Newbie wanting to be debt free!!

robnye

well done, dont stop now....... getting listing on ebay........

I_was_a_fool

You are doing really well! Remember that you can buy dvds, cds on Amazon as well as sell them & for really good prices too. You are not so badly in debt that you need to sacrifice your LOR collection, I would keep it.

Spending diary is essential & Im sure the mobile bill can be cut back. Also, remember that minimum payments are the worst way to pay off CC debts. If you keep paying the CURRENT minimums & dont reduce them as the debt drops, you will pay off a lot quicker (of course ideally pay as much as you can). Is it worth applying for 0% card & transferring balance, then all payments go to debt not interest.

deanchilds1

Ebay seems to be really slow at the moment, got 33 auctions on the with only 4 bids. Think it might be becuase the sales are on.

deanchilds1

I_was_a_fool wrote:

You are doing really well! Remember that you can buy dvds, cds on Amazon as well as sell them & for really good prices too. You are not so badly in debt that you need to sacrifice your LOR collection, I would keep it.

Spending diary is essential & Im sure the mobile bill can be cut back. Also, remember that minimum payments are the worst way to pay off CC debts. If you keep paying the CURRENT minimums & dont reduce them as the debt drops, you will pay off a lot quicker (of course ideally pay as much as you can). Is it worth applying for 0% card & transferring balance, then all payments go to debt not interest.

Yeah any dvds or cds that i buy i am going to get from play and amazon as they are much much cheaper then in the shops. Not got many cds or dvds to sell just a few disney pixar ones that i now have in a box set.

Ive been keeping a mental note of what ive been spending and since the
27th December ive only spent £30, Cut out all the crap that i buy! I tried for 4 0% cards the other day but with no joy, can you recommend any that i might get?

For the next month im aiming to pay my Family off and then start clearing the CC's once they Family is cleared i can afford to pay £500 PM to CC's.

deanchilds1

Contacted CCCS yesterday and have booked a phone appointment for Monday and will see what advice they can offer with regards to clearing the CC's. Been really good about not spending money, Since Dec 27th Spent £30 on tainers, £67 at dentist and £50 to clear minus balance on bank account as Direct Debit coming out tomorrow and dont want to be charged £30.00 for £20 Direct Debit, And £2.75 on Chips for me and the old dear! Im getting there aint i?

deanchilds1

Just got paid and have allready paid out:

Mum £150 rent (gave £50 back)
Dad £120 (gave £100 back)
Brother £120
Mum + Dad £100 xmas money instead of cheque.
Paid Partner £430
Virgin Card £65
Nephew £30 xmas money instead of cheque.

In my bank i now have £235 minus £160 for Barclaycard + t mobile bill then leaves £65 to use for month.

Been keeping a dairy of spending and so far this year i have spent:

Tuesday 2nd Jan 07
£2 scratchcards
£33 petrol
£4 magazine

Wednesday 3rd Jan 07
£67 dentist (got free x rays and mouthwash)
£50 to clear overdraft
£2.75p on Chips and Ribena

Thursday 4th Jan 07
£7.20 Burgers and Chips

Friday 5th Jan 07
£0 came home for Lunch

ixwood

I'd say the best advice to get out of debt is to stop spending money.

0% cards or a low cost loan might help you get straight again. ONLY if you don't just spend more than you earn again.

If you REALLY must buy more cds or dvds (sounds a bit complusive to me. You tried DVDA? ;-)), get them on ebay. And be patient. Always more tat in the ebay. Er, or something.

Half of my house has come from ebay. It's great! :-)

lynzpower

I have to agree here with IXwood.

While you are still squandering money - getting debt free is getting further away, as its behavour that can change your mind, as well as changing your mind changing your behaviour.

Personally, I am getting there by seldom buying anything I dont NEED ie will I die without this item, will my health or welfare be compromised.

ixwood

Work out your hourly rate and then before you ever spend any money, convert the price to "Hours Of My Time" and then think about whether it's worth it and you still want it.

e.g. If you earn £7.00 per hour. Knock a couple of quid off for tax, so say you get £5.0 per hour. If a DVD is £20, 20/5 = 4. So that will cost you 4 hours of working to buy it. Is it still worth it? Up to you?

deanchilds1

Thanks for the advice will bear this in mind.