Am I in the right place? Had my meltdown moment.

Flowerbomb_2

Had a look RAS - gah, how frustrating! There's stuff on there selling for a fiver plus that we've charity shopped in the past.

I've made about #300 from Ebay in the last three months - could really up that if I put my mind to it. Got loads of old frocks and kids stuff we could sell.

RAS

Do not agree to the £208 DD, make the money to pay it off onb e-bay. Books and stuiff go better on amazon. You can do it.

Flowerbomb_2

RAS wrote: »

Do not agree to the £208 DD, make the money to pay it off onb e-bay. Books and stuiff go better on amazon. You can do it.

They're threatening to put me onto a pre-payment meter if I don't. In fact they were dead cert that I had no choice today and I had to negotiate the 25% payment. I was expecting to have to pay #200 a month and then my #125 monthly DD so I did feel that it'd be better this way. Do you think it's a mistake?

I'm thinking if I do that they anything I make on Ebay and Amazon could be put towards paying off my store cards / catalogues or even bank loan?

cassidy0111

Well i think your peace of mind is important too. If you think the Scottish Power deal is good and it helps you sleep at night go for it.

You can use ebay to attack your debts via the snowball calculator.

Best of luck.

katsu

Sell the iphone handsets, buy a cheap payg handset and put your sim in that. Use the handset money towards the debts? Look at prices on ebay (and check the ebay board here for how to sell safely) and prices from mobile phone recycling - check Martin's articles.

Just a thought...

EssexHebridean

Alternatively - make the iPhones sing for their supper by using them to keep your spending diaries, notes about when you need to pay stuff etc. Having an iPhone myself I can sympathise with the viewpoint of not being able to sitch one once you have it.

Re the makeup items - find your local Avon lady and challenge her to advise you on stuff that you can replace the pricey stuff with. I would say tell me what your items are and I'd see if I can help, but I'm about to be on hols so won't be much help for a while! Remember with Avon if you don't get on with a product there is a no quibble guarantee so you can return it, but don't start buying online as you'll pay a delivery charge - your rep will deliver to your door for free. I bet you'll be surprised how low priced you can get some really excellent products for, and once you've sorted your debts out, you can always go back to buying the expensive stuff again if you felt you wanted to. If you're right on £20 per month though, just think what a dent that would make in your debt figure....!

remote_control

That was a really inspirational thread to read. What a difference a day makes eh! We did a load of car boot sales last year which was amazing, you would not believe the rubbish people buy. Most stuff sold for £1 and kids clothes and toys fly off the shelves (if there were shelves). We made £60-90 profit each time and it became very addictive.

I'm in even more debt now though and wish I could have as productive a day as you have had.

_Persephone

I'm no expert, also trying to become debt free, but you could make save £55 here!

Other travel............................ 150 what is this? is it the cheapest way of buying? eg is it a season ticket and if not would it be cheaper? This is my travel expenses which I pay daily. My weekly zonecard would be almost #30 but it would be #95 to buy it four weekly which I've never been able to afford. The other money is the taxi back from the supermarket (I don't drive) with the shopping. My husband works stupid hours and I hate relying on him to ferry me about. I know this is a potential area for saving but it's changing mindset. What's the thoughts on internet shopping instead?

You must be able to afford it if you're haemorrhaging out fares like that. Knowing that you spend that much, can't you but the 4 weekly ticket on payday or something?

I used to go through a same thing with my electric (I am on PAUG). I used to put on £20 here and there, and then towards the end of the month have to borrow the money from my mum. Now, as soon as I get paid I buy £60 worth of electric, and that lasts me. I would have only frittered the money away anyway. It's the same logic I guess.

And yes, you can order online from most supermarket, some find this helps them save money as there is no opportunity for impulse purchases.

brokeinlondon

katsu wrote: »

Sell the iphone handsets, buy a cheap payg handset and put your sim in that. Use the handset money towards the debts? Look at prices on ebay (and check the ebay board here for how to sell safely) and prices from mobile phone recycling - check Martin's articles.

Just a thought...

they would have to pay off the remainder of their contracts I think, and if she's got 11 months left and he's got 18 months... assuming the contracts are for £50 a month (typical contract with free iphone), that's £1450!

even selling the iphones wouldn't cover that

Triggles

As far as online shopping goes, you can get cheaper or free delivery if you opt for delivery during off peak times and/or spend a certain amount (which is fine if you were going to spend that anyway, right?) - just check their websites. I agree that often it means that you avoid impulse buys. If you decide to do online grocery shopping, check the discount codes section of the forum, as there are tons of codes floating about for discounts on first grocery shopping order from different supermarkets! You can also make sure to keep an eye on nectar points (sainsburys plus other places) as well as tesco points as you can save them and use them towards Christmas expenses, which can definitely help the budget!

Also you can shave off your grocery budget by shopping down a level or two, using store brands or value/basics brands. Many of them are just as good (some better) than the more expensive ones. Also, for certain nonperishables, keep an eye on sales and stock on when the item is on sale so that you are not paying full price. We do this with soda and a few other items - we ONLY buy them on sale. So if we see a good sale, we stock up (within the grocery budget) and put it aside. If we run out while it's not on sale, we don't get it until it goes on sale again and we can fit it in the budget. Meal planning can also make a huge difference.

I agree with above poster - buy the travelcard for £95 and get it over with. It will save you £50 per month right from the start. That adds up to £600 per year savings!! That alone would practically cover your clothing budget for the year!! And for school clothing - are you buying new for them at the beginning of each year? Many people do (not sure why), but if they are in same uniform, unless things are not fitting, it's not necessary!