my debt free diary.....time to make a change for myself and my boys!!!!

Fire_Fox

samboss0306 wrote: »

hi Forris and thanks for your reply.
my oh enjoys snowboarding so i have said to him that i dont want him going again until our debt is cleared so that is a bit of an incentive for him!! he doesnt realise that he cant just go off snowboarding with his mates evey year (they dont have little ones yet) as he obviously does not get paid whilst he is away (being self employed) so we suffer and the credit cards come out again.

Not if you cut up every credit card you each have! Rather than tell your OH what he can't do, tell him what he can do. You have done brilliantly with your SoA so alter it a little so you don't just have minimum payments listed, you have the amount you feel comfortable making, that gives you a little wiggle room. Then show him how much is left for new cars, holidays, overpayments, whatever. :money:

It's his choice whether to spend some of that on a daily basis or get shot of the debts and have a fighting chance of a holiday. I would also be tempted to use the Snowball calculator on three possible scenarios, so he can see how much a small, medium and large overpayment brings forward the debt-free date and the next holiday. If you are lucky large overpayments mean he can go on holiday next year, small/ no overpayments will mean all his mates will be married with kids before he is free to party!

justruth

Hello, pleased to see that your OH is being a little more supportive. The good news is that it gets a little easier as you pay more off and clear the debts with the highest APRs. You seem to have things started in place to slowly improve your situation.

When do you complete your book keeping course? It may be worthwhile you advertising yourself once you have as that may bring a little extra in each week. Do you plan on studying more once you complete?

Just a suggestion about the order of repaying debt. Clearly the Egg card is your main priority but you are already on that and I suspect that you will have that cleared in no time. The next I would repay is the ASDA card, as although it is on 0% now, you are not guaranteed to get another 0% deal when this is up and it would then shoot right up to their standard rate. Best plan is to clear it first. Then onto the 12% secured debt. If this is one of those fixed loans where the interest is 'preloaded' and small overpayments do not make any difference ( I have a loan like that) then you are actually better off to save the cash in a savings account until you reach enough to clear it at their settlement amount.

I suggest budgeting a set amount each month on debt repayment and using every penny of it, just transfering the overpayments to the appropriate creditor when a debt is cleared. You currently pay £462.60 a month on debt, so just keep paying that as a minimum each month. (this includes the catalogue and the family loan which you missed out from the SOA - at £95 a month). I would talk to his mum about your situation and ask her how much is left on the loan as you are trying to sort things out. If she knows that you are making efforts to sort money out I am sure that she will be slightly more forgiving of the 2 missed payments and either add them to the end of the loan repayment or allow you to increase repayments once the egg card is cleared or something. Always best to have family onside when you face job insecurity! It must be frustrating for her to have lent you money then see you with sky, a wii and you OH going snow boarding. I am not passing judgement on you, just offering the perspective of someone who has suffered due to social lending. I do not for one second tar you with the same brush, but when your mum in law wants something she will be thinking about what you have and how much you owe her! If you keep to regular repayments it makes her feel much better about the situation. When she is fully paid off you can thank her in your own way. The bank of mum and dad offer much better rates than the high street! You never know when you may need help again!

Just a quick note about the TV license, even on minimum direct debit it costs more than £10 a month now. I suggest that you revise your SOA once you have moved as I think that you have less money than you think. (this and missing out the things mentioned above)

samboss0306

hi all thanks for your replies. i have still been very good at not spending money i dont have to. did my shopping online lastnight and managed to save £12.50 by using voucher numbers that i found on here:j .

my oh rewired someones kitchen at the weekend and got £150 for that so that will be going to his mum so we will basically be up to date with them payments i think. i have ordered him some business cards so when they arrive i will make sure he hands them out!!! got to check online banking in a mo as its payday today but i get too scared as i dont know what it will look like. i am taken note of everyones advice and suggestions so thankyou to you all for taking the time to help me.

i cant remember who asked but i finish my level 2 in bookkeeping in june, i did want to go on to the AAT in accounting level 3 but i will have to see what our finances are like first!!!

*louby_lou*

Re part time job, go to some job agencies such as hays (also online) who have a dedicated team for finance jobs, they could help you find a job where the employer pays for your fees is you are seriously considering becoming an accountant.

My employer currently pays for my ACCA fees.

justruth

As mentioned above you will probably find a finance firm will pay for the qualification, if not there are other options. Have you been to the college funding office and asked for help? They may recommend some sort of career development loan which you wouldn't be charged interest while on your course and repayments wouldn't start till you finished. Clearly the best person to advise you about this would be the college. They may even help with childcare.

samboss0306

hi all thanks for your advise regarding college i will definatly look into that.
well checked oh online banking yesterday and it looks like an absolute nightmare!! he is being charged £190 in charges on the 9th march.:mad:

managed to pay off £30.00 on my choice catalogue and had to pay rent today. apart from that its got to be another nsd as we are even more broke then i thought we would be this week!!

i feel like giving up as it just seems pointless trying when we have got no money to start trying with!!!:rolleyes:
xxx

justruth

Well the good news is that you can claim the charges back. I would even suggest that he go in and ask that they not be applied in the first place as they are not legally enforcable. Take some of the legal stuff from here to back you up.

Just think on the plus side, at least you have time to plan for this and you have strategies in place to better cope with the downs, by evening them out a bit with the ups.

samboss0306

well we have been invited out tonight to the pub as its my step-dads birthday. wasnt sure on going but we decided to go and we are going to take £10 out with us and leave all cards and other money at home so we cant be tempted!!!:rolleyes:

i even walked up the shop with my youngest (he rode his bike!!) so i saved on petrol money too:T only had to get eggs bread and milk apart from that have not spent any money.

oh has been asked to fit some lights for someone tomorrow and is changing someones mainsboard next weekend so any money from that will be going towards the egg card.

justruth

well done you, your going to have that cleared in no time at all!

samboss0306

thanks justruth:o
had a good night last night and taking just £10 and no cards worked fine as i think we both understand now that this money problem needs to be sorted asap!!!

also we have done really well by not having takeaways. we used to get one when the kiddies were in bed and this could sometimes be up to 5 nights a week!! how naughty!!:eek:
it has been a week now without a take away and i dread to think how much we would spend on them, scary thought!!

anyway oh is working today and my eldest had a birthday party to go to so i have not been far apart from that. would of been a nsd but it is my sisters partners birthday today so had to get a couple of cards for him.

oh yeah my partner got another call last night from his mate saying their next door neighbour is having a new kitchen fitted and they need an electrician so he is going to look at that and quote them next wednesday evening so hopefully some more money coming in:j

xxx