Help....i need money - FAST!!

pbright

I have gotten into a bit of a financial crisis! Over the next 2/3 weeks i need money, but do not how i can get it. I literallay dont think i can borrow anymore. My £1,250 overdraft(with the bank of scotland) is maxed out, and my 2 credit cards(also with the bank of scotland) are at their credit limit of £500. I need £200-£300 really soon. In a few weeks, i will not really need money urgently as i will be living at home and have no commitments, and i am also confident i will have a job then....however right now i am in a prediciment. I cant borrow and dont want to from friends/family...so i am wandering what the bank could do. Can i even though i am just finishing off my final year at uni, get another student account with another bank and say im closing my other? I also know that in your final year my over-draft limit could be more but 2weeks ago when i went in and asked for my £1000limit to go to £1500 the best they said they could raise it was £1250. I tries online t get another credit card and they said no......what can i do???????

Please help!!!!!

Thanks.

Emmzi

Try your uni hardship fund. Go and see welfare office asap.

Failing that, I think it's asking family for advance on summer wages...

melancholly

you could try going to the psychology department in your uni and seeing if there are any experiments running that pay you (they're usually harmless) - you might be able to get up to £50 in cash that way.

sell some stuff on ebay in a 3 day sale?

clear out and do a bootsale?

rummage though your room and all your clothes for any loose change?

see if there's any bar work going?

sell on your text books to the year below you?

Failing that, as this is only a short term issue, is there no chance you could ask family for some of the money?

patwa_2

I do know the feeling, as if I myself don't do something soon I'll probably be in the same position.

I know the last thing you probgably want to do is borrow more money, but if you have no luck with the above you can try https://www.zopa.com. This is a lending exchange between ordinary people, and the best thing is that the rates are much much lower than the high street banks (typically around 5.2%. Also you can easily spread the payment over however long you like, and if you come into the money you are expecting, pay off the loan and be done with that.

Your Credit cards will probably be the main problem in the short term, as the rates for those can be crippling, unless you're on a 0% interest period card. If not, see if you can shift the debt to one of those cards, and that will at least give you some leeway. You want to avoid paying interest if at all possible.

I assume your £1250 overdraft is agreed? At least you won't have the crippling rates that unauthorised overdraft users have to pay. Go to your bank and explain the situation to them, and see if it can be increased. Not trying to point fingers, but with the credit limit you mentioned, and if you can prove some income it should not be that much of a problem. Bank of Scotland seem to be reasonable about these thing, much more so than the Royal Bank, with whom I'm actually going to close my accounts later today as a matter of fact.

Good luck and take care.

Hussein.

pbright

Thanks all. Uni has just finished....and as its my final year i doubt i could get a hardship and i know it would likely take a while to get. I am going to try get my over-draft extended. I am also going to ebay my old text-books from uni, as there will be no students about for summer. Ill also try ebay other stuff, im new to ebay so need to figure out how it works. I cant borrow from family, i do not want them to know that i 1) have no money and 2) what i need it for. I know however that in a month ill be fine, and im sure to have money coming in + im expecting a tax return in a few weeks.....but now is the prediciment. Tell me more about this zopa??? Can i get a loan of say £500 with little income??

Thanks again.


please please please keep the advice coming.

crazyscientist

i'm concerned that you want money so urgently for a reason you are unwilling to confess to your family!!

pbright

Dont be.....its for a trip that i have to do!!

patwa_2

Hello.

First of all, I would use Amazon for your book selling. They have much more competitive prices and the prices are benchmarked against current selling prices. You're more likely to get a price closer to what you originally paid for them than on eBay, where someone may well get away with selling them for a few quid.

Yes, Zopa will allow you to take out a loan for whatever amount you wish. All that they require is the standard credit check, no paperwork or anything like that and having spoken to some of the people on there I can't see you having any problems at all.

Do get back to us if there's anything else we can help with.

Cheers and take care.

Hussein.

pbright

Thanks Patwa. Im so skint im counting old coppers into money bags tonight.....a position i am never going to make sure i am in again.

s0198362

Simple, go to your bank, say you have now graduated, and open up thier graduate account. They normally offer a graduate loan at a better than usual rate.

Or change banks, e.g. HSBC graduate account has max overdraft at £1750 (or maybe £2000 as I got) for a year, then reduced by a set amount over 3 years. allows you to budget in advance.

patwa_2

You're welcome. Happy to be of some help.

The thing with an overdraft is that although you have money that you can use straight away, it might just have the opposite effect that you're looking for. True, you'll have instant access to cash, but you'll have to budget carefully to ensure you don't become dependent on this.

The disadvantage to a loan is that unless you know for certain that you will have the money to repy it, you'll end up extending the loan over and over again, paying more in the long run.

I would say the overdraft is the better of two evils, as long as you can discpline yourself about your spending. A financ program or money manager is good for this, I use Microsoft Money mself, but again like anything else it's only any good if you remember to look at it and follow what it says

Cheers and take care.

Hussein.