Help! This is my first post and I need debt advice

mum2one

So adding the £12 and the loan, that makes u £185 a month short, thats the negative points, on the plus side.......say you get the £500 back pay, I would suggest paying the Argos card straight off, as its a store card the apr is very likely to be in the region of 26% apr, that leaves £300 off the od, leaves £200 to pay.

Re BT - are you on basic package, where you have to pay for all your calls, if you are consider using www.1899.com, you set up an account and before you dial you do 1899 then the number inc the area code, its 5p set up, but free calls on local and national, mobiles are chargeable.

Your car ins, you do need to shop around when its renewal, you may be hit for a while as some are claims in 3yrs others 5 years.

I'll have a look for the snowball link and come back to you.

The snowball link is here:

http://www.whatsthecost.com/snowball.aspx

Ignore the fact that it says dollars, works out in the end, obviously ur loans are fixed, but overdraft and any credit cards can be used, if youcant find out the APR for ur Allaince and Card, estimate it, I'd go for 20%.

bargainbetty

A spending diary is a good start - check every penny!
Could you cut back on the dental care? I have a deep clean once a year, and my teeth are perfectly fine - no fillings or crowns at 34!!
Your unemployment insurance - is it the cheapest you can find? Check its terms because very often they are difficult to claim on.

Can you credit card tart a bit? Ask all your providers for reduced interest rates on balance transfers, and then switch the money about to maximise it.
An example... you have very little on your HSBC card. Find out what their best balance transfer rate is (they are offering 0% for 13 months on new accounts) and what the highest credit is they will give you. Clear the £131 onto one of the others first, and then switch as much back over as possible to the lower rate. Empty a card if possible from a high interest card, and then repeat the process on the cheap rates.

It doesn't reduce your debt immediately, but it does mean that more of your money will be paying off your debt each month, rather than just paying interest.

Aside from that, do you have things you can Ebay? A skill you could use in some form of home working?

Old style will help reduce your household costs. I found the first step was to inventory everything I had in the cupboards - food and other stuff. I haven't bought cleaning products in a year (I had stockpiled so much), and had six months worth of shampoo, conditioner and bodywash! It helps avoid buying things you already have.

Good luck x

mb-skint

Lets face it, when you are in debt and need/want to get out of it, sacrifices must be made. I'm probably not fully qualified to talk on this as I'm still to give up the dreaded fags but any other luxuries have gone.

A deep clean at the dentists?? Not needed!

Buildings insurance costing £32 per month?? I've just paid £109 for a whole year with Sheila's wheels so check the details are all correct on it, ie. £ amount of stuff to be insured etc.

also i would not budget for holidays, entertainment, presents (£40 a month???). Those 3 things will save you £125 per month alone. yeah you might not have a good time, or might not have a holiday, or might not be popular with people you are spending £40 a month on but at least you will be a lot closer to being debt free or at the very least comfortable!

I really hope you find this site useful and you get everything out of it that you want, good luck x


ps. I'm giving up smoking for new year! I promise!

TotallyBroke

How far from the school do you live? Could the children not cycle to school if not too dangerous. Also can they not take pack lunch to school. I only had school dinners once a week and that was pe day. (My sarnies used to get squashed in my bag under my kit.) That would save a fair amount of money each month.
£12 a drum lesson is quite high too. I'm not saying to stop it but I hope he is earning it. Washing the car etc.
I agree your BT can be reduced down and so can your shopping bill.