Hi

lpaluszk

Hey

I just wanted to say hello. I've been browsing MSE for quite a while now as I'm struggling with debt since I remember (doesn't go up though). In september last year I was made redundant from decent -ish paid job (£35k) which left me with 5k on credit cards and 7.5k left on unsecured loan with Barclays (current account provider as well). Took me 8 month to secure next position and at the moment I am 19.5k behind:
£3400 Egg CC - 17.9%
£2300 Post Office CC
£2700 Virgin CC
£2700 Barclaycard CC - 24.9%
£5500 Barclays Personal Loan - 13.9%
£1500 Overdraft
£880 Council tax arreas (due to not approved Council tax benefit while unemployed)
£404 HFC Personal Loan (bought a laptop at PCworld a while ago)

All this works out for £800 a month repayments and it's bit tight.
So far me and my partner have managed to be up to date with everything and we had only few late payments which have been aprooved with cc issuer beforehand and don't show on credit report (which after being refused for consolidation loan is not that important anyway).

Just thought I'd share. It's going to be a long ride as one of the online SOA calculators shows that I will be debt free in Feb 2012 if I stick to harsh Snowball schedule. I think I am able to pull this off as I have a payrise pending which wasn't included in calculations and will try to find a weekend job.

Anyways. Hi. And see you around

Pippilongstocking

Waves hello - welcome and goodluck in sorting things out -,2012 isn't so far away

Well done on it all so far - I have discovered Payment A Day's (PAD's) even if its only a few pence or a few pounds you really notice things at the end of hte month

Have a look at he PAD thread

I generally find the 'what small things have you done today thread' so helpful for picking up tips it changes daily so check it out - its a bunch of us posting lists of the very small things we will each do each day that will help us to get to our DFD as soon as possible

Enjoy and goodluck

Little_Miss_Uni-Debt

Hello and welcome! :-)

Will you be posting your statement of affairs at all? We might be able to find ways to get the best out of your earnings. Well done on getting a new job after redundancy.

I was in a similar situation myself. Just think, if you shaved 2 months off your debt free date then that's 2011 which will come sooner than you think!

Best of luck! Keep at it!

Tixy

Hi lpaluszk, welcome on board.

As you say your finances are a bit tight have you been through all your expenses and worked out if you are on the best deals - this can take a few hours to do but is really worthwhile.

I'd suggest you check your utility provider to see if you are with the cheapest supplier, your mobile phones, your telephone/internet/(satellite tv) and all your insurances.

If you have been with any of the above for more than 12 months its quite likely you could save money as new products come out all the time. If you are looking to switch mobiles and usually have pay monthly phones also consider PAYG as there are some really competative deals at the moment, for other media you usually get the best deal by having a package from 1 supplier. With insurances most people use comparison sites for car ins but the don't bother for house ins & life ins.
If you decide to switch any of the above, also check out the cashback sites (such as quidco or topcashback) to see if you can earn extra cash.

As fay says 2012 is not far away at all to get debt free and the more you can save the more debt you can pay off. Also once you start to clear your debts you may be able to do some transfers that will allow you to switch high rate debts to lower APRS, which will bring your DFD (debt free date) nearer.

Good luck.

*Jellie*

Welcome to MSEland and good luck with your DFW journey.
It's well worth joining in on some challenges to help- both on here and on old style. It can help to start a diary too.

lpaluszk

Thanks for all the replies. I will be posting SOA but in a bit as I have to work it out (diary needed). Also I am with npower for gas and electricity and bundle costs me £60/month (with £200 cashback after first 12 months and £100 every year from then). We have switched recently from EDF which was charging us twice as much. In regards to media we only have an internet package (£21/month) but it has to stay this way as I sometimes work from home and need speedy access to company's network. No telly (because of TV License costs and us not really being into TV shows and all). No life/house insurance what so ever. Car insurance with Churchill which works out for about £350 a year (for R plate ford escort) fully comp.

Also there is a hope as I was poking my boss about the pending payrise and it got approved. So another £110 quid a month (makes a difference).

I will try to save what I can and claim what I can in the meantime. And to be honest I'm not even bothered too much about that debt. I see it as a challenge to pay it back as soon as possible.

Regards

LandyAndy

Try going to the Money Savers Arms and Discussion Time boards. You might not learn much about money saving but you will have a laugh, get some thought provoking discussions and generally have a good time. Best of all while you are there you aren't spending any money:beer:.;)