It's the overdraft that's making my quest so difficult!

southernscouser

It's a vicious circle but one that can be broken.

You need to keep going with the spending diary. This gives you a great insight into where you can cut back further. It also allows you to start budgetting properly giving you an indication of monthly costs.

Then you will know how much 'surplus' money you have for spending, petrol etc!

pyrorus

SkintMonkey wrote:

Thanks all. I'm reluctant to open another current account (currently with Nationwide) and move all my direct debits, etc as will have to change with work where my salary comes from etc and don't fancy the hassle!

Perhaps I just need to plod on with knocking it down every month and spending as little as possible. I did think about transferring the balance onto my HSBC credit card, but changed my mind and they only transfer balances from compeititors credit cards, not current accounts.

Which has the higher interest charge? Have you negotiated the repayments on the Credit card and stopped the interest being charged?

If you haven't and you still paying the interest on the CC and other bills Id concentrate on them and stay in the overdraft and reduce it as much as you can each month.

Its sole destroying being permanently in the red like that but look it the positive way you are saving yourself money buy reducing the higher rate of interest first and you are slowly plodding towards the light.

You said you use a lot in petrol is there any way you can reduce the amount of petrol? Swap you car for a smaller engine? the walk/cycle short distances, use the bus to get around the town/city you live in. Drive slower, Have you tried even changing where you get you petrol from. Every penny helps.

Keep it up and you'll get there

Rus

Storm

I'm reducing my O/D by £50 a month, and what I do is work out my exact budget at the beginning of the month, all the DDs to go etc, pay off the CC what I've budgeted and then keep a note of cash withdrawels/card payments from my account in a notebook. I allow £75 a week to include food, fuel etc and I don't actually look at my bank account during the month. I might get a few pennies out, but that's all.

SkintMonkey

Well today I've worked out with a good office friend that we will car share as much as possible. She moved into her flat before the summer, but we never considered car sharing with each other!

As I leave further out, what we plan to do is as many mornings as posisble, I will drive to hers, either leave my car and she will drive onto work or I will pick her up and drive all the way. I'm really hoping that we can do it as much as possible, to save us both money and to make the journey to and from work less crappy.

Hopefully I should be moving next year and will be closer to work so wont have this huge petrol problem.

I feel quite excited...the money I save will automatically go to reducing my overdraft, lets hope its significant enough to make a dent.

OneSpike

moozie wrote:

Hi SkintMonkey :wave:

I had the same problem when I first started. I tried to resolve it for a couple of months and then I realise dit wasn't going to happen. So, I stsarted using another current account and handled that overdraft as a debt. I paid an amount off it each month until it was cleared all together.

I am now in a position where I am never overdrawn and that makes life so much easier as all my salary is mine to use how I please and not absorbed by the invisible beast

Hope this helps as an idea!

Hi Moozie,

This is exactly what we've just done as part of our 'dealing with it'. Just make sure you time it so that the account is fully up and running by the time salary and any benefits are due to arrive so that you don't miss out on them, although you could look at it as that money helping to chip away at the OD debt.