A Fool and Her Money- CAFCGIRL's Debt Diary

ZTD

CAFCGirl wrote:

To one and all,

I just wanted to let you all know that due to some unforeseen crappness happening, I'm not going to be around for a little while.

If I do make it back, it'll probs be with double debt, a !!!!! the size of Hampshire and the worst roots known to man! But hey at least I'll have my humour!

So until we meet again, I wish you all the utmost success with your debt busting ways, and thank you all for your support over the months.

Take Care
Jo xx

Just remember: You know where we are if you need us. Even for a chat.

CAFCGirl

Hi All,

Just wanted to say thanks to everyone for their kind words and pm's.

Wasnt gone as long as I thought I would, but nature has a way of taking care of life

So time to get back on board after a week plus of mind frazzling madness!
What have I missed?

Skint_Catt

YAYAYAY!

Welcome back - I'm addicted to your thread now, lol.

Missed ya even though I don't know ya! :rotfl:

S_C

CAFCGirl

Awwwwwwww thanks Catt
How super lovely of you....

Not much to report, dont even want to think about money at the moment, everything is paid and I've got £60 left in my current account. EAK!

And on another note I have had this rather strange sinking feeling that my new flatmate is going to tell me she can't afford to move (my flat is nice but I'm kinda done with it!), or is going to be moving back to her mums...

So I've kinda been looking into the possibility of getting my own place.
However this will no doubt cost me more money, so I've been spending some time doing some sums etc, and basically it kinda relies on me consolidating my existing debts into one place, and obviously that will keep me in debt for longer. If I knew I had say 6 months etc, I'd batter my debts till I was blue in the face, since my dfd (excluding loan) was only 9 months away given what I was going to be paying back, but it would appear things are looking a little bit pear shaped!

So really I dont know what I'm going to do!

ZTD

CAFCGirl wrote:

So really I dont know what I'm going to do!

First step - SOA. With current living costs and projected living costs clearly marked. Also some indication of which 0% or low% LOB cards you've applied for recently.

Don't worry...we'll sort ya...

CAFCGirl

OK you asked for it so heres the current living expense SOA:

Rent £300
Council tax £50 (half each)
Bills circa £50 (half each again) Thats electric, gas and two water companies.

Sky £18
BT £35
Mobile circa £55 (have written letter regarding cancellation of contract given that I upgraded for 18 months in october yet theyre telling me I have to wait till june, requested documentation)

Food £125 (now I know I could do better with this!)
Debt repayments for last month and this month were £331 and £313 respectively.
And then the rest I pretty much just spent on rubbish etc. Again this needs to be controlled!

Heres what I'm now kinda thinking:

Rent £550 (2 bed house)

£100 food

£70 bills

£50 council tax, new property is in lower band plus 25% single occupant discount

£50 on landline/broadband/PAYG phone

£200 debt repayment

Now that should equal £1020

My take home is £1118

Part of me knows I'm going to be spreading myself quite thinly, with practically 50% of my take home going on just rent alone...... but it does leave me with some room for mistakes, £100 just about, so if its left at the end of the month I could still over pay on one debt which is my 4.95% LOB credit card.

But that way at least I won't be so up in the air, as I seem to have rotten luck with flatmates, either not paying bills or leaving or just being really vague and never being around etc.

So if I lived on my own would I then have more control over things like bills, i.e how much electric is used, would I be more strict with myself about my usage, my food bills etc because its not like I've got the money just floating about in my account?

As for the other question as to which 0% deals I've applied for, I've had Morgan Stanley, Capital One and another one which I cant quite remember all reject me recently!

any ideas?

bobble_hat

Hi CAFCGirl,

Just checking up on you. Glad to hear whatever it was sorted itself out and we didn't have to miss you for too long.

I hope the flat mate issue gets resolved, have you considered renting a room in a shared house as an interim solution? I sold my flat and am renting a room and it's working out for me. But, I do have a fantastic friend who is storing all of my kitchen/household/general stuff at her house until I need it again.

Just a thought.

nevadagirl

Welcome back! Hope you're feeling better. I feel great for seeing a bit of sunshine today.

£550 is a lot to spend on rent. I've always tried to stick to 20-25% of take home pay as a rule. Any chance of a 1-bedroom to shave a bit off the cost? Having the extra space is nice but I think I'd get the urge to fill it with 'stuff', or another unreliable housemate... I can't even be trusted with a boxroom.

ZTD

CAFCGirl wrote:

Heres what I'm now kinda thinking:

Rent £550 (2 bed house)

Do you need a 2 bed house if you're moving in on your own? What about a 1 bed flat plus futon/sofa bed for visitors?

CAFCGirl wrote:

£100 food

£70 bills

How well/badly insulated is your current home?

CAFCGirl wrote:

£50 council tax, new property is in lower band plus 25% single occupant discount

Cheap...wish mine was that...

CAFCGirl wrote:

£50 on landline/broadband/PAYG phone

Talk Talk is approx £20. Assume you need to keep the mobile going, that would be £75 pcm plus call costs.

CAFCGirl wrote:

£200 debt repayment

Now that should equal £1020

My take home is £1118

Part of me knows I'm going to be spreading myself quite thinly, with practically 50% of my take home going on just rent alone...... but it does leave me with some room for mistakes, £100 just about, so if its left at the end of the month I could still over pay on one debt which is my 4.95% LOB credit card.

I know this seems a strange thing to ask considering you're in debt - but do you have any savings?

CAFCGirl

Thanks for the replies peeps.

I know (logically) the argument against paying for a house on my own, but looking at the market I'd pretty much be paying £500 to £525 for a one bedroom place, and I do have a lot of stuff! So I do need quite a bit of space.
But then again even saving £25 is something!

As to renting a room in a shared house. I think this works for some people but I'm not a very social person and I actually like being on my own. I'd hate feeling like I had my one room and that was it.Plus the bf is around a lot etc. And for me personally (note that this is just for me) I'd kinda feel like I had gone backwards in life.....
And I've got so much furniture......

It doesnt hurt to keep on looking and I'll see what else comes up in the way of one bedroom places and see what I can shave off.
Realistically thinking about it, if I could rent a 1 bed even just for a year, I could have paid off both credit cards, and then I'd only have debt repayments of £135 (loan) in which maybe then I could look for somewhere bigger, which would then only be for another year on top of that.

I guess in a way I just get carried away with the thought of having my own little two bedroom cottage with a garden.....

ZTD;

My current flat is very badly insulated. Single glazed sahs windows for example. Its practically like having the front door open constantly. And if I'm really honest I do have a lot of electrical stuff on constantly, not in use, but you know with the little light on......

And I currently have £120 in savings