I want to be a better man

katsu

Go to Martin's articles in the tab "utilities and phones" and read the mobile and international calling articles. Consider something like Rebtel (£7 cashback if you go through quidco) or jarjah (not sure of spelling). I use my inclusive minutes and rebtel to make a call that Rebtel charge me $0.02p/m for - they charge in USD - (plus whatever you work out the inclusive minutes to be) instead of around £0.14 to my mobile phone provider if I just rang direct :eek: Huge savings for me and still lots of talking to family.

Ashamed_2

RAS wrote: »

hi

If this get [past the next round of Government cuts, at the age of 3, your daughter become eligible for 5 free nursery sessions a week. You need to check that out as it would nmake a massive difference to your budget and is not far away. Only do keep an eye on the budget next month.

Go to xxx amd see whether you can get any further help.

Excellent info, thanks. I looked into it and it's the term after her third birthday that we get the goverment grant. Our daughter is goign to be the oldest in her year so will have to wait a little longer, a few months before he 4th birthday.

falady wrote: »

Hi there Ash,

I've jsut seen your thread. I wondered if there was any scope in you contacting your credit card providers and asking for a lower interest rate? All they can do is say no.....

Depending on your credit rating you might even be able to get a new 0% card and transfer some debt to that.

Also, I think you said the credit cards were maxed out, but if not, it could be worth moving debt to the card with the cheapest interest rate 9though take any transfer fees into account of course).

I phoned barclaycard but they were not interested at all in een looking into reducing my interest. They even told me that in June my interest rate would be going up, said they sent me a letter in march. I don't remember seeing it. However, I've managed to find £5k of space on one of my lower interest rate cards so I just transfered £5k off of the barclaycard and onto the santander card, saving 1% interest a month. It's not allot but every penny counts. They didn;t charge me a transfer fee either, so it's even better.

laurz121 wrote: »

Take a look here
xxx
The cheapest call to macedonia is just 1.5p per minute so you could be saving 85% on your phone bill. A massive amount if you think about it.

THanks for that site. I see they charge you 1.5p per min, but do you kow if BT then charge you x amount per min for calling that number?. I know on the one we use at present it's 4p a min, but then bt charge you 6p per min on top.

Bunnyinthelights

Would it be an option to move closer to your jobs? So much of your day is due to travelling and the costs incurred are enormous.

We downsized 3 years ago and it opened up loads of other opportunities.

POSITIVE_AND_FOCUSED

Hi Ash

Just came accross your forum. You are making amazing progress, and your posts sound more positive from your first. There has been some fantastic advice given. My situation is completely different to yours. However, what I would want to say is that this site has been invaluable to me. I have been near the brink of giving up but now I know I can repay my debt making savings here there and everywhere. Areas for me are my mortgage interest rate, life insurance, checking Im receiving any benefits Im entitled to, saving on my electric/gas bills, reducing food bills by doing more home cooking.

You clearly love you dd dearly, however I had a savings plan for my dd and cashed this in to put the money toward the debt. It was a nice idea to do - the saving, but the reality was that our needs at the time were greater. I will start it up again when I can. We dont have Sky at all, but in the summer months it nice to take dd to the park etc. Costs nothing and she has great fun. Also, for us sweets etc are a rare treat, and hopefully are saving her teeth!!! And dd is learning how to bake and cook with me doing meals from scraps!

One thing Ive found really helpful is to keep a spending diary, and the debt free diarys on here are a great way to keep motivated and positive.Ive also used a local auction house who do house clearances to sell an array of items from our home, also using ebay and the local paper too depending on the item concerned. Still have alot to do in this area.

Anyway, that my pennyworth and all the best.

dancingfairy

Hi. Have you refused the rate rise from Barclaycard? I believe that as long as you have stopped spending on the card you can pay off the debt at the old rate of interest. I'm not too sure how it works - maybe someone else would know?
df
Edit: found Martins article \http://www.moneysavingexpert.com/reclaim/credit-card-interest-rate-increases
However it does say they have to give you 30 days notice and you have to get back to them within 30 days (not sure if that's 30 or 60 in total) - I got a bit confused. This may however not be an option for you but you need to check what they sent to you - I would get them to send a copy of it to you.

Zoology_Dragon

You're doing brilliantly so far, good luck!

I just wanted to point out to some people that a loaf of bread (for example) in Tesco does not cost the same throughout the country. Groceries ARE more expensive in London. Not to the extent that the OP can't cut down greatly on his groceries spending but the difference is not in-significant. £150 per month on commuting is very low too, it would cost me the same for a zone 1-4 travelcard. Fortunately, I can work at home a lot and go in after 9:30am (ie. off peak) so I save lot of money this way but obviously not many people have this flexibility. However if I had to be in the office 9-5, five days a week then it would cost me £150 per month, there simply is no cheaper way (and it would take 3+ hours to walk, one way).

Butti

Well done on getting started. It's a long road but there's a lot of us on it and it feels good (and slightly addictive) once you get started on chopping the debt down.

One bit of advice regarding the fags. Go and see your GP and see what they can do to help you. I really wouldn't bother with nicorette or any of that gubbins as it keeps feeding the nicotine monster, and you can become addicted to the gum.

My dad (20 a day - yeah right dad!) smoked from about 16 until about 65. He went to see the GP. Was put on these tablets and told after 14 days to just stop and he did. Did seem to chew a lot of gum for a short time (not nicotine gum!) but otherwise found it relatively painless. Have a think about things you are going to do with your hands while you adjust but I would suggest that as the best approach.

B

purpleheather2810

^^good tip^^ or visit any pharmacist and they should be able to give you details of your local Help 2 quit service - there is lots of help and support available for free

Ashamed_2

Bunnyinthelights wrote: »

Would it be an option to move closer to your jobs? So much of your day is due to travelling and the costs incurred are enormous.

Not really an option. I work west of our house and the wife works east of the house. So we are central to both jobs at the moment. In what ever direction we move, one travel expense will decrease but the other will rise.

Plus, trying to move closer to my job. The houses get more and more expensive the further into london you go, so we'd be looking at getting a smaller house for the same money, then you got the issue of having to pay for street parking, congestion charge season ticket, then much longer trips for when visiting the family.

The wife was thinking of cycling to work but then, there's the dropping off of our daughter on the way and I don't really want to put my 2 year old on the back of a bike (I used to ride motor bikes and have seen far too many cycle and bike accidents caused by car drivers being unaware of thier presence, it's not worth thinking about).

Ashamed_2

Thought I'd post a 6 month update on this thread .


Due to the amount of advise and guidance this site has given me. I have gone from not knowing which way to turn into someone who is now highly focussed. Thanks you to all of you whether you have posted in my threads or I have read it in yours. You have given me the confidence and guidance I needed to get things moving.

Just an update on the original ins and outs.

May 2010
Total income - £4,570
Total outgoings - £4900.73
Total = -£330.68

November 2010

Gas - £45 - shopped around and got it changed
Electric - £55 - shopped around and got it changed
Phone - £15 - Reduced calls and used MSN and Skype instead for family calls abroad
Food - £350 - cut by £150 by using cheaper brands and cutting luxerys
Cigarettes - £0 - We both quit in June 2010 :T
2 x mobile phones - £70 - reduced by £10
House insurance - £25 - reduced by £100 - never get insurance with your mortgage
Parking - £0 - Wife sweet talked a security guard into a free ticket
Nursery - £820 - Will be reduced to £647 from Jan plus we now save £158 a month with childcare voucher scheme from both our work places.
Evening course - £200 (Wife's course to get a better job) - Last payment to finish in Jan

Total income - £4,570
Total outgoings - £4007.44
Total = 563.44
In January we will have an additional £373 with courses finishing and reduced nursery fees.

Out Total in Jan should be £936.44 - This is will all go towards the debts.