Hi I'm new, here's my stuff!

PeachPickle

Thanks for all your kind comments :T

jessicamb

Hi and welcome.

Looks like you are getting sorted.

Why not try a spending diary to keep track of where you could be 'wasting' money - its helping me figure things out (and knowing that you have to write it down and track it makes you think twice about spending it - dont know why).

Good luck with getting the motivation back - why not try setting yourself small challenges e.g. can I raise £20 this week on ebay?

PeachPickle

Thankyou

I've been casting my beady eye around my room and I think my guitar can go, with the three instruction and songbooks I have. Hope to register with ebay soon (I'm an ebayvirgin!)

I'm definitely going to start a spending diary, that'll guilt me up lol

CLAPTON

just a bit about your 'saving'. as they have frozen all interest and you now have no access to any credit, i would say its absolutely essential that you have some savings for the odd emergency. the general advice that there's no point in having savings if you're pay high interest charges doesn't apply in your circumstance....build up a modest nestegg for those unexpected costs.
good luck

Warriorsith

Hello

Just to say I'm glad you've seen the light and am working towards clearing your debts off.
I see the others are giving you lots of info to help you out, I keep an eye out for other posts you may do, I'll try help you then.

Keep up the good work!!

Quincifer

Hi, welcome to MSE. I took a while to post on here too, you can find people in so many different situations and it makes you stop and think about your finances, at times ive wondered whether its even worth me being on here because my debt seems so low compared to others. But then again, if it wasn't from advice on here I wouldn't have cancelled my loan PPI (saved £100ish) or had the nerve to ask for a few charges back from my bank (saved £60) and it really has helped. People are very nice so don't be afraid to ask for advice!!

I think its definitely a good idea to have some savings if you can afford it, but maybe you could cut it down by £10-£20 so you can pay that little bit more but still have a safety net. Or you could try putting away £5 a week in a pot and after a few months pay an extra lump off something.
You seem to have done really well so far in sorting things out with your creditors and paying off the smallest things first so you can concentrate more money on the larger ones.

Good luck !!
xxx

tesuhoha

Just one small tip. When i first came on here I had overdrafts like you but after advice received from this site I learned how to sell stuff on ebay and I managed to accumulate enough money from selling bits and pieces to completely pay off my overdraft. Things to sell have now dwindled but it has made a difference to me. In fact every little thing like claiming back bank charges, changing your shopping habits etc., makes a difference.

spud30

Thats a really good idea Tesuhoha.

I have loads of stuff that I could ebay.

Can anyone point me to an idiot proof beginner's guide? Haven't ever bought or sold on ebay but would love to.

Mrs_Sparkle

spud30 wrote:

Thats a really good idea Tesuhoha.

I have loads of stuff that I could ebay.

Can anyone point me to an idiot proof beginner's guide? Haven't ever bought or sold on ebay but would love to.

Don't worry, you can't go wrong as the site will guide you through the stages. If you get stuck the Community forum is very helpful.

I've sold a fair amount on eBay and my best tips would be:

1. Price as low as you dare- you will get lots more interest in stuff with a start price of £1 or less. If something is worth a lot more than that make sure you put a reserve price on it- that way you won't be forced to sell for less but you will get an option to sell to the highest bidder.

2. Try to get listings to end on a Sunday afternoon/evening- statistically these listings get more interest.

3. If you sell clothes make sure you iron them and display them nicely for the photo.

4. I know this defeats the object a bit but if you're a new eBayer you should buy 1 or 2 items first, then pay for them very quickly and you'll get good feedback. They needn't be big things- you can spend a £ or 2. People will be more likely to trust you if you've got a feedback score.

5. When you work out postage costs kitchen scales will do for the weighing but you need to add a bit for the weight of the packaging.

6. Start saving old boxes, jiffy bags, bubble wrap and brown paper to save you costs in packaging. I have a cupboard full of old stuff, drives hubby mad but it saves me buying new jiffy bags

Hope that's all useful for you and please shout if you need any help- quite a few of us on here are regular eBayers to earn funds for debt clearing.

spud30

Thanks for that Mrs S.

Those were great tips - I may need to take you up on that offer of help in the future.