Tips on paying off overdrafts -3500 pounds

bruirn

I currently have three separate accounts, all overdrawn:

NatWest - 2250
NatWest- 950
FirstDirect-500

Having sepatated from my wife 18 months ago ntil about a year ago I only used the 950 account and then I got given a car and whilst it didn't cost me anything the costs of motoring in general plus some major work that needed doing after it failed its MOT took it's toll on the 2250 account. I eventually ended up getting a new car which I purchased using the FirstDirect account.

I take home 1145 a month and my main outgoings each month are:

Rent 275
My share of mortgage 140
Child Maintenance 100
Phone 30
Car Insurance 50
Travel to work 68
I always nearly max out on the overdrafts before I get paid each month and juggling my finances to ensure there's enough money in the accounts to pay the monthly interest (50 a month between the 3 accounts) has led to a couple of bank charges.

Went to see NatWest yesterday for a routine review and they suggested a 4000 loan at 15apr over 4 years to pay off all the overdrafts. It works out abotu 130 a month. They said it would be less hassle to do it with them because i've been a customer of theirs for over 11 years.

Ultimately I'm looking for the best way to pay the overdrafts off - a loan from somewhere else? or to be more disciplined with the overdrafts and set aside money each month to pay them off (which I'm finding it very difficult to do obviously).

Thanks for your time if you've got this far and hope it all made sense.;)

lynsayjane

erm your bank suggest getting a loan??? and how much profit will they make in interest over these four years??? exactly... i wouldnt touch their kind offer wiht a barge pole!

from what you've said in your post you are left with £482 a month for food and stuff, how much do you spend on these kind of things??? if your not sure start a spending diary to track where all your disposable income goes to.

if you were to cut out any/all non essential items, and now i'm talking clothing and stuff too, you can manage a couple of months without new ones, you could pay your ods off quite quickly.

ps check out the article on the first page about cliaming back bank charges

mountainofdebt

Well we managed to clear a £2K overdraft by following these simple set of rules.

1. Hubby stopped using his current account - all dd's came out of my account and his pay went into mine. That way we were only looking at one account.

2. When he had his monthly charges notification, we put into his account a sum of money that paid for his charges plus £100. That way we we clearing £100 each month of his overdraft.

If you post fuller details of your expenditure and income then I am sure we can find ways of you being able to throw money at the overdraft and clear it without the need for a loan.

bruirn

Many thanks. I have my two girls at weekends and keeping them entertained isn't cheap. Thankfully at my shared house we have broadband internet and digital TV (cbbc and cbeebies), which is a godsend on rainy days and is all included in the 275 rent. I don't got out much and very rarely buy clothes, cds or dvds (preferring to borrow mates' - not clothes though ) I probably spend about 80 a month on them but it used to be much more. The FirstDirect account is the one I'm looking to pay off first as they've just started charging me a 30 overdraft fee.

bruirn

See below for a bit more detail. I was thinking the same about NatWest's 'offer'. I spend about 30 a week on food I reckon, not helped by the fact my local supermarket is a Sainsbury's and the better value Morrisons is miles away. Many thanks for all your help. It's reassuring that there's support out there.

lynsayjane

take it from someone who loved spending weekend at her dads, we had more fun wrestling on the floor and beating him up (like we ever managed :rotfl: ) than any amount of money spent elsewhere...in fact it's the beating up i remember when i think back to our visits.

how old are your girls?

lynsayjane

bruirn wrote:

See below for a bit more detail. I was thinking the same about NatWest's 'offer'. I spend about 30 a week on food I reckon, not helped by the fact my local supermarket is a Sainsbury's and the better value Morrisons is miles away. Many thanks for all your help. It's reassuring that there's support out there.

an thats just feeding you? go check out the moneysaving old style board. i used that for tips on meals and weekly meal planning, i now feed myself on £10 a week.

and there's always support and advice on here, but unfortunatly it's up to you and your willpower to follow it up, but don't worry we'll happily kick your butt if you dont

bruirn

LOL I have found that eventually. I seemed to think that unless I wasn't taking them out to some theme park or other each weekend that they wouldn't have a good time. We now make our own entertainment and it's much more fun. They're five and eight, great ages.

bruirn

The 30 pounds covers the food me and the kids eat. I'm getting better though. I've knocked the Boots sandwiches on the head for a start.

lynsayjane

yeah give it another five years and they won't want to visit their old dad, they'll want to go into town with their friends to meet boys...

thank god i'll never be a dad! :rotfl:

bruirn

Too true lol. My eldest is already starting to get crushes on boys in her class. Not good. That's why I'm spending as much time with them now whilst they still don't mind being seen with their dad. Like you say a few years down the line and it will be a different story.