Reduce debt - help needed

beachbeth

Also, could you do without one of your cars (you have two?). My husband and I had a car each when we first got married but then sold one and I caught the bus to work (he worked too far away to catch the bus). He then arranged with work mates to swap lifts with each other which meant I could have the car some days too. It worked quite well for us.

He then bought a motorbike which is far, far cheaper to run than a car. Could you do this or have a moped? We have an old J-registration Vauxhall Cavalier which is superb and has never let us down and so have not had a car loan for a long time. There is really no need to have an up-to-date brand spanking new car if you buy a decent second hand one.

If you can't do without one of your cars then can you sell one and buy something cheaper so that you can pay your HP off? Once you have paid off most of your debts you can then consider buying something newer.

ease_All

beachbeth wrote:

Can you not do without your mobiles for a while too and stop topping them up while you pay a few things off? Also, if you are with Bt try the 18866 service to save on your phone bills. If you arent with Bt consider changing to them so that you can use this. All Uk calls are a penny to connect and free after that (not mobiles or premium rate numbers)

http://www.call18866.co.uk/

We are on BT. I will have a look at this.

Allease

ease_All

beachbeth wrote:

Also, could you do without one of your cars (you have two?). My husband and I had a car each when we first got married but then sold one and I caught the bus to work (he worked too far away to catch the bus). He then arranged with work mates to swap lifts with each other which meant I could have the car some days too. It worked quite well for us.

He then bought a motorbike which is far, far cheaper to run than a car. Could you do this or have a moped? We have an old J-registration Vauxhall Cavalier which is superb and has never let us down and so have not had a car loan for a long time. There is really no need to have an up-to-date brand spanking new car if you buy a decent second hand one.

If you can't do without one of your cars then can you sell one and buy something cheaper so that you can pay your HP off? Once you have paid off most of your debts you can then consider buying something newer.

Hi

We need the two cars. My husband works about 40 miles away and at present there is noone that he can car share with, might be able to in the future. I need a car, because I need to be able to get the kids to school and childcare and me to work all in the space of 1/2 an hour, this just isn't possible with public transport. Before I went to work, I managed a long time without a car, but it just isn't possible now.

Thanks for your advice I have taken it all on board and will certainly be doing some thinking

Thanks again

Magentasue

I notice there are some things you don't mention e.g. clothing, car tax, Christmas. I have found using a software program (I use Money but I think Quicken is as good) and it helps you see exactly where the money goes. I've responded to a few posts like yours and I'm always concerned that I sound preachy. I don't mean to because I know how hard it is ... but you don't need mobiles! You could just keep them for emergencies but not top up, Sky could go - you'll get used to being without it!

Can you sell the car that is not on HP and get something small and cheap? Maybe not an option but worth doing if you can to raise some cash and to cut down on running costs. I've never driven anything but cheap runarounds so I'm used to it but I've noticed people are very reluctant to give up their cars!