Decreasing debt 2009

BluePumpkin

I really need to sort out my debt this year, and it is going to be an uphill struggle. I find that I spend money on junk- magazines, DVDs, overspending on our food shops etc. I need to try and organise a budget and then stick to it! And I figure that if I have people on here for help/advice/!!! kicking then I'll be more likely to succeed

I live with my OH, and the first step has been to set up a joint bank account to take care of all of our expenses. We each pay £515 a month in, and that takes care of:

Rent £600
Council tax £128
Water £25
Electric £20
Gas £20
Line Rental £12
Internet/phone package £16
TV Licence £16

That leaves a target of £150 for food each month, and a £26 difference which we're going to keep as bunce.

So far I've worked out the following to budget from my account:

Mobile £40 This is an exaggeration so that I'm covered for high months.
Bank Account fee £7 This keeps my overdraft free!
Breakdown £6.99 Signed up for a year only a few months ago.
Gym £43 Can't cancel until October, use it along with Slimming World.
Car Insurance £33 Up for renewal in May, going to try and get a cheaper one.
Petrol £40 The maximum I ever spend.
Car Tax £10
Eating Out £21.65 Pub lunch once a week at work.
Loan Repayment £220 :mad:

I have a main current account which I use to pay bills and get paid into. This is slightly in the red at the moment as we had to pay four months worth of council tax at once. If I do go overdrawn in this one it is free. I have a second bank account with a £1500 overdraft. I really want to pay that one off so that I can close the account.

I made the stupid mistake in December of getting out a loan (22.9% APR) to pay off credit cards and a family loan. I borrowed £4200 but in total I have to pay back £7733.88 :eek: A large chunk of this is PPI, so I'm going to try and cancel that. Apart from that I have no real clue how to try and pay that off. I want to try and reclaim bank charges from Barclay's, and that should help if/when I get anything.

My OH has his own debt which he is trying to pay off, and then we want to start saving so that we can get our own place to live. That's pretty much an intro to me and the things I need to sort out! Now I just need to figure out how

pinkpixie274

It is so easy to waste money on pointless unnecessary things isn't it! Congrats on having your lightbulb moment, it wont be easy but definitely well worth it...good luck!

BluePumpkin

Thanks! I'm just trying to keep the momentum up now. This weekend I've sorted out all my paperwork. I kept things all over the house, so I had no real idea what was what. I'm debating about whether or not I should pay my council tax by direct debit, and whether I should ask to pay over 12 months. We'd about £20 less a month if we paid over a longer period- but if we pay over 10 months like now then we'll have two months with no council tax to pay at all :cool:

This week I'd like to:
-find out about bringing my old pension into my new pension (changed jobs).
-send off a letter to cancel my loan insurance.
-send off a letter to reclaim bank fees.
-close my spare bank account.
-reclaim sponsor money.
-change the account my loan payments are made from.
-cancel direct debits from overdrawn account.

I closed two credit cards a while ago, and one sent me a letter of conformation. Barclaycard have not sent me one though. Should I chase for this?

I'm also thinking about finding ways to reduce the cost of my loan. PPI cancelling first though!

Lemon_Tree

I'd chase Barclaycard as they once told me that they don't always close it they keep it dormant incase you decide to apply to them again.

On the council tax front, i've always stuck with the 10mths to get the 2 months free, it was always my only opportunity (until recently) to pay a chunk off my overdraft each year. But it's all down to personal preference at the end of the day.

One thing to note that by paying the £7 bank charge a month you're not effectively getting your overdraft for free, but to be honest with the balance you've got it's likely the actual interest would be higher, maybe as you reduce your overdraft balance you need to watch to see where the break even point is so you can cancel the monthly fee when it becomes higher than the interest.

good luck and welcome to MSE

shaggydoo

Good Luck :T:T

BluePumpkin

Thanks for the tip about Barclaycard. I phoned them last night, and they have promised to send a letter confirming the account is closed. Their customer service is awful- I really hope that is the last time I have to deal with them :mad:

At the moment I haven't managed to do anything on my list of targets for the week :eek: I find time management is my biggest issue. I get home from work exhausted, make tea and then collapse on the sofa. I'm going to read the PPI and bank charge articles tonight. I think I need to send the letters by registered post, which is a bit annoying as it is about £5 a letter (I think)... The good news is that I have really cut down on my random spending- I've even got old magazines off a friend rather than buy my own.

beanielou

Baby steps at the beginning