(deep breath) here goes.

dazza12

The 150pm would be better paid to your cc debt, particularly the one that's out of the 0% deal. At some point, the 0% game will end, and so many people are going to get hit by it. Your debt will reduce, and therefore so will your costs.

At the moment, I save nothing. This may seem like a dangerous situation to be in, but I pay a large amount against my debts. I've kept a couple of cc accounts open, so if there is any large expense (car etc) then I've got cover for it. I'm less likely to spend it if I know it'll cost me.

This now means that sometime this year I'm going to be debt free. As I have forced myself to live without the large amount I pay towards the debt, I will have no difficulty saving that money when I'm debt free. It's also taught me some valuable skills in getting value for money.

Ohhohoho

Yes i see the logic, but i find it so terrifying to do!

I just checked my credit cards, one is 0% and the other is only 1.67%, not to bad! I'm going to apply for new 0%'s, but if i am unable to get them, i may do as you say and pay it off on debts.

sanfrancisco

Are you sure its not 1.67 per month. (or 20% a year approx). Ring and check.

Ohhohoho

Lol yes sanfrancisco, i realised that straight after i posted here!

Anyway, i've been busy.

Just applied for 0% card to hopefully take cover both my current ones.

Submitted meter readings to powergen, was told over the phone that despite my £80 monthly dd, it looks like my account will be £120 in debt when the bill comes out next month! I told the lady this was shocking, she agreed and so said to ring back when that bill arrives and i can take the reading on 5 consecutive days to ensure it is measuring correctly, and/or discuss changing tariffs. Currently on dual fuel, and with the help of online comparison sites thought i had the cheapest deal!

Ntl are not open today so shall be on their case tomorrow.

Have managed to squeeze two hundred out of what we were putting into joint account, so i get £100 extra to pay off cards with, and partner does the same.

Phew! this is without knocking down our food bills etc, so i'm really hopeful that things will turn out.
The way things are currently i work out we should be clear of cards by summer next year so not so bad after all. If i keep chipping away - looking forward to joining in some of the other threads here - it could be sooner!

(ps and i'm still having my holiday )

But very big thanks to all of you on this thread, as you've all given me the kick up the bum i needed!

Little_Miss_Winner

Hi, and welcome.

I have been reading your post, and my first impression is, would it not be far easier for you too pool your monies together? Either;-

A - Both get wages paid into joint account, leave bill money in, get food money out (set amount), leave any other money in for car repairs, birthday etc. Then whatever you have left throw at all credit cards?

B - Let husbands full wages go into joint account to pay bills, food, car, expenses etc. ( he will pay all bills, and living expenses)
Get yours paid in another account, and Pay all debt with that money, ie - yours and husbands credit card bills? (Yours pays all debts)

Just a thought, as this doesn't mean to sound rude, but, you both pay half to all bills, then you both have your seperate debts as well.?

You havent actually said unless I missed it, how much you both earn, and what debts you have?

Regards
pot

Ohhohoho

Hi Pot thanks for reply.

We are not married, although live together. We both like our independence with money that we have left over iyswim. We pay fair proportions into joint bank to cover the bills, so i pay £400 he pays £900. (although today i have reduced these by £100each!) We don't halve bills, we just pay equal percentage of our income.

My debts are £3040 his are around £5000. As i say of course whoever is first to pay off, then they will start paying to the other ones debts until they are gone. So we do consider them joint debts, but just deal with them seperately.

I like having "seperate" spending money for each of us, because if he buys one too many dvd's it doesn't affect me, and if i buy one too many pair of shoes i don't have to feel guilty iyswim. I guess i'm a moden day gal who likes her independance!!

BertieMeldrew

Ohhohoho wrote:

NTL, phone, tv and broadband - £75 need broadband for work, tv is a luxury. Frequently i try to shop around to get all 3 cheaper, but get so baffled each time i give up!.

Couple of observations (I scanned the posts and didn't see these covered)

"Need broadband for work"... are you self-employed? If not - get your employer to cough up!

Have you read Martin's posts on phone costs etc etc? I reckon you could trim this £900 /annum by a lot. Does your "tv" costs include things like Sky Sports / Movies etc? If so... give it up for a while... you can always get it back when you are back on your feet.

I find the holiday interesting. Am sure you are looking forward to it... I know I would. However, think of it like this... when the two weeks (or whatever) are up what have you got left? OK some memories. Spend the £1000 on clearing some debts and the memory will, I suspect, be sweeter and last longer! Just an opinion

Little_Miss_Winner

Hiya,

Just a quickie, before I reply fully. You bring home £810, and pay £400 towards household bills.
Your husband pays £900, how much does he bring home?

pot

Ohhohoho

As i said pot, we are not married, my partner brings home 1500. He has expensive travel costs to work which is why he has more leftover than i do.

Bertie i work for a charity - they do pay all my other expenses and provide all equipment, and would happily pay for dial up internet, as you are aware, after having broadband, dial up just does not compare. They are aware of the often very cheap broadband rates now, but i can't remember the reasons why they havn't agreed to give this yet to home workers. I am perfectly happy with this situation and don't feel they should pay anymore than they already do.

No we don't have any of the expensive tv stuff, but i'm about to get on the phone to ask ntl to drop their charges.

tyllwyd

Ohhohoho wrote:

I have a large family so if i quickly add up all immediate family members birthdays and xmas presents spending £20 on each thats £360 + 150 p/yr on my daughter and partner presents.

Obviously, it's your family and everyone has their own way of doing things ... but I think you could cut back a bit on this. If you daughter is only just three, it sounds really mean but she doesn't need a huge amount of money spent on presents for special occasions, especially if she is getting presents from family as well. With my daughters I often find I've spent too much, and I end up hiding away presents instead of giving them because they have just got too much to play with all in one go. And you and your partner could agree with each other not to give big presents until your finances pick up. With my sisters who have their own children, I've agreed with them that we don't give each other presents, just swap presents for the kids, otherwise as the family grows it all gets a bit out of control! You might find that some of your family would be happy to cut down on the present giving a bit - but as I said, every family is different so it might not be right for you.

But if you are paying interest on your debt, I would use this money to pay it off temporarily and then plan to spend the money again when the time comes. That's OK as long as you are confident of budgeting carefully, of course, I got caught out big time with my credit cards this Christmas so I won't make that mistake again!