I'm Going to Reduce My Debt

CLAPTON

just a couple of points...

you are going skiing in January....there needs to be something in your budget for holidays (now you'll probably say you have already paid for this but what about the next 12 months ...are you absolutley sure you'll spend nothing on holidays in the next 12 months because if you are you need it in your budget so you can save up for it each month so you have the money rather than borrow to pay (divide the total by 12 )


also ..its rather confusing when you say you have debts on debit cards..in fact you have an overdraft (it may well be that you use the debit card to purchase items or draw cash but the debt is an overdraft debt). So when you say you are trying to get a A&L debit card do you mean you are applying for an A&L current account which offers a debit card?

kev84

my t&c's are the same on my capital one account - don't worry. I rang up and asked to raise the limit but they said no as the system does it now and then. they cannot manually put your limit up. I think if you paid some big payments off it they would raise it.

RE: Sky

You can change your package after three months i believe or it may be even just one month payment, i cannot remember. I just recently signed up to Sky so if you have only been with them for one month why aren't you getting the first three months half price??? I have movies right now and i am only paying £18.50, but as soon as its up i will reduce it to the family pack for £21 a month.

Kevin

Hallam_Macca

Ok I've added holidays to my budget. This is what I find confusing about this budgeting. I've no plans so far to have another holiday and I don't know how much it would cost me. Maybe this is why my finances are in a bad shape but I've never really understood budgeting.

I am thinking of applying for an A&L current account with debit card. I've seen it advertised on this website before as a decent bank to be with. I'm just wary that if I apply and get rejected this will look bad in regards to my credit rating which I don't think is too good at the moment.

The story with SKY is that my parents used to have this at home until they split up a few months back. When all the house moves were taking place my parents put this on hold for a few months and I have taken this over. I've got the sky+ box for free instead of paying the £99 charge if I had setup a new account with sky.

lynzpower

basically for holidays- a skiing holiday you need to fathom how much it costs and split that between the 12 months.

How much is the holiday? Is it fully catered Ski-& boot hire? lessons? transfers? We were looking at a cheapie week on the teletext ( lynz) anmd althpough the week was only 200, it was all the extras on, plus taxes and all that jazz that would have made it well over 1200 for the 2 of us. takes a long time to pay back, so of course we havent bothered :A

Hallam_Macca

Monday 18th December

I've started alright today I think. Only spent 40p on a chocolate bar after leaving the gym tonight. I got a christmas gift from my Grandad £25 in cash.

I've phoned MBNA tonight as well to get my interest rate reduced. Found out that the rate is 24.9%, not the 16.9% that the card started off at when I first got it! I enquired on whether I can reduce this at all, mentioned my capital one card that is 6.9% and I was given a Customer Loyalty number to ring tomorrow as they're closed now. They can go through my situation and sort out hopefully to reduce this.

What have been peoples experiences at getting interest rates reduced? Are the banks likely to reduce them or are they more likely to refuse any cut at all?

I was also offered the option of getting a personal loan to pay the money off. That isn't a good idea is it?

Hallam_Macca

Tuesday 19th December

I've managed not to spend a penny today at all although I've found out I owe people at work money for a fantasy football competition in the office at work. I owe 3 months fees so that's £30 I didn't know I was spending. £10 a month is too much to pay when you aren't getting anything in return so I'm going to put a stop to that tomorrow.

On a more positive note I rang the customer loyalty department at MBNA and I've managed to reduce the Interest rate from 24.9% to 19.9% reducing my monthly interest from £41to somewhere just over £30. They wouldn't go any lower than that despite me saying that my other card was only 6.9% but it's a saving at least.

A big thanks to Kevicho for that tip!

Paige

Hi
Where are you getting your contact lenses ? I order mine online for much less than £22 per month, though it does depend on what you wear. If you are getting them in the high street have a look at Matins shopping link to see if you can get them cheaper. Paige XX

Hallam_Macca

Getting them from Specsavers at the moment. Get 30 daily disposables for that.

Not had too good a day spending-wise. Paid £20 to someone at work for the fantasy football. I've quit that now though so apart from the £10 I owe for this month I won't be spending anymore on that. I also spent 44p on a baguette and £1 in a vending machine for a bottle of diet coke while I was waiting for my sister to finish work.

To make matters worse I've got an ear infection thats making my life a misery, seeing the docs tomorrow but I guess that'll mean more money to be spent on whatever medication I'll need. Need cheering up! :sad:

I can't wait until the new year and I get paid again!

lynzpower

macca

try your chemist first. If you ask the pharmacist they might be able to give you something over the counter. My GP told me this, as lots of overthe counter are the same stuff they prescribe but cheaper.

Do ask.

Great you are indentifying your extras. HOwever, as Kevicho said, there are lots of areas to cut back and identifying what you want adn what you need are central to this.

Im going for gold in January, with as much money making and belt tightening as possible. Fancy joining - there looks like a few of us will be "starting again" in January with some serious cutbacks.

Millionare

lynzpower wrote:

Hi there MAcca :wave:

Welcome to debt free wannabee.

the first place to start is to do a SOA ( statement of affirs) Its vital you have a handle on what goes out when, and wehat your APRS are and so forth. Southern scousers sticky tells you all you need to know

Have you got any old textbooks from uni? they sell quite well on amazon/ ebay etc even if they are a bit old. Ive sold loads recently & I graduated in 99


Anyhow all the best

lYNZPOWER - Wheres the best place to put books on? ebay? ive got some uni books that cost around £30 eac a few years back. and i need to get rid of them. thanks