Single Money Saver living on my own

Becky_2

Hi Ms London!

Thanks, hope you are enjoying NZ. I cannot wait either until I can afford my own place.

Enjoy your travel.

Becky

ms_london

Becky_2 wrote: »

Hi Ms London!

Thanks, hope you are enjoying NZ. I cannot wait either until I can afford my own place.

Enjoy your travel.

Becky

Hello! NZ is great - the weather has been fantastic, although I think we are heading into autumn soon, boo!!

I know, me neither - with house prices though I wonder if I'll be able to afford more than a caravan! :rolleyes:

Then once I have my own house I'll be trying to pay off my mortgage as soon as I can.

I do my own head in at times! :wall:

xx

Buffythedebtslayer

Hi Ms London,

Am being really nosey but have been reading this thread (being single and in debt!) although not posting much. but I had to write now!

I noticed your debt at highest was 19,000 pounds - how long did it take you to pay it off? I ask mainly because you are doing what I want to do and I am have sort of planned the next two/three years in terms of paying off debts and saving, I just wanted to know it was possible. I have a similar amount of debt and at the moment getting to the point were I just think sod it! I 'll never get out.

cheers

ames123_2

Hey ms_london, i'm travelling in November. Going to Oz for year, want to go over to NZ too, can't wait! Hope your having a great time!!

Olliebeak

This thread seemed to have disappeared after being very busy for a while. Just giving it a bump back up again so that it can be easily found.

lilac_lady

Thanks Ollie. The latest car sharing scheme will penalise single people if it comes into force. Faster lanes for people car sharing. Maybe we'll need to make up some scarecrow figures to sit next to us in the car!

ms_london

Buffythedebtslayer wrote: »

Hi Ms London,

Am being really nosey but have been reading this thread (being single and in debt!) although not posting much. but I had to write now!

I noticed your debt at highest was 19,000 pounds - how long did it take you to pay it off? I ask mainly because you are doing what I want to do and I am have sort of planned the next two/three years in terms of paying off debts and saving, I just wanted to know it was possible. I have a similar amount of debt and at the moment getting to the point were I just think sod it! I 'll never get out.

cheers

Hi Buffy - only just seen this message!!

Nah, youre not nosy! Quick run down was that I realised the extent of my debt when I was 23 (so Sep 2003), basically when I could get no more credit! (thank god I couldnt looking back!) but only had a p/t job at the time, so really struggled to make minimum repayments and had to negotiate small ones with creditors. Once I'd found a f/t job in London it still took me a while to get sorted and I was only making minimum repayments - I took on a 2nd job in June 2004 as well as f/t one which really helped. Not sure how I much I paid off in the rest of 2004 but I cleared the last 10,000 in 2005 - so 10 months. So did it quite quickly and I wasnt on the best wage, but the 2nd job helped heaps and meant I couldnt spend any money cos I didnt have the time.

Wanting to go travelling was a huge motivation, my choices were either to clear most of my debt and be left with my loan and make sure there was money in my account for the time I was away to cover the repayments, or clear my debt as quick as I could, that way I wouldnt have to worry about it while I was away and could stay longer if I wanted. So decided on the latter.

Once my debt was cleared I continued saving at the same rate, so left for my travels in Aug 06 and am still away!

Being in debt was tough, but I have had/am having such a great time on my travels, and if I hadnt have gone through that tough time I wouldnt be here. Also my MSE ways have taught me to make my money go further, and I spend it more wisely - cant argue with that.

However, I do do my own head in, and will be coming back with money, not a penny of debt - and it does drive me nuts sometimes! :rolleyes: Need to be realistic though!

Where are you going? Also, noticed you were trying to lose weight, me too - so if you want a buddy PM me!

xx

ms_london

ames123 wrote: »

Hey ms_london, i'm travelling in November. Going to Oz for year, want to go over to NZ too, can't wait! Hope your having a great time!!

Hiya.

Ah bet you cant wait - am really jealous you'll be heading to Australia - loved it there and really want to live in Sydney (love it here in NZ too, but I havent been here quite as long, and will no doubt miss it in the same way!).

Definately come to NZ and I would highly recommend living & working here for a bit and not just travelling through.

If you want any advice or tips PM me. Dont fall into the trap of buying those packages before you arrive, the ones that promise to find you work, open a bank account for you/get a TFN etc etc! And come with as much money as you can - you wont remember those few nights that you didnt go to the pubs with your friends - and it will be worth it when you get here!

I think I'll be home in Nov (leave here Oct and have a few weeks in Hawaii & the states, cant wait!) and am really nervous about coming back, although cant wait to see the folks & my neice who I havent met yet.

Good luck, youlll have a great time xx

ms_london

lilac_lady wrote: »

Thanks Ollie. The latest car sharing scheme will penalise single people if it comes into force. Faster lanes for people car sharing. Maybe we'll need to make up some scarecrow figures to sit next to us in the car!

I think everything penalises single people personally, and I do agree with someone's earlier comment that there are people in relationships who are unhappy and dont want to be, and the reason they dont leave or find it too hard is because of the $$$ aspect.

I am going to keep some hidden savings if/when I get married - know a lot of people wont agree with this, but I never want to be in the position again of being controlled by money which is how it was when I was in debt.

Olliebeak

ms_london wrote: »

........that there are people in relationships who are unhappy and dont want to be, and the reason they dont leave or find it too hard is because of the $$$ aspect.

I am going to keep some hidden savings if/when I get married - know a lot of people wont agree with this..............

That is all so true, believe me!

I stayed in a relationship with ex-OH for way too long, because I was terrified of having to be totally self-reliant. Not that I could actually 'rely on him' - but my self-esteem was such that I thought I couldn't possibly cope alone. He even had me convinced that our council house was in HIS name only. I found out the hard way when I left him and he then let the rent arrears mount up at an alarming rate. When I tried to sign for a new personal tenancy, they demanded half of his rent arrears because I 'hadn't taken my name off the rent book' :mad: - even though I had been paying rent to a private landlady for over 9 months!

It doesn't matter what other people think about 'hidden savings' - in this day and age, I think many women need their 'get out quick fund' just in case. We are no longer as naive as we used to be - and if our 'goqf' turns out not to be needed, then you have a lovely lump sum to treat the two of you with for a special event/anniversary.

As long as you are NOT taking all the 'cream off the milk' for self-consumption - I don't see anything wrong with having a little put by - especially if you are contributing financially towards the home.

Sorry about that, folks - rant over for now. It just happens to be a bit of a bug-bear of mine :rolleyes: .