not going to lurk anymore....

oscar52

theskintfamily wrote: »

oh and I've just signed up fo rthe £20k by xmas challenge

Im assuming thats by next xmas, otherwise thats quite a challenge.

halight

Hi
Welome and good luck in becoming debt free.
you seem to know how to do it and you seem to have the drive to do it.
so i know that you ill grt there well before the 3 years are up.
good luck and keep posting.
well done and all the best

theskintfamily

oscar52 wrote: »

Im assuming thats by next xmas, otherwise thats quite a challenge.

:rotfl: yes, xmas 2009!


Have checked my online banking, it's looking pretty grim at the moment, I'm waiting for my rent money to be paid in, which needs to be in by monday or I'll have problems paying my barclayloan which comes out on the 16th :eek: . I always get jittery at this time of the month.

Ive also booked in a load of mystery shops for early january.

and have just had a look at the letter template for claiming back CC charges. Am going to write to MBNA today and see how that goes before I write to the others, I'm not in a position to pay any of them off in full yet so can't afford to have my accounts closed down. my plan is to clear all credit cards by December 2009 - I will achieve this if everything goes to plan with the £20k challenge. I have put them through the snowball and I should clear
A&L (£402) and Mint (£1689) by April.

off to get ready now, need to visit my mum and take DS to a birthday party.. oh joy!

theskintfamily

hi can anybody post me the link for 'scratchcards' ? have read lots about them on here but havent actually looked into them and wouldnt have a clue where to start!

bank_of_slate

Hi skint and welcome!
You've done lots of great groundwork! It takes a bit of time before things actually start to improve.
Also join https://www.seefilmfirst.com and keep checking on the freebies no spend required thread (on here) for cinema codes... you can see films before they are even released for free!
...Linda xx

Uncertain

I've just been doing a similar excercise for slightly different reasons.

A few thoughts.....

Most of your expenditure looks modest indeed. In fact the house and contents insurance looks incredibly cheap. Are you sure this is right and / or you are properly covered?

You are probably stuck with it at the moment but does the buy to let add up? On the face of it you get £400 nett income but do you really? What about repairs and other costs? Also, you probably should budget for it only being let for 9 or 10 months out of 12 - if you get more it is a bonus.

You are showing four of your debts at 0%. Again is this right and if so when will they jump up?

Finally, the interest only mortgage. Does this still have many years to run? If so then it is OK for the time being PROVIDED the monthly interest payment is no more than you would pay in rent for a similar property. You are, in effect, renting with the option to buy the freehold at some point in the future for a fixed price. Don't lose sight of this but it is probably your best option at the moment.

theskintfamily

Uncertain wrote: »

Most of your expenditure looks modest indeed. In fact the house and contents insurance looks incredibly cheap. Are you sure this is right and / or you are properly covered?

it is correct, all fully accidental damage, umlimited buildings & £40k contents. I've worked in insurance for years so always make sure im fully covered as I know how easy it is for insurance companies to kick out claims :rolleyes:

You are probably stuck with it at the moment but does the buy to let add up? On the face of it you get £400 nett income but do you really? What about repairs and other costs? Also, you probably should budget for it only being let for 9 or 10 months out of 12 - if you get more it is a bonus.

this was my old house before I met my DH, if I could sell it I would, but would need to spend a bit of money on it first and in the current climate probably best to leave it as it is. in the 3 years I have rented it has been empty for 2 months - but I do get nervous just in case my rent doesnt get paid on time and could do without the hassle of it all, but not something I can do much about at the moment

You are showing four of your debts at 0%. Again is this right and if so when will they jump up?

yep, my car loan and 2 of the cards are 0% until june 09, the payplan is 0% as all interest forozen.

Finally, the interest only mortgage. Does this still have many years to run? If so then it is OK for the time being PROVIDED the monthly interest payment is no more than you would pay in rent for a similar property. You are, in effect, renting with the option to buy the freehold at some point in the future for a fixed price. Don't lose sight of this but it is probably your best option at the moment.

Ive got years left on the mortgage, and the plan is once the debt has been paid off, I will start to concentrate on clearing the mortgage. I reduced it to interest only when I was on maternity leave Im not really happy about it being interest only but not really in a position to increase payments at the moment.

Thanks for your comments, we really do live quite frugally, and it does get me down sometimes but on a happier note Ive been to asda this evening, I only took £10 with me as I only needed bread, milk & veg and came home with 6 bags of whoopsies! mainly bread but Ive filled the freezer and it'll last us a couple of weeks and I came back with £3.50 change!

theskintfamily

have jsut written to MBNA re reclaiming charges, have followed Oscar 52's advice and not asked for a specific amount and havent mentioned interest charges. Will wait and see.. anything will be a bonus

I used to have a halifax CC but and I know there will definately be lots of charges on there . havent got any details though and nothing showing on my credit report. any ideas on how I go about reclaiming? I've also got married and moved address since I closed the account which probably complicates things even more!

have also just done a meal plan for the week, using the freezer and cupboards, so should only need to buy milk and cat food.

Im beginning to enjoy being organised

dancingfairy

You do sound organised - well done. The next few months might be a bit tricky as your budget is quite tight and shows you have 3p a month spare but when you are back up to date on your water etc you should be able to start making some inroads.
I think I would be inclinded to go for the alliance and leicester first as it's a nice small amount and it wil be one less off the list. You could then see when it is clear whether you can get any balance transfer deals - if they can offer you a lower rate than you are paying on some of your other debts.
Good Luck with it all
df