Keep falling off

StayingPositive_3

Hi Guys

I keep trying to be debt free, motivated for a while and very disciplined and suddenly go to the other extreme of not keeping a tab of what I spend, and doing what I like with money that isn't mine. I have a good credit record and pay bills etc on time but sometimes don't view debt as bad which is the problem. Part of it is low interest rates which got me into some of this mess, I think oh its 0% or it isn't much.......... fool myself into thinking its free. I don't know if I will ever get there but I want to try again! Please feel free to advice on where you think I am going wrong or how you manage to keep yourself motivated for longer...........Here goes my soa

Monthly Incomings:
Salary - £1,800

Monthly Outgoings:
Rent and c/tax - £550
Gas - £15
Electric - £35
Water - ?
TV License - £10.99
Phone/internet - £40
Food - £200
Travel - £150
Gym -50
Total: £1040

Debts
Company balance limit min paym. interest
Stud.Ln

2500 150 3%
Natwest

1200 1200 50 16%
AnL

3800 4000 5 0%
Cap1

5500 8000 163 4%

O/D NW

2613 8000 16%
O/D AnL

258 500 16%

Directline

12000 300 5.6%
Friend

3000 200
Total:

27871

Min.Payments: 868

I know my outgoings currently outweigh my income which is why my overdraft is what it has become. For the Gym to release me from my contract I have to pay them half the fee for the remainder of the contract whih is 3 months, therefore £75. I don't socialise as much and just tend to keep phone contact and getting a bit depressed about the state of my finances. I have a new 0% card with uncapped 3% bt fee and 6000 limit. Not sure what I should transfer here other than the natwest loan. Would welcome some advice on this. Sorry about the length of this post!

msmicawber

Hi there,

Don't get despondent. Very few of us are good all the time, so don't beat yourself up.

Your outgoings, debts apart, are quite reasonable. Someone will be along soon who can advise on snowballing and whatnot to help get the debt down more quickly.

A couple of things - have you looked at sites like directdial.com to reduce your call charges? I've found it made a great difference and I've got a teenage girl who twitters on the phone all the time. What do you pay for your internet? There's a price war going on, so it's worth checking whether there's a cheaper deal out there for you.

Do find out what you are paying for water since if you live by yourself, you can probably make savings there.

If you don't socialise and are feeling a bit low, don't feel you have to give up your gym contract. OK so you've got yourself into debt, but you don't have to wear a hair shirt too!

Food is quite expensive for one person. Have a look at the Moneysaving Old Style board for ideas on how to shop more cheaply, recipes, good cheap cleaning products, etc.

Best of luck.

lynzpower

Am I seeing this right, you have a 2600 overdraft with natwest but owe 8k, or is it vice versa?

LJD1_2

I know just where you're coming from. For years we've done 0% interest credit cards and thought, oh well, we'll just bung something else on there. It gets bigger and bigger and then there's the panic to find another 0% to move it all on to when the first one runs out. We're now focusing on being able to put the money we use to pay of the credit card to better use. We're going to try so hard to not buy anything unless we have the money up front. Good luck to you and keep going!

newmoneysaver_2

I think the 8K is the overdraft limit but at the moment it is only at 2600! IYSWIM

StayingPositive_3

Thanks for your quick responses. I'll look into direct dial but the price is for internet and mobile and landline. To answer your questions, I take your point about food, how much do you think is reasonable for 1 person with occasional guests. Water I think is about £20 pcm, I tend to get a bill every few months. You're right that the OD limit is 8k and have used 2600 of that. I should probably reduce it but scared of running out of money.

What do you think is best to transfer to the 0% card without incurring too much expense.

lynzpower

I would work out exactly what you need to get you to the next payday then close the bank overdraft down as much as you can. What on earth do you think you are going to spend 6k on?

Dont worry, you will get there without the safety net of massive debt xx

msmicawber

StayingPositive wrote:

Thanks for your quick responses. I'll look into direct dial but the price is for internet and mobile and landline. To answer your questions, I take your point about food, how much do you think is reasonable for 1 person with occasional guests.

I won't try and answer credit card/overdraft questions because I know nothing compared with other board subscribers.

Directdial (and there are some others on the Phones & Utilities board) gives you codes that you dial first - different numbers for different countries as well as the UK for calls to mobiles, landlines and those dreaded 08 numbers. A robot voice then tells you the charge per minute and you dial the full number. They route your calls through the cheapest carrier, and there's no standing charge or anything. Have a look - I phone relatives in Ireland for 1p per minute.

As for grocery shopping, I feed myself and 2 (large, greedy) children and get all the cleaning stuff and toiletries for about £30 per week. That, however, is after years of honing my shopping and menu planning skills. Try starting with, say £35-40 pounds pw and keep looking for savings. Again, can't recommend the Moneysaving Old Style board enough for that.

StayingPositive_3

I get your point about the overdraft, scary as it may seem, I will reduce it tomorrow to 3000. Big step for me. I did a big shop last week and stocked up on most things, I will try £40 a week for a few weeks then reduce it if it goes well.

Would really appreciate some advice on the credit cards and overdraft.

Mrs_Sparkle

Please don't beat yourself up about this. I am in a similar amount of debt to you and I have to admit to feeling really motivated some weeks and buying reduced battered packets of soya mince + Value loo roll and then other times thinking "Oh sod it" and blowing £80 on a really nice shop with yummy things. We all fall off the wagon every now and again but as long as you jump back on, that's the main thing.

Lynz is right about the overdraft. I can't preach to you as I am only in the black for 2 weeks out of every month but you need to psychologically reduce the amount of cash you think you have to spend- i.e. not relying on your overdraft as "your" money.

msmicawber

I'm sorry no one has responded to your queries about your credit cards yet, but have a look at this web site and enter your overdraft and CC details into the calculator to see how long it'll take you to pay off your balances and which to tackle first. As I understand it, you pay the minimum on the lower interest rate, and chuck your money at getting rid of the highest interest card. Once that's clear, you pay off the next highest, etc.

http://www.whatsthecost.com/

If someone doesn't come along soon and give more specific advice about moving balances around, etc., then I'd suggest posting again specifically asking about the debts. Sometimes threads get kind of buried when the site's busy.