23+skint!!!

lynzpower

Can you phone your phone provider and ask to move you to the lowest tarriff they do.

KittyKate

As your parents seem very nice and willing to help have you tried negotiating your rent with them until you're a bit more sorted? Maybe agree to pay £100 a month for a set time? If they own the house, it leaves them £25 a week for your food and share of the bills which isn't unreasonable.

Your phone bill is stupidly high!! Who are you calling!? Assuming it is a mobile, can you switch to pay & go? You can get good deals with 300 free mins & texts a month for £10 freeing up £50 for your cc! If not negotiate your contract to the cheapest you can. Don't go over your allowances!

Is £15 car insurance the cheapest you can get? Have you tried looking for a cheaper one, or one at the same price you will get cashback (either through the provider as an incentive, or through Quidco etc)?

The gym is also high and I know you can't get out of it but sometimes you can take a 'break' if you can't use the gym (injury, pregnancy, health issue etc). Why not call the gym manager and see if you can do this, or at least reduce the charge?

Is the £40 a month on petrol? Is it possible to travel by bus or train - is this cheaper? If it is, is the car financially viable - how much are you saving a month if you sell it (could it pay off a cc?)

OberonSH

My advice would be to start a spending diary - it's amazing to see what you spend day to day. Cup of coffee on the way to work at starbucks might not seem much, but £1.50 a day is nearly £50 a month. Then you can really see how to cut back on stuff. Moneysaving Old Style is a great place for advice on managing household bills, and cutting the food bill.

It seems a good idea to take family's offer, especially if it's interest free. But that cure the problem. You have to change your spending habits and that takes time. You seem to realise you have a bit of a problem, that's why you're here, so build on that. Maybe start thinking about those shoes you want in perspective of a bill - that's this months credit card payment, or that's 3 month car tax. That can help. Then set yourself a budget and stick to it. After a few months you'll wonder how you ever managed to spend so much money!

Well done fo taking a look at your life and wanting to change it. And happy birthday!

msmicawber

Thanks for the update,

So, from November once the gym has been cancelled, you'll have £184 extra to throw at your credit card debt (I make your min. monthly payments £132 btw, not £120, on your figures). If your phone tarriff can be reduced, then that may take you up to about £200 per month extra, which should allow you to start really bringing those debts down. I can't find the snowball calculator link - could someone else put it on here, please? The snowball calculator allows you to see how adjusting your monthly payments will change the rate at which your debts reduce.

Do you really allow yourself no spending money at all? Once you've looked at the length of time it will take you to pay your CCs off using the snowball calculator, you'll have to decide whether you can sustain having no spending money at all for that period, otherwise you'll have to factor some money in for Christmas presents, clothes, etc.

If you pay your HBOS card off then close it, you may be able to get a 0% or low life of balance card and transfer all or some of the Barclaycard balance over, which would speed up its repayment.

Have you checked your loan terms to see if you'll be able to overpay that once your CCs are paid off?

Batgirl

Hi and welcome.

I only joined this site in January and after years and years of never feeling in control of my money and therefore my life and feeling that we will never ever see the light at the ned of the tunnel. But just since joining this site we have for the first time ever got control of our finances.

You will leanr so much from this site and we have made thousands and thousands of extra pounds this year from the tips from other people.

But the best thing is I am 27 and I feel so grateful that we have learnt all this now rather than running up debts all our lives and only gaining control age 50. So rather than thinking I am 23 and life is over be pleased that you are going to learn so much at such a young age.

Goodluck with your journey and keep on these boards.

Batgirl

Bloke_with_a_simple_life

moneywaster wrote:

i earn £800 a month

My outgoings are £219 on loan
£120 on payments (min) to credit cards
£150 Digs to parents
£35 gym memebership
£60 phone bill
£15 car insurance
£40 on travel to work
which leaves £161 but im no making an impact on my debt on cc' and o/d

I don;t believe this is everything... so.. you don't have haircuts, buy clothes, pay petrol costs above the £40 per month travel costs, buy lunches, go on nights out?

If this was your only expenditure, you wouldn't be in debt! But there must be other things y0u are spending (or have spent) your money on surely!! I imagine these may be going directly on your credit card and you are not "recognising" them as an expense - hence you not making an impact on your credit card.

Can I suggest that you use the SOA advice located at the link below, and fill this out as much as is possible please - look at your past credit card statements etc.

http://forums.moneysavingexpert.com/showthread.html?t=107280

What did you spend your loan on? What can you "resell" to geenrate some money to lesssen your borrowings etc?

Thank you & good luck

moneywaster_2

i have managed to get £6000 from my family and that is going to pay off my debt!! i should only have £1900 left which i will work on!! the extra funds that i usually pay to my credit card will go to savings so i can pay of my loan sooner!! do u think im wise? i have definately got a huge shock but ppl on this site have been really helpful and kind!!!! thank you for everything!!!

*Sparkle*_3

Hello and welcome!
You need to pay off the £1900 before you start your savings, otherwise saving when you have debt wouldnt be financially sound.

My advice is Just remember that "YOUR CREDIT CARD IS YOUR BIGGEST LIABILTY!" cut it up....

Jaymz

I strongly agree with the above poster.... cut your credit card up and then when its fully paid off phone them up and cancel it.

moneywaster_2

thats what im doing shutting the account!! then my only payment is to my loan!! then i am going to start saving to pay off my loan early!!!! my loan is really low apr!!! going to sell some stuff on ebay aswell!!! going to get thro this!!!! thanks to my family and i am going to become scoorge with money!!!