I owe £18,850 and don't have a job

rockabilly_rebel

theoretica wrote: »

If you like your guitar teacher remember that Ames' sister may be more used to teaching kids than adults. In my experience kids do forget more- adults may not practice and put things into action but that is a different problem! The £15 a lesson you are paying sounds very reasonable to me if these are 45 minute or hour long lessons or 1/2 hour with a top teacher. How long have you been playing? I ask because busking can be very lucrative if you find the right sort of area and catch people's attention. If you are going to practice you might as well be paid for it. Different councils have different regulations (licensing/moving on after an hour).

The town centre isnt all that big round this way to be honest. But I do know that as long as your well presented and aren't just a tramp who cant play and just wants money to buy a cheeseburger or your next smack hit, then they aren't too keen to shift you on. As long as your ok. This isnt actually something I considered actually. I perhaps might now. It's tax free right?

theoretica

But unlike driving (at least the way I learnt to drive) you practice between lessons, and properly directed practice and checking the notes from the previous lessons ensures things sink in and don't get forgotten. It does get easier as you advance! I recommend weekly lessons for the first two or three months and relax after that depending on the student and the practice done!
http://www.practicespot.com/home.php might be of interest.

theoretica

As I understand it, and I am no tax lawyer... Busking is classed as earnings, but you can deduct the cost of lessons/strings/music and until this is exceeded it is just a hobby not costing you as much as it might or paying for itself. Above that you have the normal income tax rules. I have no idea how the benefits people would view it though.

Some people just go play in the park with a hat out- very pleasant if the weather cooperates and not as much stress as the city centre. Generally catching people in a mood to enjoy themselves is good.

rockabilly_rebel

To be honest, I aint MASSIVELY keen on buskin anyway at the moment.
Though desperation currently overides my desire, so it's still in the pipeline I guess.

James3891

Hi, sorry to hear about your struggles.I didn't have a penny of debt til i was 21 and then amassed cards and overdraft and tried doing uni and ended up at 24 with about 20k of debt including student loan which i don't give a damn about really so its 10k really.I ended up out of work for 2 years til recently just did some agency work but a nightmare .

I used to be up all night worrying, feeling sick, panic, butterflies etc and am still a night owl since due to the routine i got into.First off Barclays you have your agreement with so thats a positive atleast.Silver clouds and all that.

18 odd grand or more that u borrowed seems a heck of a lot for your age .7 of my 10k was to help parents as they couldn't get credit so i sacrificed mine .

If its a loan can u get a period of time to freeze the interest and could you then afford it?

Can you get a payment break even if its 2-3 months?

Can you make an arrangement similar to the one with barclays? Use the a debt charity for help if needs be but you need to know where you stand, uncertainty is the worst thing in this situation.

If you enjoy it and its keeping your mind a bit off it keep doing the Guitar stuff, might keep you extra positive and focused that turns into an opportunity down the line you'd not have bothered with before.

Do your parents know about these issues? assume they must do , are they in any position at all to help? Not saying they can take the borrowing over or anything but maybe temporarily can help keep up the repayments.

Be a bit wary of any extra earnings, guy locally was on full benefit renting and was offered £25 to drive some garden waste to the tip for his landlady , somehow got found out about and he lost it all for £25 so be careful.

Hope something good turns in your favour soon, just keep positive when you can and keep looking at all the options.

rockabilly_rebel

Well, I know I shouldnt but screw it. Im selling paintings on ebay. And have actually had some bids tonight. So that has filled me with a bit of confidence there really.

Yeah I have 2 months of payments left on the Barclays CDL. It is subject to review though at the end of those two months

James3891

Thats good you've had bids , would be hard to show your not selling them for someone else anyway its not an earning as such so i think you'd be fine.

Hopefully Barclays come to some arrangement after the 2 months or your working again by then but cross that bridge when it comes to it.

The large amount needs sorting out the most so your not in a position where its beyond help even if you are working again in a couple of months.Lots of people get in this position these days and i'm sure it'll get sorted out .

rockabilly_rebel

James3891 wrote: »

Thats good you've had bids , would be hard to show your not selling them for someone else anyway its not an earning as such so i think you'd be fine.

Hopefully Barclays come to some arrangement after the 2 months or your working again by then but cross that bridge when it comes to it.

The large amount needs sorting out the most so your not in a position where its beyond help even if you are working again in a couple of months.Lots of people get in this position these days and i'm sure it'll get sorted out .

I'm aiming for a payment every day. Or if the amount is too small. I shall put said amount into a jar and then add it to the following days payment.

The painting proceeds will buy a new canvass and I shall do another one, the profit left over shall be thrown straight at the debt.

I WILL GET OUT OF THIS.

I just wanna thank you guys so far for your words of support.

rockabilly_rebel

FREDTHESHREDXXX wrote: »

Cut out the guitar lesson ....simples.....£30 a month saved for you to blow on gambling and booze :rolleyes::rolleyes::rolleyes::rolleyes:

Aren't we a funny onion?

FYI, I don't even drink
Secondly, I suggest you google Matched Betting, it isn't gambling at all!!!!!

Ames

If it's at a college doing grades then it's fine, I got the impression from your posts that it was just a 'fun' thing and didn't want you being ripped off. Also, when you get a few grades under your belt then you'll be able to start teaching yourself, which could be pretty lucrative.