If things carry on Im going into alot of debt, ideas please!

alph250

what do other early 20's do in there spare time which doesnt cost much money and is entertaining, All my freinds inc me just seem to get drunk and nothing else which is good fun but im getting bored after 5 years of this and my debts are reflecting the fact that i cant really afford it, im over spending by around £200 per month on going out clubbing and all the sub costs this involves. My problem is that none of my freinds want to change this most are all quite happy going into more and more debt and by looking at a few of the older lot its not going to stop most of them are £20,000+ debt at 25 which i seem to be well on target for! 2007 I want to change my ways.

I suppose in my youthfull naivety i just thought it was normal part of youth but over the past year I've come to realise that its not and its getting worse and if i dont change my lifestyle I'm comprimising financial health considerably. And it doesnt help that i get taken this !!!! outa when i suggest an easy going night, or saving a few pounds by going to the cinema. So really i would like to know what other 20 somethings do and how they budget, what they do for kicks, etc!?!

Input would be most appreciated belows what i earn im averagely spending around £200 a month more than i should but with tips from this website i think i can bring that under control :money: <

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legend!




21, single and live at home, i earn £1220 take home per month with about £1000 take home bonus per annum these are my outgoing's per month;

£155 - Loan - Left to pay £7200 (6.4%)
£50 - Phone bill - reducing to £30 at end of month
£10 - Tesco DVD - cancel anytime
£12 - Credit card - Left to pay £1350 (0% for 7 more months)
£120 - Rent to mum and dad
£300 - per week on fuel, ciggies (10 a day and quitting), lunch, beer, clothes etc

Vickicb

Hi alph, welcome.

Do you mean £300 on fuel, cigs, clothes etc PER WEEK?

Can you break that figure down at all?

amosworks

alph250 wrote:

what do other early 20's do in there spare time which doesnt cost much money and is entertaining, All my freinds inc me just seem to get drunk and nothing else which is good fun but im getting bored after 5 years of this and my debts are reflecting the fact that i cant really afford it, im over spending by around £200 per month on going out clubbing and all the sub costs this involves.

I make cash on the side by doing occasional dancing work in clubs. You get to go clubbing whilst earning money instead of spending it, and you get free drinks too. Plus you get to spend a lot of intimate time with people afterwards if that's your thing, and that's free too :rolleyes:

madduck

Ditto Vicki - £300 per week - surely that is per month?

acheekymunky

Hi,

Im in my early 20's too....well 24 actually and up until a few months ago all my friend were in the exact same mind frame. Now i dont know whether its old age, physics or what but the partying seems to have died down, everyone is conscious of how much money they do or dont have and we all suddenly seem to be in the same boat. Hopefully this will happen to you and your friends.
We try to drink in someones house first to save on money. One of my friends used to drink Magners Irish Cider...now she is beaming with herself that she likes...and buys 4 cans of Woodpecker for £1.64!! Good on her I say! Ive stopped taking my card out with me too! when the cash is gone its time to go home...if you want to stay out longer you will start to become more conscious on what drinks to choose etc.

The best thing I think you can do now...(which i myself started last week) is a spend diary. If I ever done a budget I would say I spent about £60.00 a week on going out and bits... boy was i wrong!!! double it!!
As i say i have only been doing it a week but i wrote down what i spent each day and on what...at the end of the week i added it up and then worked out how much i had spent on what items for example ciggies, magazines, food, alcohol, clothes, beauty, travel etc. From seeing how much of my weekly spend was on ciggies has made me cut down already! (not so easy i know!).

I would say definately a SPEND DIARY...start tomorrow...no time like the present! be honest and make sure you write EVERYTHING down..its for your own good i promise!

GOOD LUCK

alph250

umm no thats per week, not good really

£35 fuel
£25 cigs
£20 lunch
£40 during the week evennings
£70- £80 friday night
£70- £80 saturday night
£30 cds clothes etc
rest i suppose goes towards holidays etc

I know its a stupid amount to spend but thats what i do but i want an alternative to going out, nice one about dancing but im a bloke!

amosworks

I'm a bloke too. It's good money.

alph250

Really! i suppose i could bust a few moves and living in bournemouth no end of clubs!

But i know i spend too much, i just need to amuse myself in a cheaper form, a couple of mates weve started drinking before we go out or saying that we will go at a pre determined time but it never works and you end up going out because of peer pressure, just looking for an alternative

I can manage my money if ive got cheaper forms of entertainment and if i cant find any im seriously thinking about moving away from the area for a year or so in order to get it sorted!

acheekymunky

Wouldnt you consider getting a bar/restaurant job for at least one night of the weekend? that way you CANT go out (therefore not relenting to peer pressure) and your making money whilst your at it?!

You spend £160.00 of a weekend! that extortionate. Maybe it will help you to see what £160.00 looks like in £1.00 coins. Thats £8320 a year!!! that would be a tidy deposit on a house...it could even be a second hand sports car or an around the world ticket.

Im all for making a memory and I hate the feeling that im missing out...I work Saturday mornings and Sunday nights, its perfect. I enjoy my Saturday night nights even more and earn £65 a weekend for the pleasure!

CFC

I think you know what to do really...just spend less and make friends with a less hectic bunch of people. Most early 20's I know are in a relationship which doesn't involve going down the pub every day. Why don't you think of some hobbies which you would enjoy that don't involve drink, and get involved with them? Young chap like you could do any amount of active stuff in the evening.

Getting off your face every night must actually be extremely boring. And chances are you'll never meet a girl you actually like,because do you want to get off with some female who is also off her face regularly and so you don't know where she's been, so to speak? It's time to grow up and give your liver a break, well done to you for realising it.

seven-day-weekend

My son (now nearly 27, but he was the same when he was younger) has only ever been to a club about twice as he hates them. He's not all that keen on pubs either, because of the smoke, although he does go to them,


He and his mates go to the cinema, go for a meal, go to someone's house to watch a film, even go for a walk or a bike ride in the summer, ending up at someone's house with a DVD, a few cans and a takeaway.

Most of them are avid fans of Warhammer , so they play that too, and go to local gaming clubs. (I realise that WH is not everyone's cup of tea!). But maybe you enjoy goiing to the gym, or learning karate, or oil painting, or going to evening classes. There is sure to be some hobby you would like to pursue.

Good on you for realising you are drinking (and spending) far too much!