I will be debt free, POSITIVE!

claire0788

Hi

Thought Id start my own diary as a little bit of extra incentive and maybe some more advice from you guys

Background - Bought my home age 18.
Decided to go to college to get a qualification for a job I actually now love. Got into debt as with a mortgage, only working part time as I had to do a placement with my course and studying full time it took alot of money to support myself.

Total debt not including mortgage at Jan 09 -
Overdraft £3000,
Credit Card £300,
New double glazing £3000,
Loan £2500.

Total debt not including mortgage at June 09 -
Overdraft £1650 (will be £1425 on 1st July),
Credit Card £240,
Double Glazing (dont get me started on these B******s £3013,
Loan £2320.

Im really proud Ive managed to keep afloat with the mortgage and most of the bills.

I have a tax rebate coming soon of over £400. A big birthday (21st) which will probably give me money from friends and family as they dont know what to buy me these days =P and I have savings of £200. Although I know its good to pay off debt as quick as you can I think its a bit important to have savings just incase aswell.

I aim to pay my overdraft off to £700 (where Ill keep it and move on to my double glazing debt) by the end of August.

Any tips on where I can earn a little bit of extra money or vouchers would be great.

Im already part of yougov - £5.50 so far and dubit informer £8.50.

Thanks for reading

Fire_Fox

Welcome to MSE! Wow, you bought your own home aged 18 - that is seriously impressive. :beer: What was your qualification?
This is the Statement of Affairs/ budget planner that everyone uses here:
http://www.makesenseofcards.com/soacalc.html

Have you joined a cashback site yet? The most popular is Quidco but I also use Wepromiseto. I have found the best for surveys are GlobalTestMarket and Pinecone, but IPSOS and Valued Opinions are also worthwhile. Lots more ideas on the 'Up Your Income' board.

claire0788

Yip 18, alot of people seem shocked by that but it what the situation I was in at the time it was the best choice.

HNC in Social Care, was cut from a 2 year into a 1 year course when I started it, even more pressure so Im proud of it

Ill have a look at those sites thank you. I barely go shopping though, more concerned about paying off the debt. My job means that if Im there at meal times im fed and watered so that helps alot ! I had a look at valued opinions, is there a referal scheme worth your while ? Could refer me if you get a wee something.

My income after tax isnt too bad just the extra wee bit would help.

I checked on listentotaxman dot com for how much I should have paid in tax last year and I think Im due back closer to £600 according to that which is great. Ill be sending away the docs on Monday.

EssexHebridean

Hi Claire - welcome to the board!

Posting up an SOA will not only help you to see exactly how and where the money vanishes out of the account each month, it will also help folks on here to take a good look at where savings might be able to be made - often it's silly things that you don't even think about that can make a difference. Hot topic of conversation round here at the moment is electricity monitoring - it's amazing how much you can cut your use if you really work at it!

Looks like you have your situation well under control - it's as you say though, the more you can boost your income with the little bits here and there, the more you have to throw at the debt.

Fire_Fox

You can also get cashback when you switch energy suppliers, get quotes for home insurance, or get a new mobile phone contract. :money: In some cases people have got more cashback that the years insurance/ phone contract so it's worth checking! Always clear your cookies before you actually sign up to anything.

I haven't sussed out the referrals thing but thanks very much for the offer! Will check it out and PM you.

Scottishmummy

Welcome to the diaries board Claire. You've made a good start with things. posting up your soa is a really good idea as you never know we might be able to help you save a fortune.

Looking forward to ready more of your posts.

claire0788

Well Im due to get a new contract in August, got a blackberry delivered on Friday. Dont like it so its getting sent back tomorrow. Think ill just tell them I want to leave unless I can get a £15 a month contract. So ill need to haggle a little bit. They did do what I think is a good deal for the blackberry though so might stay with them. Got 600 mins, unlimited texts, unlimited data & internet and free blackberry curve and insurance for £30 a month. Would like to get an upgrade of my samsung instead and just get 500 mins and unlimited texts with the phone instead of all the other stuff. Think thats pretty reasonable...

Spent £20 yesterday on a chinese dinner and some munchie for my friend and I to have a night in.

claire0788

Already have a budget.

Gas Insurance for boiler

£19

Specsavers

£13

Virgin Media

£35

Council Tax

£80

Mobile

£30

Mortgage

£299

Tv Licence

£12

Loan

£54

Home Insurance

£11

Double Glazing

£65

Overdraft

£225

Interest

£27

The electric and gas get paid 1/4ly.

The mortgage deal runs out in Feb so going to have to find out what I need to do for that. No idea what your meant to do, remortgage, stay with the company... dont know !

The phone I think I can get cheaper, already got a cheaper deal on my virgin media and my home insurance the other month. Got the 25% discount on my council tax already.

Checked on listentotaxman dot com (cant put websites up yet) and according that im due back around £600 from the tax man, even better ! Not sure how long they will take to give it back to me after they have all my docs though...

claire0788

Ps. Feel free to let me know how quidco works and how I could make the most of it. Thank you

claire0788

Joined OnePoll, Valued Opinions & Quidco this evening.

Seem simple enough although any hints and tips for making the most of them are very welcome.

Very excited at the fact that Im possibly due a higher tax rebate than I thought. Overdraft at -1425 1st July, then add £600 tax rebate money. Ill have paid off over £2000 in 7/8 months, very proud of my self... or will be by July

Anybody know how long tax rebates usually take, Im thinking at least 6 weeks. Is that too optimistic ?

claire0788

Had a look at the snowball thing, Ill have a better idea of what I can pay out without running myself into the ground over winter again. Health wise is just isnt worth it, worked 7 days a week for almost 3 months last winter and then was really ill at christmas ! Not good !

Hopefully will have my whole overdraft paid off by Oct ! Alot quicker than I thought if I put my little bit of savings into it aswell. Also credit card will be gone by November. Then I can use the money that isnt going to the overdraft or credit card to pay for christmas presents. Then really start at the double glazing and loan repayments. Getting really excited about being debt free and having a nice standard of living by the end of next year.

Also looking into getting a room mate for the spare room as that bit of money would be great. Think I can earn up to £4000 before paying tax on this income ? Ill need to check that out.