Heres my new SOA, lets see what i can do

rictus123

Well this weekend i think il get ahold of all my debts and aprs and see how much im really owe. At least iv managed an extra £360.55, this will go along way to help me keep ticking over. Being so young and having a loan and 2 near maxed out credit cards, the amounts are not that much its just the APR is so crippling alot of my money is getting eaten up by intrest. Im going to leave my accounts alone so all money(withdrawels from sites etc) Can get through to my account and i can see how much i really have. Iv spent just £20 so far this year which i thinks quite good. Hopefully i can keep this up, dont know if il manage the 1 debt in 100 days challenge but im going to give it a go. Itl be a slow start as i buy stuff for resale, hopefully a good ending though, lots of profits to put to debts. Total owed is about £1557(up £27 for intrest), £500 at least on Rbs credit card(takes so long to show on online banking) and £60 or so capital one(won £21 from a free bet from paddy power) so not the worse on here and really, 2 months income covers all my debts. Just got to keep not spending like iv been doing.

Tixy

Good luck with it all rictus - keep going.
£360 extra income already is great, well done you.

rictus123

Cheers Tixy, just wish i could come up with a genius idea to enable me to keep my extra income going, i have nothing to ebay! So unless i buy for resale im just going to have to make do with a couple of hundred here and there and my wages! Shovelled all the snow off the driveway for me and my parents getting in and out, doubt they will pay me for it though lol

rictus123

Well had a good look through everything and got my credit card showing online now when i view my loan and current account. Turns out im in alot more debt than i first thought What a mess im in just now i cant believe it. Been so positive this year but this is just such a knock i cant believe it. I dont think iv ever been in such a mess all my life

rictus123

Anyone here afford to pay off a debt but choosing not to?


Reason i ask is that im hoping to save up some money. I have about £1.5k on a loan(£55 a month) and £600 or so on 2 credit cards, one is just £80 or so and the other makes up the rest. Recently iv been thinking with the few small hundreds iv got in my current acount pay off the card with £80 on it and then gradually pay the £600 over the rest of this month and next month. Leaving the loan to the mininum payments. Just so i can build up a cushion and a bit of money for my mot - due in March and insurance - due in June. It will become easier after my 3 weeks off this summer as il be taking in an extra £315 a month net, not including overtime. So an extra £500 working 2 Saturdays out of 4, that will be my debt gone in 3 months. And il then be able to save that £500 excess. Xmas this year in my mind is already paid for, i have £700 in a bond that matures in November so will use it for paying for xmas and getting by over my 2 weeks off so i can save every penny of my holiday pay, setting me up very well for 2011, i think this is the best route for me(wont be penniless at any point, will pay a bit more intrest but will all be worth it in the end)

So happy iv finally got a real plan in place, this while sticking to my no more than £6k spends this year and il be flying high come 2011! Going to do all i can to stick to this, enjoy my year and set myself up for a brilliant 2011 :j:j:j

pepe2008

You seem to have surplus income Rictus so you need to have discipline with what you spend.
If the CC debt is just there to be repaid (ie you are NOT using the CCs to fund everyday living expenses) then get it repaid asap, before you think about saving.
Keep up the good work on curbing your spending and it will all work out.

rictus123

Thanks pepe, thats what iv realised. Savings only 10% what you earn, its 90% what you spend. It doesnt matter if i was on £1k or £5k a month, if im spending that or more im not going to save anything! Just going to put the loan on the back foot a bit, it will soon be gone and im happy to not pay it off so long as im managing to save and do well with the other financal aspects of not paying it off asap. Sort of building an emergency fund. Gf has offered to loan me money but iv said no, my mess, not hers and i know il get out of this soon, just got to spend like iv been doing this month(£20 every 6 days is fine ) £6k a year and im doing well.

pepe2008

True. Nobody ever saved their way out of debt!
We'll be keeping an eye on you, so keep it up.:j

rictus123

Closed, im sorry but i dont see the point in paying everything i have to get out of debt just to get straight back into debt? Also if mot is going to cost so much its not worth it, id rather have cash for a new van other than having to try and get the cash off a credit card(is there not high intrest costs for this) I think this is the right course of action for me, this thread is here as a spending diary and to remind me why im doing all this.

rictus123

High aprs as im young so high risk lending to me id assume?

talking 16.9% cc apr.

Aim 1 is to get both credit cards cleared while having at least £200 in current account - hopefully by the end of Febuary

Aim 2 is then to build up £1k in current account(this is enough to cover mot easy/purchase of a cheap van and have plenty for any other expenses that may pop up-should be none)

Then aim 3 is to go all out to get rid of the remaining debt (£1.5k, should be down to about £1400 with payments)

Then itl be celebrations as debt free for the first time in 2 years.

After that its save save save! Everyone has there goals, all simular, the difference is the journey we take to get those goals. Talking about being debt free and having some money by August is really an amazing thought if you ask me, please noone knock it.