Need to clear overdraft quickly

FTB83

Hi - for the past year or so I have had an overdraft of around £800 which I have always cleared every payday, but slope back into every month (my pay used to put me around £100 in the black every month, then direct debits and monthly expenditure would take me back to the limit again). In January, my partner and I decided to buy a house and so I have been incredibly motivated (and determined!) to clear my overdraft as mortgage payments, bills etc. are going to make things massively tight (I still live at home, and even though I pay housekeeping, it's nowehere near the cost of running your own home).

The jist of this is that I have managed to decrease my overdraft to £450 since the end of January (could have been more but for car tax and other annual bills at this time of the year) just by basically cutting out unecessary spending (clothes, going out, take aways and so on). So far, so good, but now it looks like we will be moving into the new house in the middle of April. I'm chuffed to bits, but worried that I will now not be able to clear the overdraft by then, and due to new mortgage costs and bills, will never get out of my overdraft. I had thought about getting a second job, but I work so many unpredictable overtime hours where I am presently (which aren't financially reimbursed I might add!), that I just wouldn't be able to commit to another job. Does anyone have any ideas on how I could clear this by mid-April? I have a new car insurance policy starting at the end of this month and have found a deal which will save me over £150 per year, but I pay monthly so I have a £100 deposit to pay at the end of March, plus I am covering our survey fees etc. I did think about a credit card with 0% interest, but I have just managed to clear a credit card that did have £1,000 on it, and I'm not sure I want the burden of a credit card again.

Sorry for the length of this, but I just wondered if somebody might be able to advise on a safe and effective way of sorting this.

Many thanks.

moozie_2

Hello FTB83 and welcome.

If you are able to post an SOA (full statements of affairs) it will be a lot easier for the very helpful and knowledgeable MSErs to advise you

Bendybops19

I'm in the same situation with the over draft!!! Will be watching this thread with interest

mintymoneysaver

if you got a 0% credit card for the insurance but set up a direct debit to pay it off you would save money, I'm going to do that next time!
Also make sure you reduce your overdraft limit so that you are not tempted to go over it again.I will be doing the same thing as you as soon as my credit cards are cleard.

FTB83

Okay, here goes. Costs for April:

House keeping £100
Mobile phone £80 (normally £30 but I changed the date of my direct debit so this is for two months and also £20 for an upgrade)
Car loan £137
Car insurance £100 deposit (£42 thereafter)
Catalogue payment £50 (clears balance)
Clearing student overdraft £50 (cleared after April’s payment)
Petrol £60
Contact lens check up £30 (already put this off for a few months)
Prescription £6.50
Savings £50

Totals £663.50
My monthly income (after tax) £950 (although might be slightly more after yesterday's budget1)

I have £450 savings to cover the cost of our house survey and also to go towards solicitor fees.

I also did an estimated budget for when we move in:

Mortgage £927 (total mortgage for £162,000)
BT line rental £11 (we both have great deals on mobiles, so no need for outgoing calls from house phone)
TV licence £10.55
Gas and Electricity £60 (current owner pays £80, I put their supplier details and the cost into Energy Helpline, and we think we could save at least £20 per month on the costs)
Water £35 (based on current owners’ usage)
Council tax £100
Insurance:
Critical illness and life £50
Building and contents £30
Food and domestic £150 (for two of us, could be less if I’m clever with the food)
Management committee for communal area £30

We would split this so I will pay 1/3 and my partner will pay 2/3 (he's on quite a lot more than me), so my portion would be £467.85. Then I add my own monthly costs which will be:

Car loan £137
Car insurance £42
Car tax £10.40 (if saving up monthly to buy for the year)
Savings £50
Prescription £6.50
Petrol £30 (will decrease as I won't be travelling to see partner anymore!)
Contact lenses £22 (I buy three months worth which costs £67 and saves me about £10 per month, and I'm also wearing glasses much more so this is an area I can save in)
Mobile phone £30

Total for my own costs is £327.90

Total altogether including my costs and house is £795.75 which leaves me about £164.25 spending money each month.

Looking back at these figures, for April I could defer my savings payment and also could just make the minimum payment to the catalogue (£5) which is all interest free anyway, so that would be £95 saved. But there's still a bit more to go. Currently, just based on Aprils's costs, I'm looking at being £163.50 in the red, but then I have moving in costs etc. if everything goes ahead for April, so back where I started this month. Again, sorry for the length, but I thought I'd try to be as thorough as possible.

Thanks.

FTB83

Thanks moozie and mintymoneysaver, I think I might take the plunge and do the credit card, does anyone have any recommendations on which card would be best for this? Would it be classed as a balance transfer? So long as I cut the card up after the transfer (that's what I did with my last one when I decided enough was enough) and set up a direct debit, it should be managable.

Also Bendypops19, let me know if you have any brainwaves, or need any mutual support! I have had an overdraft for as long as I can remember (just not as bad as the past year), and although I'd never really been that bothered about it, I told my partner my circumstance a little while ago and he was appalled, but in a sympathetic way (I think!). Made me feel a bit embarassed, but hey ho, getting there.

Thanks all for your input, it really is good to know that there are people out there who have been through the same dilemma, and best of luck on all the money saving! I know I'll be visiting this site regularly, especially the saving Old Style forum!

shazzer22

Bendybops19 wrote:

I'm in the same situation with the over draft!!! Will be watching this thread with interest

me too! :j

moozie_2

FTB83 wrote:

Thanks moozie and mintymoneysaver, I think I might take the plunge and do the credit card, does anyone have any recommendations on which card would be best for this? Would it be classed as a balance transfer? So long as I cut the card up after the transfer (that's what I did with my last one when I decided enough was enough) and set up a direct debit, it should be managable.

Hi again

Have a look at this page useful info, it may help. If you read through the website, there are lots of useful articles. Also Money Saving Old Style is a great board for ideas

Good luck!

chaos5678

I get my daughters contact lenses online after following a link from moneysaver, much cheaper than the opticians even for special types.