I am scared to admit it....

Anwen_2

I agree with the suggestion to set up automatic payments (either DD or Standing Order) to go just after payday for a bit of a higher amount - if there's £480 vanishing each month then you could probably spare, say, £150 in overpaying (look for information on snowballing to work out what exactly to do with the overpayment amount).

also, look at cancelling the PPI on your loan, and add whatever you're currently paying on that to your repayments.

robnye

Lisav wrote:

I currently have a loan with Egg - total outstanding today = £4851.90. I am paying £167.63 per month including PPI at a rate of 7.7%

I also have a credit card with Egg with a total balance of £302.67 and a credit card with virgin (who I hate) with a balance of £465.73. I notmally pay the minimum balances on these plus an extra £20 when I can.

My take home pay is £1060 a month and I pay out -
£44 a month for one bus pass
£12.15 a week for a second bus pass
£30 a month for my phone bill
£85 a month for my diet plan (dont ask - I have lost six and a half stone so far this year and cannot stop yet)
£18 a month for my contact lenses
£6 a month phone insurance
£150 rent
£43 gym membership

have you tried to cancel the PPI insurance on your Egg loan......
cancel phone insurance - replacement phones are relatively cheap - also someone has mentioned about checking whether it can be/is covered under house contents insurance
silly question - why 2 bus passes? isnt there bus pass that covers both...
ie you are paying £44 + £48.60 per month
buy a bicycle - save on the gym fee and possibly some of the bus pass costs

check out the 'how to get cheap contact lenses' thread http://www.moneysavingexpert.com/cgi-bin/viewnews.cgi?newsid1081710634,17595,

and congrats on your weight loss..... :T

bargainbetty

Lisav wrote:

I currently have a loan with Egg - total outstanding today = £4851.90. I am paying £167.63 per month including PPI at a rate of 7.7% Definitely call and get the PPI scrapped if you can - don't listen to all their sob stories about how much protection it gives you - totally pants!

Credit cards: Egg with a total balance of £302.67 and virgin with a balance of £465.73. Can you switch it all onto one? Call them both and ask for a reduced interest rate, and then move it all onto whichever is the lowest. Even if it is just for a couple of months till you set up a 0% card it will help. Just remember - once the card is cleared, CLOSE THE ACCOUNT. Don't do what I did and let it build up again!

My take home pay is £1060 a month and I pay out -
£44 a month for one bus pass
£12.15 a week for a second bus pass Again, why two passes?
£30 a month for my phone bill Call the provider and switch to a lower/better tariff. Pay less or at least get more free minutes!
£85 a month for my diet plan (dont ask - I have lost six and a half stone so far this year and cannot stop yet) I lost two and a hlaf stone on the Slimming World thing - CONGRATS :beer: I know how hard it is.
£18 a month for my contact lenses I pay £15 at Vision Express, includes eye tests etc.
£6 a month phone insurance This would probably be included in your parents contents insurance, plus is often !!!!!!. I tried to claim once, and it had an excess of £50. It was cheaper to buy a cheap handset until my annual upgrade came through.
£150 rent
£43 gym membership I know you are losing weight, but you think about other free ways to exercise. Walk, cycle (freecycle for a bike) borrow a neighbours dog/small child and go to the park.

So I spend out £612 which leaves me £448 a month - Spending Diary!!!!

No judgement, just help!

Good luck, you are obviously a very determined person, and will get through this x

EagerLearner

Fantastic pic - you look great!

In terms of spending - can I suggest:

- If you know you need a bus pass every month, try and buy quarterly or even yearly. It will be alot of money in one go, but then you don't have to fork out the cash each month. PLUS buying months / year in advance protects you against price increases (which are rife on the bus system at the moment)

- Phone bill - use https://www.voipcheap.com if you have broadband. Or use cheap tel calls provider as per Martin's articles.

- Keep spending diary and make just 1 cash withdrawal for the entire week. Making the withdrawal on a Monday is best as you will be aware that if you spend it all, you will have nothing for the weekend ahead.

- Watch your grocery shopping - that can add up...

- Contact lenses? I was paying £30 a month - then in 2001 I had laser eye surgery at a cost of £1,500 total. 5 years on, had I continued with contacts, I would have paid £1,800 by now - so technically I have saved £300!

idiot_3

Dude you look well fit!

Just take some of the determination you have put into the weight loss into the finances and you will be sorted in no time!

Lisav_2

idiot wrote:

Dude you look well fit!

Just take some of the determination you have put into the weight loss into the finances and you will be sorted in no time!

Why thank you

Thanks for all the advice it is really useful

The reason I have two bus passes is because I live in a small village on the outskirts of Oxford and the normal cheaper passes dont extend to our area, so one pass is to get into town and one is to get from town to my work. This is also the reason I cant ride my bike to work, as it is way too far.

I am going to look at changing my contact lenses and will definately cancel the direct debit for phone insurance.

I do have some shares with Barclays that i could sell which I inherited, but i am reluctant to do so with takeover rumours lingering - what do you think?

EagerLearner

Hmmmm - I wouldn't sell unless you really, reeeeeeeeally need to - you don't consider shares real cash at the mo so they're like a safety net in your subconscious, that you can convert to cash if things get really bad.

Verbatim

Wow, 61/2 stone, that's amazing. If you can do that becoming debt free will be a cinch!

A spending diary will tell you where the cash is leaking. PO 0% cc is still available (6 months at zero & no BT fee) but I hear it won't be fee free for much longer. I'm getting an application form from the PO today. The on-line application won't submit & they're so busy they're no longer accepting phone applications. You have to have an income over £8k excluding benefits, be over 18 and resident in the UK.

david_hellier

According to my calculations you have £105.98 (£105) per week to spend on any thing else. I presume your food is all found?

To avoid overspending, the root of all debt, keeping a spending diary is the solution. I suggest you write this amount (£105) in a little book on a Monday and keep a note of everything you spend. Try not to spend it all, but carry over to the next week any over. I've not included any overdraft payoff. Do you have an OD? Avoid using credit cards for any more spending.

Good luck, the figures are as follows:

income weekly monthly
self 1060.00
partner







total 0.00 1060.00
244.62 divided by 4.33

244.62 total weekly income

spend weekly monthly
rent/mortgage 150.00
council tax
elec
gas
water
secured loans
TV licence
fines
bus 44.00
bus 2 12.15
phone 30.00
diet plan 85.00
contact lenses 18.00
phone ins 6.00
gym 43.00
egg loan 167.63
egg cc 20.00
virgin cc 25.00












total 0.00 600.78
138.64 divided by 4.33

£138.64 total weekly spend

Start= income - spend = £105.98 per week

lil'H

Wow, well done on the weight loss, you look incredible! I'd also say that despite what people say abut the gym costs, if you enjoy it, and no doubt combined with your diet it's helping you to feel great try and save from elsewhere first, for example discovering where that 400 odd pound goes each month. Also with the phone insurance get rid off it, I have twice tried to claim after having phones stolen, however both claims were rejected. Loads of people I know had the same problem. In the end phone company charged me £17.50 for replacement sim card and I got a mobile free by renewing contract early. Start a spending diary, and keep doing what your doing in terms of looking for a 0% credit card.

Also extra thought is I know your n the BBC site, but could you approach one of the magazines to get your story in, they often pay well, and you could put a fee straight to your debt, as well as knowign you are inspiring other people wanting to loose weight.

Good luck with the debt and the diet, you clearly have guts and detirmination so I'm sure you can tackle both,

Lil'H