Cant seem budget??

lynzpower

Stopping using credit is the only way to get out of debt, as credit IS debt

I suggest you chop the cards up- its OK, you CAN do this!

tawnyowls

Turnthisaround wrote:

Phone: This is talk/talk phone and broadband my partner calls internationally a lot as well so i think its quite good?.

Well, the basic Talk Talk package with BB seems to be £21 a month, going by Martin's article, so you're then racking up another £14/month for calls. As the TT package seems to include most of your calls, then the likelihood is that the international calls are what's costing. Would be worth checking out https://www.1899.com, https://www.call18866.co.uk and https://www.18185.co.uk, comparing rates between them, and seeing which one is cheapest - should be able to use those alongside your TT package.

Turnthisaround

Hi,
Well we have made a start, we were up most of last night but feel a little more in control.
Credit Cards: They have been chopped up so there is no temptation to use.
Spending Diary: We have Started.
Food/Shopping:We have set a budget of £60 a week and will only take the cash with us so we cant spend more.
Sky: Buying a digibox tomorrow and ending Sky subs.
Car: Joined a County Council careshare online site. Hopefully someone travels my route, but I do leave early.
Debit: We are going for low life of balance cards together with either a consolidating loan or remortgage via my partners employer( she can get 4.75% APR).
Will post again as things change. Thanks everyone

save-a-lot

tawnyowls wrote:

Well, the basic Talk Talk package with BB seems to be £21 a month, going by Martin's article, so you're then racking up another £14/month for calls. As the TT package seems to include most of your calls, then the likelihood is that the international calls are what's costing. Would be worth checking out https://www.1899.com, https://www.call18866.co.uk and https://www.18185.co.uk, comparing rates between them, and seeing which one is cheapest - should be able to use those alongside your TT package.

Combine the above with an Orchid dialler and you do not have to think about tapping in the 18866 etc codes before your calls... http://www.orchid-electronics.com/Diallers/lcr.htm - we bought the £14.99 dialler, this saves us a fortune as you only pay a connection fee for each call. The cost per minute is 0p.

Turnthisaround

leni wrote:

What I do with low life balance cards or 0% cards is transfer the balances BUT I NEVER activate the cards and cut them in half straight away and keep them in a poly pocket with the statements!

Sorry to sound an idiot but dont you need to activate the card to do the balance transfer??, Im have one of those "im feeling a bit slow days".

lynzpower

If you remortgage, this is effectively the same as a secured loan. Im my opinon this is a pretty bad idea. INterest rates are on the rise again in the autumn and a mortgage rate is likely to be more than what you can get elsewhere. PLus stringing the debt out for way longer as its tied into your mortgage. If for whatever reason you want to sell up your house MUST be worth the outstanding mortgage and the secured debt. Please tread very carefully.

if there are a lot of international calls being made, systems like Vonage can be useful, making the calls as long as the recipient has broadband