Money for nothing

Phoenix79_2

If the car is on HP then its not yours until the final payment is made so no....you can't legally sell it. However if the sale price covers the settlement and the settlement money is forwarded straight to the finance house then there shouldn't be a problem.

JAMIEDODGER

a spending diary is an excellent way of seeing where money is vanishing:)

i also think doing a REALISTIC budget is another excellent tool. as martin suggests, a budget where you include all those yearly expenses too, so that they dont creep up on you!!:)

allow yourself some pocket money for treats so you dont feel deprived is also a good idea!

use this board!! absorb all the information and use it to your advantage:)

HTH

JD

hypno06

Hi and well done on making the first step. It seems as though the lightbulb is flickering but not on full power yet!!

You should def include the car and the secured loan as debt. Essential or not, a debt is a debt is a debt and still needs repaying everymonth, causing a demand on your income.

My tip would be to have a brainstorming session for an hour or so and write down a mad list of absolutely EVERYTHING in the course of the year that you can think of that will require money - birthdays, car stuff, clothes, tv licence, etc etc. however small it is, it is still money that needs to be accounted for over the year so write it all down and be honest with yourself. For example, when I worked in an office, I always forgot that when it is someone's birthday we had to give between £2 and £5 for the present depending on who it was and how old they were. When you have a large office, that is £50 odd that has to be found over the year.

When you have a true idea of what your commitments are, then do your SOA and post it on here.

Good luck with your MSE journey!

gallygirl

Hi millionaire in training - great name:D . You've obviously passed the spending test, just need to work on the income now!!!

As others have said, you need to break down your spending exactly, here's a link of what to include & how to set it out:

http://forums.moneysavingexpert.com/showthread.html?t=107280

It's up to you whether you include all debt. I'd be inclined to say yes, however as it's a scary amount you might want to see it as 3 different debts:
1. Credit cards
2. Car loan
3. Secured loan

You don't have to add 3 totals together if you don't want to, but you should consider all 3 debts at this stage as there may be different strategies for each debt.

Could you work part time in the evenings or weekends? Sign up for www.quidco.com and www.pigsback.com - quidco will give you cash, pigsback vouchers for Boots etc.

Welcome and good luck

OberonSH

Yes, I'm afraid it is debt. But worry not, for you are here, have put the brakes on and are amongst similarly skint friends.

Your car. Now is it essential that you have a car? Would it be cheaper to sell it, pay back the finance and then get a train ticket? or a weekly bus if it's a short journey.

millionaire_in_training

Thanks so much for all the answers. I have already done the budget plan of Martin's. I have about £350 per month to fire at my debts. I think I will just concentrate on my cc's at the moment as they are the ones I 'really' consider as a noose. My car I have got to have. I am a single mum to 2 kids and my working hours, school, childcare etc all fit in perfectly at the moment. If I got rid of my car then I would have an extra 2 hours travel per day and would have to cut my hours accordingly. Financially this is not an option. Not too concerned to be honest re the car and the other loan as I see them as essential and ongoing. Wrong perhaps but it is the cc's that lose me the sleep at night. Am quite pleased with myself though as today I got my gas bill in and had overpaid by £90 so called them for a refund. Had already been sent and was actually in my account. I paid it immediately off my highest cc as per snowball. Realised after that that I had no childcare to pay as had paid double last month so paid another £60 extra. Feeling rather good at the moment. Hope I can keep it up. xx