer: