24 and 17k of debt

cloud99

hi,this is my first time on the website and have been reading other peoples stories,has helped a lot to build my confidence in repaying my debts.
bit about myself. im 24 and in the last 6 months have realised i need to get a grip of my spending habbits and sort my debt out. my current status is:
4550 overdrawn. (agreed overdraft limit)
2300 personal loan- paying back 223 a month
4600 credit card 1
5400 credit card 2

income is around 1200 a month which is spent the following way:
223 loan payment
100 credit card 1 (0%intrest) minimum payment
125 credit card 2 (0%intrest) minimum payment
250 rent to parents
55 mobile phone
60 car insurance
30 od intrest
140 fuel for car
rough total of 990 going out per month,leaving me with the 200 left over for social,clothes,toiletries etc
i cant believe how sutpid i have been the past 5 yrs to get in this situation. really didnt care about how i got the money,or how it was gonna be paid back,as long as i could buy what i wanted and go out when i wanted is all that mattered to me.Now this debt is really holding me back,i want to get out of my parents house soon but with so much of my income going out i have no money to save or even think about renting.
my huge overdraft is up for review in a couple of months and i am extremly worried they will cancel it leaving me with a large amount to pay,and nothing to pay my other debts off with,if this was to happen i would be recieving late payment charges left right and centre and my credit score would be ruined.
have thought about a consildation loan but the intrest charged on these is just to much.
im never late with payments but i just feel as if i am getting nowhere in terms of reducing the debt.
i would really appreciate to hear from any one with advice or is/has been in the same situation.
thanks

Little_Miss_Uni-Debt

Hiya,

Welcome to Debt Free Wannabe and well done on wanting to get a grip on your finances. I agree it really does hold you back and you feel like you miss out on chances that you wish you coulda had. So the sooner you get it done the sooner you can get back to having fun, within your budget of course! :-)

I was in a very similar situation to you not so long back. Im now 25 and almost done with paying my debts off. Just a couple of months left. It has been hard and if fallen behind a couple of times but Im SO glad I did it sooner rather than later.

You're in a good position, you earn a decent wage and you dont have lots of household bills to pay. Could you possibly ask for a reduction on your rent? Say you are saving up for your own place or explain how you are tackling your finances.

I would think about cutting back on luxuries too, a few here and there.

Also if you do a complete budget and write down the things you spend your spare money on this might help you to have more money to throw at your debts.

Do you have a debt free date yet??? :-) Good luck

Little_Miss_Uni-Debt

Hey,

Me again. I just did a few calculations and if you threw your spare cash at your debt each month then your debt free date would be :- Sept 2011. Around 24 months away and you will pay just around £800 in interest (excluding what has been top loaded to your loan)

That is taking into account your current bills you have to pay, and that your credit cards are not going to stay at 0% forever (unless you are lucky)

This is also without cutting back on mobile phone bills or making extra cash.

If you keep £200 for yourself each month, then it will take you 35 months (debt free in Aug 2012 and cost you £1,413 in interest)

It is upto you how soon you want it to be done with :-)

cloud99

hey,
Thanks so much for your response and taking time to do those calculations. i really appreciate it. Your totally right,if i wanna get rid of this as soon as possible i do have to sacrifice luxurys. Im actually considering giving up drink to obviously save money and give me motivation to get fitter to fill up spare time.
Sept 2011 sounds not to far away when you consider the debt i have and this is the date i will use to push me to clear this debt.
Congrates on doing so well with your outstanding bills. I wish you well in the future and once again thanks so much for responding.