17 year old pauper looking for some advice :)

Bishbashdosh_2

Hello to everyone here, and thanks for even bothering to click on my first post!

At present I'm 17 years old, at college 5 days a week doing my AS levels, but I've found that A-levels really aren't my thing, so I'm intending to complete a BAE apprenticeship, starting this September (If i get through the interview on Thursday )

I currently owe my parents ~£450 that i borrowed to build a new computer (it's my major weakness ), which is by far the most I have ever been in debt as in the past i've been quite sensible with money. However, me and some friends are planning a road trip for later this year, which is going to cost between £3-400 for the entire trip.

I would also like/need a new car should i get this apprenticeship, as I'll be travelling 100miles+ a day, and the maintenance costs on my current car would be astronomical with that sort of mileage. So my intention is, to pay my parents back, afford the road trip, and still be at least some way into a debt-free £4000 budget for a newer car next February.

I will be getting a bank account with approximately £1000 in it come September on my 18th birthday, and currently earn only £35 a week, working on a Sunday at a market (And have been doing for the past 3 years) My current expenditure is quite low, I spend £8.99 a month for a game subscription, but that is a great time filler and i think if i didn't have it, i would spend a lot more.

I have been told during the apprenticeship, my annual salary will be between 9 and 13k a year for the first year, increasing through the 4 year apprenticeship to between 25k and 35k once i have finished the apprenticeship. I'm presuming that all values will be pre-tax etc.

So my question is, does anyone have any advice on how i would go about paying my parents back, affording the holiday and then still having enough finance by February next year to afford a newer car. Should i keep my current job? Does anyone know of any decent jobs i can get through school holidays?


Any help is greatly appreciated.

Edit: i currently have a few things i could possibly sell on ebay, such as old-ish computer, old laptop, video camera, digital camera etc. etc. Would this be a good place to start?

MrsManda

Firstly, discuss with your parents about the possibility of delaying paying back the £450 until you start getting paid doing your apprenticeship. Then you can set up some sort of repayment plan with them rather than trying to pay them off immediately.

Selling stuff you no longer need is always a good way to make some cash but I have no experience with ebay so can't advise you there - I'm sure someone on here will though
Summer jobs you need to start applying for ASAP and what's available depends on where you live. If you've got any big parks around, you could try contacting them to see if they need any park wardens/stewards/litter pickers etc... You won't get paid much but they may have more hours than your current work. Also ask your current employer if they can offer more hours.
Stewarding for concert venues can be really good, and you get to see some of the acts. But it's only really useful if you live in a city, or large town.
You can also join temp agencies - I did this as a teenager and earnt a reasonable amount but you have to be willing to do some very boring things.
Pull a CV together and speak to as many workplaces as possible, someone may
have jobs they haven't got around to advertising yet.

good luck with the interview and job hunting.

nimbo

Bishbashdosh wrote: »

Edit: i currently have a few things i could possibly sell on ebay, such as old-ish computer, old laptop, video camera, digital camera etc. etc. Would this be a good place to start?

it might be worth trying the localk paper first as you should be 18 to sell on ebay, and to post a computer could be exspensive...

would it be possible for you to work any extra hours until the end of the college year, or pick up a second part time job? also how much of the £4000 for the new car would your old car raise?

good luck

Bishbashdosh_2

Thanks to you both! And I could theoretically raise my hours to 2 days a week, as those are the only days that my boss operates on, just it's a very early start (5.30) and I'm up for college everyday at 7, so in the past when i've worked both days for consecutive weeks it's been pretty tiring. I'm thinking i will finish this job finally, and try for a job with better paid job where i can work more hours at more sociable times. I can use my dads ebay account to sell the stuff.

My current car was £1200 but as my parents provided a large chunk of the money for that as well, since it was originally my dads car, and help with maintenance etc. I'd rather earn the money myself, and give them the money back from there car. my parents have been pretty good with me money wise, I don't want to take more money off them.

beverleyhills

Use spreadsheets to record your predicted income and outgoings for the year.

Can you convert your hobby/weakness ie building computers into income generation?

Bishbashdosh_2

beverleyhills wrote: »

Can you convert your hobby/weakness ie building computers into income generation?

That's a great suggestion I get to do what i enjoy and make money from it, thanks again. I would love to do that, just i have no idea how i would go about doing it - I think i'll consult my business teacher on that one tomorrow

The spreadsheet idea is a good 'un too - You people are far too good at this hehe

TheEffect

I think you need to prioritize a little. Pay your parents back first, as your 'road trip' isn't that important. When you're 18 (Like me), you'll realize that you can't do everything you want and get everything you want. I work evenings and weekends at a cinema, and go to 6th form during the week (5 days). I have to miss going out with friends, parties, holidays, weekends away etc as I'm working or too exhausted to go out. I have to work as well, otherwise I wont have any money to pay for the luxuries.

Life's not a box of chocolates, so start prioritizing, pay you're parents back and then see how you're money goes from there.

GrammarGirl

TheEffect wrote: »

I think you need to prioritize a little. Pay your parents back first, as your 'road trip' isn't that important. When you're 18 (Like me), you'll realize that you can't do everything you want and get everything you want. I work evenings and weekends at a cinema, and go to 6th form during the week (5 days). I have to miss going out with friends, parties, holidays, weekends away etc as I'm working or too exhausted to go out. I have to work as well, otherwise I wont have any money to pay for the luxuries.

Life's not a box of chocolates, so start prioritizing, pay you're parents back and then see how you're money goes from there.

While I do think you're right to work alongside your studies, and it's great you know how important having your own money is, I think this is a little extreme. You're 18! You should be out there enjoying your freedom, and you shouldn't have to miss out on all the fun stuff (parties, holidays, all that stuff) because you're working so much. There's plenty of time to work, believe me. I'm 23 and have been working full time for 2 years now... I love my job but I'd give anything to be 18 and carefree again!

To the OP - discuss the debt to your parents with them. Do they want the money back? All of it? How soon?

I don't think you need to spend £4k on a car either. You could get something reliable for around £2k, and you could easily save this amount if you have no outgoings like rent, bills, etc. eBay is a great place to start.

As for your roadtrip... will it really cost that much? I went on a roadtrip across England when I was 20. We drove to Cornwall, stayed for 5 days then moved up the country, camping and staying in caravans. We finished in Wales then made the journey back to Yorkshire after 10 days. It cost £200! Brilliant, brilliant experience and I would recommend it, but try do it on a budget.

Masomnia

If you're planning on using your dad's account to sell the stuff on ebay, why not leave the money in his account to count towards repayment? That way you're paying your debt to them whilst not touching your savings.

QueenBeruthiel

Hi Bishbashdosh,
Is there any other way to get to your new (hopefuly!) place of work other than by splashing out for a new car? Train? Car share?
Good luck for your interview!

Bishbashdosh_2

Thanks all for the replies.

To TheEffect - Believe me mate, after the amount of money my parents have lent me I'm not going to go off on a road trip using money I owe them. £750 (for paying them back + trip) whilst not a small amount of money is obtainable within a couple of months, even at my age if I go about it the right way - hence why I'm here asking for advice from people who have more knowledge in this area than i do. I'm not naive and I fully expect this to take a lot of time and effort.

To GrammarGirl - About the car; £4000 would be my ideal target, as the car i would love is around that mark at the moment for a nice one (hopefully should drop by next year too) but ofc If i need to compromise and get something cheaper, that's the way it goes . The trip is more expensive than usual, as theres a bunch of us that are planning on going to Ireland, where several of us have family - It's the ferry tickets that are bumping the price up We're only even considering it as one persons parents can get cheap ferry tickets through work. They have said that they do not want all of the money back, and will wait until i start earning - but since they were nice enough to lend it me, I want to give it back quickly and in full, or as close to full as possible.

To Masomnia - And yeah, I think that would be a nice idea about leaving the money in his account, thanks for the suggestion

To QueenBeruthiel - I've been told that should i get the apprenticeship, I won't be staying in one place all day, there'll be quite a lot of movement going on, Thankyou for the suggestion, however! And also a big thanks for the good luck message.