Don't know where to start!

misspoppy

Hi

The biggest problem is that you've moved into a house on your own it would be better if you were in a shared house and splitting the costs, is this an option at all?

Apricot

Hi PNPSUKNET I mentioned to Virgin that the only balance I would be interested in transferring would be my overdraft and he said it would be no problem to do a money transfer for 0%. He is calling me back at 5.30 anyway so I will just make sure that is ok.

Jesthar - thanks for your comments, it is not a prepayment meter - they don't run out but the card is to take to a paypoint to pay the bill but I figured if I could pay an amount each month when the quarterly bills come I wouldn't have a big amount to pay in one go.
Will have a look on ebay or amazon for that cookbook and maybe buy it out of my birthday money!

Hi Miss Poppy - This was meant to be a flat share originally but the person who was doing it let me down. I have posted an advert something on flatmate click - through Quidco so that's my first 60p earned- as long as it works!

It's quite exciting getting everything sorted at last as this has been playing on my mind -feels like a weight off my shoulders already just talking about it!

misspoppy

Hi

You could also advertise on gumtree.com for flatshare.

Jesthar

Hey Leah, a few more thoughts:

princessleah_ wrote: »

Hi PNPSUKNET I mentioned to Virgin that the only balance I would be interested in transferring would be my overdraft and he said it would be no problem to do a money transfer for 0%. He is calling me back at 5.30 anyway so I will just make sure that is ok.
If you can do this, bonus - just remember not to spend on this card (you should never spend on a card you use for balance transfers).

Or - is this the same card you have the £80 owing on? If so, you might want to wait until you have cleared the balance before you go ahead, or at least clarify that any payments you make will go to clearing that off first, or you could find that still accruing interest until your 0% has been paid off, as they always pay any money off the lowest interest balance first as it gets them more interest (and therefore more profit). So if it's the same card, clearing it first would be best.

Will your other overdraft start costing you interest at some point? Either which way, if this transfer goes ahead then all your debt is at 0% for now, so you should concentrate on the debt which will cost you the most interest when it starts earning it.

Jesthar - thanks for your comments, it is not a prepayment meter - they don't run out but the card is to take to a paypoint to pay the bill but I figured if I could pay an amount each month when the quarterly bills come I wouldn't have a big amount to pay in one go.
Sensible, but those figures are hipefully more appropriate for the winter months! Is there any way you can check the balance on the card before/when you pay it? Building up a decent credit on the one your heating will come off (hopefully gas) is a good idea, and having a smaller credit on the other one is too, but don't overdo it at the expense of not being able to pay your debts effectively. Keep an eye on your meter readings, too.

Will have a look on ebay or amazon for that cookbook and maybe buy it out of my birthday money!
Amazon have it here for the whopping sum of £1.99 - you'll actually have to find £3.01 worth of extra goods you need to buy to get free postage! Which is worth doing, BTW...

http://www.amazon.co.uk/Student-Grub-Jan-Arkless/dp/1899606149/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&s=books&qid=1250696892&sr=8-1

It's quite exciting getting everything sorted at last as this has been playing on my mind -feels like a weight off my shoulders already just talking about it!

Oh, MSE ways are exciting all right, and addictive, too...

~Jes

Katie-Kat-Kins

Hi there good to see you are tackling things before they get to serious!

Good luck finding a flat mate that should help a lot.

A few suggestions. If your credit score is reasonable then why not get your gas and electric on monthly DD? It is easier than traipsing off to the post office with a prepayment card, and as long as you supply regular readings you shouldn't be landed with a big bill. Alternatively, why not set up a bank account with a resonable interest rate and pay into that so that you have money set aside for the gas and electric but are earning interest on it rather than prepaying? If you overload your prepayment card now then you can't access the money, although you wouldn't have to pay as much in future, you also won't be earning interest. Just a suggestion, it depends how you feel most comfortable organising your money.

I would recommend monitering your gas and electric meter though so you can see how much you are using and keep on top of it. There is a site called imeasure that helps you with this, it should give you an idea of whether you are overpaying too.

Orange automatically let you change tarriff after six months but may well let you do so before if you ask them very nicely....

Think about what you can do to earn extra money to pay off your debts, things like ebay, quidco and daily clicks can all help.

For the presents you can make these spend neutral by using things like loyalty points and ebay sales to earn them. I save all my nectar and advantage card points for christmas presents. Also try to get into the habit of buying a nice present rather than spending a certain amount. If you manage to get a necklace on ebay for £3 but it is real silver and looks like it would have cost £10 don't feel obliged to "top it up". Also as Christmas must get very expensive why not organise a secret santa with the adults in your family so that you only buy one present each.

Do make a point of reducing the grocery budget, plan your meals and only buy what you need, if something is getting close to its useby date freeze it to use another day. I have the cookery book recommended earlier and I have to say I don't rate it very highly and hardly ever use it. I'd suggest borrowing some cook books from the library and noting down any recepies you like (you normally only use a few from each cook book), either that or I find BBC good food recepies very good, they have some little books on certain topics, my cheap eats one is my best used cook book, and i think they do a cooking for one book too, but the most MSE thing to do is get the recepies off the BBC website for free! There is also a great bank of recepies on the O/S board too with good tips for doing batches or stretching your meals.

Best of luck!

Jesthar

KatP wrote: »

Do make a point of reducing the grocery budget, plan your meals and only buy what you need, if something is getting close to its useby date freeze it to use another day. I have the cookery book recommended earlier and I have to say I don't rate it very highly and hardly ever use it. I'd suggest borrowing some cook books from the library and noting down any recepies you like (you normally only use a few from each cook book), either that or I find BBC good food recepies very good, they have some little books on certain topics, my cheap eats one is my best used cook book, and i think they do a cooking for one book too, but the most MSE thing to do is get the recepies off the BBC website for free! There is also a great bank of recepies on the O/S board too with good tips

Some good ideas in this lot.

I'll have to agree to disagree on the 'Student Grub' front, I found it particularly useful as I had no real idea about cooking when I started living on my own, and it gives things in very basic terms. I don't use it so much now (especially as I now have a slow cooker), but as a starting point it was great.

I suppose I should also note that I'm a fan of simple food (and not that keen on spicey food either), and the BBC stuff can be a bit poncey...

The Old Style MSE stuff, though, is definitely worth the investigation time!

~Jes

Katie-Kat-Kins

Jesthar wrote: »

Some good ideas in this lot.

I'll have to agree to disagree on the 'Student Grub' front, I found it particularly useful as I had no real idea about cooking when I started living on my own, and it gives things in very basic terms. I don't use it so much now (especially as I now have a slow cooker), but as a starting point it was great.

I suppose I should also note that I'm a fan of simple food (and not that keen on spicey food either), and the BBC stuff can be a bit poncey...

The Old Style MSE stuff, though, is definitely worth the investigation time!

~Jes

Sorry will disagree Jes, found the student grub book very unappealing - no pictures for a start! And very meat and two veg, beans and a jacket. But if that is the sort of food you like and you can live with the lack of pictures then it will be great.

That is why I suggested online or the library really, until you try a cook book you can't tell whether it is a good purchase or not.

DH and I have about 8 cook books (several free or presents) and I don't think I regularly do more than about 5 recepies from any of them. So I none would count as a great investment. My BBC cheap eats one is one of the better ones and was only £4. I also have a stack of BBC good food magazines I got free after someone else used them and there are a few recepies in those I use but I wouldn't have bought them.

My recommendations would really be, pick up the free magazine in ASDA/Tesco/Morrisons and use the suggestions in there (though ignore where it tells you to use thheir premium brand stuff!) and to use the BBC website; you can search for certain meals and even key in what ingredients you have in stock and it will make suggestions. You can also search by chef so if you like delia and not jamie you can look just for delia recepies.

The O/S board has a couple of threads devoted to recepies too and a trawl through that can give some great ideas!

Ask your mum (and auntie/gran etc) too, they will have books that you can borrow that they have tried and tested, they will also have their own recepies that they use that they will be pleased to pass on and these are free too! You can start a recepie folder. My sister has one of these full of all sorts of recepies she has from all over and it is better used than any cook book!

I wouldn't buy a cook book unless you are positive you will use it and it is very cheap, I'd just use free sources.

Pooky

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Apricot

Hi guys, right spoke to MBNA and explained that I still have money o/s on my account so didn't want to do a super balance transfer the same day as I would be charged interest on the £80. Guy I spoke to told me they couldn't guarantee the same rate (0%) but would give me a ring on sat if it was still available - tbh i think he only said they couldn't guarantee the rate to pressure me into doing the transfer straight away so will see what they say Saturday - even if it isn't 0% I might still be better off transferring to the credit card depending on the rate they do offer me.

Rang orange and cancelled the phone insurance on my account which means I am £6 a month better off. I enquired about different tariffs but was told I am unable to downgrade until I have had the contract for 12 months!:mad: Think I will leave it as is atm and try again in a few weeks and see what they say.

Had a look through the cupboards and freezer when I got in and there is more than enough stuff in there to last me til the end of the month so will only need to buy milk/bread etc. Think I have spent about £70 in the last fortnight but seeing as I am starting from scratch don't think that this is too bad.

I think i defo need a spending diary as it is all the little things I buy that add up - didn't even really notice myself buying a scratchcard in the shop earlier - oh well I can dream of being a millionaire!

Katie-Kat-Kins

princessleah_ wrote: »

Rang orange and cancelled the phone insurance on my account which means I am £6 a month better off. I enquired about different tariffs but was told I am unable to downgrade until I have had the contract for 12 months!:mad: Think I will leave it as is atm and try again in a few weeks and see what they say.

Hmmm I'm sure that one of Orange's selling points is that they do a "best plan review" after six months....... I'd try again in a few days and milk the hardship can't afford it angle. See if they can put you through to a department that deals with hardship and ask them very nicely if they are able to drop you a tarriff or two as you are struggling to pay your bills at the moment.