Today i Put up my White Flag - Please Help! (Debt Free Wannabe)

Mrs_Sparkle

Hi Chris,

A big welcome from me and well done for cutting up the cards- we're proud of you!

Now, only one comment from me. If your girlfriend goes to uni in Scotland don't even think of driving up there- like you say it will cost you a fortune in diesel. There are loads of cheap train and coach tickets- sometimes £1 each way. Take advantage of them and you'll be able to see your girlfriend more often

roger56

roswell wrote:

......
3 phones ,,,,,, no rocket science needed here
Mobile (O2 - Contract) - £48.00
Mobile (T-Mobile WnW) - £50.00
Mobile (Orange TXT’s) - £20.00

..

absolutely....cull those mobile phone bills right away.

and do you need to pay for car valet? do it yourself and get some exercise into the bargain...

similarly, why pay a bank account fee? - just get a free banking account.

lynzpower

Chris Id go back to trading standards on that one iM afraid. Looks to me like its not fit for purpose.

If they dont listen I suggest you look at watchdog, or dear anna in the guardian.

Completely agree abouty public transport to scortland from Manchester. you have to be mad to consider it, usually from manchester there are those fiver deals in advnace on the train- which wouldnt even get you a coupole of hours parking anywhere Do keep an eye out on offers.

watcherman

MINI-Cooper-S wrote:

so far in the past 12 months it has had:
1) New turbo
2) New ECU
3) New Clutch (Master + Slave) + Flywheel
4) Some work to steering
5) 4 New front tyres over 12 months (£150 each a time)
6) New electrical wiring in engine bay
7) New keys as old ones just stopped working
8) New breaks + Pads all round
9) x2 services
10) New Fuel injection relays
+ other petty stuff

Now Needs:
1) New steering rack (Clunking noise + strange steering at times) Quote: £600
2) New wiring for airbag system (Airbag warning lights are on) Quote: £800

I would start some correspondence with the manufacturer, that sounds very wrong to me....Did you buy it from a main dealer? Don't take what the Trading Standards say as gospel, nor what the main dealer says, send out a few letters to whoever you can think of (add Watchdog for good measure) you never know, even if you can get a £1K contribution from somewhere.

earthmother

MINI-Cooper-S wrote:

Today, I cut up both of my credit cards and my girlfriend put them in a picture frame on my wall, as a reminder that I have taken the first step.
I personally would have just binned them! lol

Actually I like the idea - you could always remove each card from the frame as you pay it off and close it down - that way you'll have a visual reminder of how you are progressing.

MINI-Cooper-S wrote:

If anyone could advise on a possible evening job for me, or anything that would earn me a bit of extra money, please do!

I know how it is with getting jobs to fit around odd hours - I've been in a similar situation myself.

Are there maybe any web-based jobs that you could utilise your knowledge with - I don't know much about the area, but I'd assume there are those out there who would pay for the right knowledge, and you'd probabaly be able to set your own hours (freelance?).

Whilst not the 'big' answer, Mystery Shopping could be a small earner - it's not guaranteed/regular, but does generally fit around other commitments, and with the travelling you do you already have a wide area open to you in terms of jobs.

And for easy money - use the points sites like Quidco/Pigsback/Mutualpoints etc for your shopping - sign up to all the newsletters they offer, do the clickthroughs on PB - even without actually spending anything, you can easily get £20-£30 in a couple of months - not much maybe, but look at it as a month's phone contract paid.


I can't offer any other advice - there are far more knowledgeable people on here - but just to say good luck.

MINI-Cooper-S

Thanks Again for all your responses.

Firstly, the car:
I am not sure about getting rid of it, it just seems like so much money to loose.
I have tried contacting trading standards and they are not interested as it was bought privately.
Someone did try to tell me that I could get out of the loan some how because of how the car has ended up.
It seemed to good to be real for me so I never acted upon it.

I have written numerous letter to the manufacture, but they are not interested because as far as they are concerned it is out of warranty.
I have sent letter to my Local Dealer (who did most of the work on the car), Trading Standards, Watchdog and Renault UK.

My local dealers response was "can we interest you in trading yours in for a new model"
Renault UK's Response was "the car is no longer within its warranty"
I got a telephone call from Trading Standards stating that because the car was bought privately there wasn't much I could do.
Watchdog never responded.

On the public transport front, for that long distance that I would be expected to travel I now will most defiantly not take my car!


Mobile Phones,
I suppose the best thing I can do with the phones are just cancel the needless contracts as and when they are up...


Started my diary today, made my first step by not ordering breakfast at work, instead had something at home before I left.


Thanks Again Everyone!

Chris

Dumyat

personally I would have dumped the car long ago. get rid...get a run around. you'd have lower insurance and it wouldnt guzzle fuel.
the car valet...DIY!
does your company expect you to provide oncall for free. You mention a fixed salary. I used to do oncall. I got a nightly allowance plus travel expenses if I was called in and paid at time and half for the hours I worked. They also provided a mobile although I used my own. maybe you should be looking for another job.

MINI-Cooper-S

I get an addition on my salary (which I included in my SOA) for my on call work.
I works out about even as some weeks there is nothing at all, or things I can solve remotely or over the phone.
Other weeks we could have major server fails which means a late night for me.
If I am out past 10pm, I get the time I am working off the following morning.
i.e., I work from 10pm until midnight, I then don't come in at 8am but 10 instead.

I get no additional money for fuel etc etc, it is all included in my fixed on call addition to my salary.

For the new car, my current car has all the toys, its a top spec one, and I am so fussy in saying my new car must have the same!
(SHOOT ME NOW!!) lol


Thanks

Chris

DawnW

I would dump the car. I once bought a new car which was constantly in the garage, which was ok (if inconvenient) during the warranty period, but became really expensive once it was up. It hurt to write off all that cash, as obviously it was sold at a large loss, given the purchase price plus all those out of warranty repairs, but getting rid of it was one of the best things I have done. The insurance on a car like this is way too expensive at your age, too. Get something cheaper for a few years, and get a sport model when the insurance goes down. Depending on where you live, flying to Glasgow might be an option. Not the most environmentally friendly perhaps, but quite cost effective, and easy. I have to do it for work every now and then.

nearlyrich

Chris

You say you are an IT Manager and you need a secure connection via a seperate ADSL line, I work from home and use our wireless network to securely access the servers at work via a VPN, if your employe needs you to have a seperate BT line they should be paying for it. Also your net salary seems low for so much responsibility, have a look around for a new FT Job where they pay a market rate for your skills or negotiate a payrise based on what you do for your employer, I think they are exploiting you.

Good luck with sorting out your finances.