Raising deposit for new flat when in debt

simmousm

Hi,

I currently have quiet a bit of debt to my name that I am currently struggling to pay the minimums on. I work full time but a couple of years ago the company I work for was taken over and I now need to travel by bus/train to work whereas previously the old ofice was within walking distance. Obviously this added expense has been making things more difficult for me.

I have come to the conclusion that I would be better off renting a smaller apartment closer to work, ideally within walking distance, so that I can save on both travel and rent. This would save me quite a bit of money each month which I could then use to make a bigger impact on my debt repayments. The problem is since I'm pretty much living paycheque to paycheque and don't have any savings I'm wondering just how I can afford to pay the deposit + first month's rent in advance that would be required on a new place.

How have other DFWs tackled the problem of wanting to move to save money but not having money available to pay the deposit + first month's rent to do so?

Tixy

Hi and welcome

Do you have a deposit on the existing flat that you would anticipate getting back? Do you have any things you could sell to try to raise the money for a deposit (old unused items such as electricals, clothes, old phones, games etc).

Maybe people on here could spot some areas of your spending where you could get things a bit cheaper/save money? it might be worth posting up a statement of affairs to see if people can spot some savings. http://www.makesenseofcards.com/soacalc.html

If it was just for a month maybe you could do one of the more extreme grocery challenges (ie just spending £30 on food for the whole month - its doable for a short while). Depending on how much you normally spend I'd imagine this might add another chunk to the fund?

If you have holiday entitlement from work that you don't use perhaps have a week or 2 holiday which would allow you to save the travel costs for those 2 weeks, which could then add to your deposit savings?

Gobbyuk

Have you thought about a houseshare for a short while?

You don't always need to provide a deposit for these depending on the other sharers etc.