Suggestions for a newbie debt free wannabe!

jenjade

sorry i also wanted to add me and my mates get take away and go to each others houses to watch dvds play on the wii etc we enjoy it much more then going out !

Mr_GB

RedDino308 wrote: »

Hi Mr GB,

There are a couple of extra things you could try.
1 Mobile Phone. If you are on a monthly deal and out of contract then look at beating them down (there are a few good articles here about how to do it). You may get down to as low as £5/month.

2 Keep a spending diary where you write down everything that you spend - right down to that bar of chocolate on the way to work. You'll soon build up a picture of your true spending habits and where the money really goes. For instance buying a £2 coffee every work day is £500 a year!

3 Can you get prepaid prescriptions? These are great if you are on regular medication and will save you bucket loads

4 Look at shifting to a water meter. £43 a month sounds like the ratable value and your consumption is probably a lot less. Swapping over is free to do and can save you a fortune. The rule of thumb is that if you have more bedrooms than people then switch to a meter.

5 Your grocery bill is high. There are a few things to try such as.
a - Swapping to a lower tier. e.g. buying normal rather than premium
b - Doing your shopping in two or three places.
c - Plan your meals to minimise waste.

6 Get hold of your credit report (it's free - again do a search here) and find out why you were likely to be rejected for the MBNA card. Is it fixable?

7 Do you research and if appropriate look for another card at a lower rate and transfer that Egg Card amount of it.

8 Is your council tax paid 10 monthly or 12 monthly? Try and make sure it is 12 monthly to help your budgeting.

9 Make sure you do pay at least the minimum amounts on your debts and then pay any extra you have available to the highest percentage rate debt first.

Hope this helps a bit.

RedDino308

1 - Still in contract on the mobile unfortunately! I do use it an awful lot though, I use my free minutes on my mobile rather than use my land line.

2 - Will do! I suspect I do spend a fair bit of money this way.

3 - I have a pre payment prescription already - I divided the total cost by 12 to get the monthly figure

4 - I'll add it to the list!

5 - Already on my list to sort out

6 - Will do!

8 - I believe it's 12 monthly but I'l double check.

Thank you for your input!

Mr_GB

Jenjade - thanks very much, I'll give my supplier a call and see what I need to do.

Thanks for the ideas for the nights in too, what with the credit crunch I'm sure some of my friends would appreciate some nights in being organised to save some money. :beer: