Breaking free of the overdraft

Psychaley

So, I'm £363.49 in debt.
Seems like such a small amount compared to other people I know but to me that figure is huge.

I know exactly how I ended up with a minus amount in my account - the overdraft. Before I arranged an overdraft I knew exactly how much I had in my account, exactly when all the direct debits/tuition fees/accomodation fees etc were all coming out. The overdraft was supposed to be a safety net...for emergencies, my dad was ill and off work and I had to move home to look after him, I'm on medication and it doesn't always last a full month and runs out before pay day and I had to either borrow money or just get ill.

Rather then using for this purpose I just used it for things like dinners out with the girls, drinks with friends, paying my brothers debts etc. I lost track of how much money I actually had and spent a lot of time thinking "I'll just buy this....it's okay, I'll just dip into the overdraft."

However at the end of June I logged into my account expecting to be back in black and was shocked to find that my wage hadn't even made that much of a dint in the overdraft.

I have managed to clear quite a bit already, it's just the last £300 that seems to be a pain...I'm paid £300 a month so although my next wage should make me even I'll just end up having to buy more medicine, train tickets and food and I'll end up in the same position.

Starting tomorrow I am going to give 100% effort to clearing the debt and more importantly....staying out of it and getting some savings behind me.

beanielou

Well done on making a start.
The first steps are the hardest.
Keep plodding & keep posting!

Hovel_lady

Just dropping in to say hello and good luck with the debt busting.
Doesn't matter how much you owe because everyone's circumstances are different.
Look forward to hearing how you get on x

Psychaley

well, I only spent £1.80 on a return train ticket and £1 on a bottle of water today.
I'm currently waiting for my brother to turn up so he can transfer £100 to my account. It's only a small amount of what he owes me but it's far more than he usually gives me. Usually he pays me back in food :rotfl:
I'm also waiting for my sister and all her friends to get out of my room so I can go through my wardrobe and list a ton of stuff on ebay. (It's times like these that I hate the fact that I had to move back in with my dad. Mid-twenties and having to share a room with my stroppy teenage sister...it's torture.)

Psychaley

My brother transferred £105 to my account but it won't actually appear until Monday morning.
I should have a small ebay payment today and I've just listed all my old textbooks on Amazon and hopefully they'll sell there. I had put them on e-bay and they got 20 watchers but not one person bid on them, I relisted them and again 20 people watched but no bidders. I have a feeling some people were watching to see if I lowered the price.

Psychaley

Today I received £5 top-up reward from O2 so that's £5 less I need to top up at the end of the month.
Two of my ebay auctions have also finished so that's another £6.22 off the overdraft.
Every little helps!
I've also gone through my wardobe and found a pile of clothes I can sell. Some of them I'm loath to part with as I love them but I guess if they don't fit me and they're just sat in my wardrobe then there's really no point in keeping them. Most of them I'm quite happy to list for 99p to avoid the listing fees but some I spent a fortune on and I'll have to keep a look out for a free listings weekend.

Psychaley

So I've set my budget for this week.
I should be able to get by on spending £20 all together: £7.20 for train tickets
£5 to pay off my Next account
£6 for a taxi
£1 for a lottery ticket

Psychaley

Better day today
I had a two hour "sale prep" shift today so that's an extra £11.86 in the wage packet. I was supposed to do another 2 hours tomorrow morning but the manager intervened and took me off the list because it was a "moving stock" shift and he doesn't want me to carry anything as I have a bone condition. I probably could have done it...we're only moving piles of clothes but I guess they have to cover their backs.
Spent my £1.80 on the train ticket and managed to avoid the call of the McDonalds breakfast.
Ended up paying a little extra on the parcel I was sending to an ebay buyer but my budget allowed for it so I'm still on track
Also claimed a £10 tesco voucher from a survey site. I don't actually use them - I give them to my dad to help with his food shopping, but it still makes me feel better.
And finally...I signed up to be a mystery shopper. I don't know how often or if I'll hear back from them but I'm hoping it'll bring in a little extra.

gothrockchic1

Happy new shiny thread. Can you open up a separate account? Use that and then pay the overdraft off?

If not keep chipping away at it and hope you hear from the Mystery Shop ppl soon

Psychaley

I think I'm just going to try and keep chipping away at the overdraft for now and see where I stand at the end of next month. I'm hoping to have put a big dent the debt by then. I did manage to pay £5 off my Next account and I'm on track to keep within the weeks budget.

I made £2.87 after fees on ebay today, I also sold something on Amazon but then got an e-mail from Amazon marketplace telling me not to send the item as they can't verify the buyers payment method, I have to still reserve the item for that buyer though. I'll give them until Sunday night and then I'm putting it back up for sale.

I also got an assignment from the mystery shopper people . They'll pay me £15 but obviously I'll have to buy something at the shop so I'll have to find something cheap.

Psychaley

The past few days have all been spend days Though I'm hoping to claw some of it back through ebay/amazon sales.
Some of it has been unavoidable: I needed some medication, work has been manic and we've had to go in at 4:30 am; obviously there are no buses or trains at that time so I've had to get a taxi which costs 6x as much.
I also put an extra £38 onto my Next account. I got a VIP slot online for the S/S EOS sale. Initially I was going to avoid getting anything but then I thought...if I buy a couple of little things now and put them away for xmas/birthdays then I'll be saving money in the long run.