Can you advise?

Hagrid

Firstly, A Happy New Year to All, and my Resolution this year is to get fit both Physically and Financially!
In 1989 I was proprietor of two shops which I lost due to the recession, to the tune of around £70,000, which then was the price of a 3 bedroom semi!
I never went Bankrupt as my home was practically paid for so they had that but I still had around £10,000 of debts that haunted me till 2004 when I did a remortgage which cleared all except of course the Mortgage.
Last year I remortgaged again for a better deal,(saved £80 per month) but I still have an overdraft on my current account of £1,500 which I cant seem to shake off.
I am going to re evaluate my budget of my utility bills, Insurances etc and even the food and drink bill, especially the Christmas and Birthday spends as it always seems to be one way in this family!
Im not sure of my credit rating as to try and get a creditcard at 0% to do as Martin advises on the super balance transfer as If I can save on my budget I can utilise that cash to pay off the card and have my overdraft cleared.
Thats the gist of what I think is my best plan, what do you all suggest?
We dont have Holidays, rarely go out, and the car is 16 years old, and I sold my beloved 26 year old motorbike last year as she was going to start costing me money to keep on the road, so we have tightened our belts to some extent for years! Anyway, thats the life story! hope you can help and advise!
Kind regards to all, Ol` Hagrid :santa2:

System

Hi Hagrid, I am going to move your post over to the Debt Free Wannabe board where i think you will get a better response to your questions than on this board.

Thankyou for your best wishes for the new year, and i wish you health, wealth and happiness in 2006 too.

frosty

Hi Hagrid,how many people live with you?,I have managed to cut my shopping bill from well over a £100.00 down to £50.00 a week :j ,this is for 5 adults and my dogs and cat,I couldnt of done this without the help of everyone on the money saving oldstyle board so if I were you I would have a look there.the other things i have done are,
1)phoned the AA and they have reduced my premium to £90 (from £156) same cover.
2) Changed telephone provider to the same one I use for broadband I think I will be saving about £40 a month (I have Teenagers living here)
3) saved £150 by switching house insurance.
by joining this site I have learnt such alot.
Your plan of action sounds very good and its amazing what you can save with just a short telephone conversation.I am sure lots of people will be along to help you soon.Good luck.

ms_london

Hello & Happy New Year.

Perhaps you could post a SOA (statement of affairs) which lists your household income & expenditure. Mortgage/gas/electric/sky/petrol/food/etc etc. There might be ways you can save money without realising it, and we are definately here to help :0)

I managed to become debt free at the end of 2005 (see signature) so am using 2006 to improve my health. But am here to help in any way that I can!!

It seems that your only debt is the overdraft? Are you still spending on this? Do you have any old credit cards? If so, cut them up. Do you find that you live above your means each month & dont know where you money goes, or are you trying to save & budget better?

I am nosy, I do apologise :0)

Ms_London xx