Just started facing my problems- am I on the right track?

linz27_2

I have decided that 2010 is the year for me to start getting debt free, my partner and I want to be able to buy our own place but we want no debt before we take out a mortgage. This is the debt I have currently £3300 car loan, credit cards £8000, overdraft limit of £2400. So steps I have taken since january I have paid off a personal loan of £1500, and am also trying to claim back PPI on that. I have transferred all my credit cards onto one with 0% transfers, currently paying double the minimum payment. Selling my car (v.soon hopefully) which will pay off that finance which means I can pay more towards getting debt free. My overdraft is currently fixed at 0% but will start getting charged on that in 6months, so planning on getting the bank to reduce it by £100 each month. Am I on the right track? Is what I am doing better than consolidating the whole lot into one loan?I feel happy that I am starting to face up to it but also feels like such a slow process. Having to change our lifetstyle as well, like having more nights in and saying no to social events which has caused friction between myself and my partner. Any advice is appreciated. Thanks!

Nelmer

Welcome to the boards linz27 :wave:

More experienced people will be along but you look like you're on the right track. It might be worth posting your statement of affairs....and when I can find the link I will come back and attach it!!! Keep posting!

TotallyBroke

You seem to be doing well... please don't consolidate into one loan. The 0% deals you are getting at the moment is the best way.

Have you filled in a SOA https://www.makesenseofcards.com/soacalc.html sometimes just looking at that can show where you can cut back.

If you regulary use the overdraft I would recommend you cut back on it by say £25 per month until you are no longer using it at all. Once you have your soa done you could then do spreadsheet showing what you have in the bank and what will be going in and out. If you have running total you can see what state your bank account should be in at the end of the month and make neccessary cutbacks.

gonzo127

well done and yes you appear to be on the right track however the best way to see how you are actually doing (and sometimes shock a partner that hasnt quite got to grips with what your lifestyle costs) is to do the SOA with the link on the thread above.

as ever the usual things to do which do not affect life style are things such as

get your annual usage of Gas and Electricty in KWH and put it into a price comparison site to find out if you are actually on a good deal, people can save a lot on this if you havent done it before (some people can even save £300 -400 a year) - if you do this make sure you 'clear your cookies' on your computer and then swop through a cashback site like quidco! (got £70 the other day when i swopped mine)

all your insurances, when are renewals? do you search for best price/cover or do you just renew with your current one because it is easier, most of the time you can get a better deal by swopping, and use cashback sites again when/if you swop (got £45 on my home insurance the other day on top of it being the best price anyway)

mobile phones, do you use all your mins and texts? if not phone the company and ask to be changed onto a cheaper tariff, the worst they can say is no! currently get some great deals for texters, such as 1000-3000 texts and month for between £10 and £15 a month (not many mins)

land line phone, get an itemised bill, find out who you call (international, mobiles national etc) and what time of day you call, check for inclusive bundles to see if you can get it cheaper

do you have paid for TV, for example sky do you watch all the chanels you pay for? if not get rid

groceries - plan your meals for the week and only buy what you need ot make those meals, batch cook your meals and freeze the left overs for home made ready meals, and the drop a brand challenge (check sig)

crapwithcash82

linz27 wrote: »

I have decided that 2010 is the year for me to start getting debt free, my partner and I want to be able to buy our own place but we want no debt before we take out a mortgage. This is the debt I have currently £3300 car loan, credit cards £8000, overdraft limit of £2400. So steps I have taken since january I have paid off a personal loan of £1500, and am also trying to claim back PPI on that. I have transferred all my credit cards onto one with 0% transfers, currently paying double the minimum payment. Selling my car (v.soon hopefully) which will pay off that finance which means I can pay more towards getting debt free. My overdraft is currently fixed at 0% but will start getting charged on that in 6months, so planning on getting the bank to reduce it by £100 each month. Am I on the right track? Is what I am doing better than consolidating the whole lot into one loan?I feel happy that I am starting to face up to it but also feels like such a slow process. Having to change our lifetstyle as well, like having more nights in and saying no to social events which has caused friction between myself and my partner. Any advice is appreciated. Thanks!

Hello Linz, just wanted to say hello and welcome. The DFW board is a great place to come for ideas and support!

I am currently going through my house and selling everything we don't need or use on ebay - that can generate a little bit of extra income that can be thrown at the debts.

Also, if you do have to make purchases online do it through a cashback website so that you get some money back - I've been using Quidco for just over a year and have already received £456-ish from it - all for purchases I would have made online anyway.

Something else I find extremely useful is to do a meal plan for the week before you do your weekly shopping. We list six or seven meals and only buy things to make those meals - also we buy some biscuits and snacky type foods too. By doing this we've cut out weekly shopping bill from anything between £75-£110 per week, to only £40. We split this so my OH and I take £20 each out the bank in cash, and if thats all we have with us when we do the shop, thats all we spend!

Look foward to reading your SOA when you get around to posting it, and I hope these little tips help you, all these little things mount up and you end up saving quite a bit!

Good luck with your debt busting!! :money: