Advice please

top_drawer_2

hello,

As my sig says I had a £1, 500 OD with HSBC. Ive finally received my student loan and its cleared it to £216, I really dont want to get it back at that level ever again so how should I go about budgeting etc.

I have pretty much given up working part-time for awhile at least as I was struggling to keep up with all my uni stuff and fit it all in but I was thinking I should avoid using my card as sometimes I dont even think about how much I spend week to week as I just sort of hand over my card - How much do you think is a fair amount??

I dont know what else I can do - any ideas?

Jen

poorandindenial

If you do a statement of affairs you will se how much you have left and then you can start from there

there is a calculator at www.makesenseofcards.com

Deffo avoid your card, just take out cash once a week and then once it is gone it is gone, so you have the odd few days on pasta and pesto

It is difficult to say what a fair amount is without knowing more about you but if you are looking to cut food costs then head over to the old style board.

There is also a student board and it may be worth posting there to see how much others live on

jellybean08

hello,

i got myself into debt at uni so steer clear if you can, i know it can be hard though to juggle everything. what do you use your loan for normally and do you have any other income? you need to budget every week for bills and food etc and then maybe set yourself a social spending limit or a how many nights a week you can go out limit? do you work during the holidays?

poorandindenial

oh and reduce your overdraft to £250 fornow, then when you get it down fuether reduce it again. If it isn't there you can't use it

Sharon87

I found that using my overdraft at uni (same one) that I always used to work to the limit. So maybe open a savings account and transferring money in there so it's there to pay off your overdraft, and you don't have access to it with your card. This is what I'm starting to do. I'm still spending to my limit, but I have savings I can use to pay it off when I need to.

As for budgeting I find cutting back on booze is helpful Even if it means drinking before you go out and buying less when you're out! Also avoid expensive drinks (like alcopops), not sure what you drink so don't think I'm being stereotypical, it's just that a lot of my friends at uni drunk them lol.

Are you in you're third year? Because that was the year I spent the least (too much work lol). I managed to juggle a part time job (15 hours/week) and uni work. Could you still work, but maybe less hours than you were doing? Even 1 day a week would bring in some money.

Jesthar

poorandindenial wrote: »

oh and reduce your overdraft to £250 fornow, then when you get it down fuether reduce it again. If it isn't there you can't use it

A wise suggestion, Poor, but if the OP has no other forms of income as a student (aside from the occasional part time work), that may not be doable straight away - she's going to have to live on something. Thankfully I was never in that position at Uni, but many of my friends were, and you could tell the banks expected it because I used to get an overdraft extension every year, despite the fact I never used it! :rolleyes:

Jen, hi and welcome! Budgeting can come as a shock, can't it? But don't worry - once you get into the swing of things, it's easy enough!

The best thing you can do for yourself right now (aside from posting an SOA if you want) is to start keeping a spending diary and record EVERYTHING you spend in it. I have an excel spreadsheet I created specifically for my finances, which divides everything up into categories as well, and it lets me see at a glance any areas I need to keep an eye on! You soon find out where your money slips away then...

Do you cater for yourself? If so, there are plenty of wonderful ideas for cutting down your food bill in the Old Style Moneysaving section of the board. I'm single livingon my own, and I spent about £50 on food last month - would be somewhat lower still if I bought Value brands for things like bread, too!

It's also a good idea to have a fixed budget for going out etc., and to only take cash when you go out - that way you can't be tempted! Do make sure you still have some fun, though!

~Jes

top_drawer_2

hi,

I am in my third year of uni, I dont drink at all as I was on anti-depressant medication for awhile and never started again as I never got that much from it anyway. I cook a lot although its not that healthly sometimes, my last takeaway was probably a month or more ago. I very rarely go out period apart from uni and occassionally to the library/work (when I was working).

I seem to have more of a problem of wanting things or needing them, I have a cupboard full of food but tend not to use half of it. The last large purchase I made was to stock up on underwear etc £24 in total which I got to new bras (sale on a M&S) and a load of knicks. I have also run my clothes down as I have gained a bit of weight and a lot of my clothes didnt fit that was £40 all from Primark.

I'm desperately trying to change my life to be what I want it to be ... but money hassles are getting in the way along with a load of other rubbish.

Jenny

tealady

Hi If you have a cupboard of food then hop over to the store cupboard challenge, the peeps on there can make a meal from almost anything!

tyllwyd

Do you have access to online banking? I'd recommend checking that every day/couple of days, and whenever you write a cheque or use your card, keep the receipt. That way you can cross off the items as they get paid, and you will know how much more there is to come out. Otherwise, just checking your balance can fool you into thinking things are better than they are.