Newbie - grateful for any help or comment!

deliciosa

Hi

First of all, thank you very much for posting & helping again. I will try to reply to everything...

Justruth:

1.) First of all I checked that Snowball calculator and it makes sense (however it is very scary) and my problem with it is that I don't know how much can I allocate monthly for repayments because it varies and I always pay weekly (tens, twenties - not a lot ) but it was very useful and I will be on a monthly salary from 10 February (yeah!) and then I will see my whole monthly allowance etc.

2.) Credit searches: I did not know this about the 6 months, tank you very much for letting me know. so if Imade the applications in December, that means I should try again in June? July? I would like to go for a 0% credit card as I understand that would save me lots in interest. Please could you let me know how much damage it caused that I missed payments and hsbc put marks on my credit file? how long does it take to repair it and what to do? I already written to camden council to put me on te electoral roll...

3.) taking lunch to work would be funny as the whole team goes to eat together including my boss, im not sure I want to seem unsocial.. but then again it would be extra saving but i have to calculate whether it is actual saving, because i have to buy bread etc even if i bring my own lunch... How do you do a ten a week?

4.) The 5 friday month would be good but as I said I will be on Monthly salary from February (this is actually good ebcause there is a payrise too, a little)

5.) the overdraft limit is only 50 and I dont really want to increase it, its just for the case if i miscalculate....

6.) I will receive an extra £350 (yay) in February as a bonus and I don't know where to put it - according to what you guys said it should go straight to Capital one right?

7.) this morning I had a panic attach and wanted to cut off my Capital one card but its so pretty with the british flag (I know, sounds silly.... it IS silly...) i've got to get rid of that terrible card...

8.) Second job - i am volunteering for a charity on sundays and saturdays are not good because i am jewish, so it could be only evenings.. i was thinking about starbucks because a.) i love them and i could get free drinks then and b.) they might employ people for like 4 hours a day or so? gotta find it out.


CLAPTON

See above what I said about the second job...

Ok I will start writing down everything I spedn a month but I am kind of afraid to do it because sometime back in November I added up one days' expenses and it looked something like (now its much less, i am afraid to spend!!!)

£3 coffee and breakfast
£2.50 lunch at work
£5 a book, or cosmetics or soemthing
£10 for dinner (yeah .... )
£5.50 for travel

and it scared me so i stopped writing and i started eating less...

I will do as you said about calculating the monthly and yearly outgoings but what if its too mcuh and i just dont have enough money for it? this is so scary, i kind of want to give up to be honest....

Do you suggest i cut up my credit cards? but what if its an emergency?

Lookingahead

Thank you for your good advice, i will try to pay that off and get rid of it - i got the capital one card in june and i paid for going to Paris on it and it turns out it was a bad idea and i should not have applied for it.. will it improve my credit score if i cut it up and cancel?
The nenxt highest is American Express. but if i spend on it then i will get a free flight from british airways!!!! so what do you think?

also please see what i said about the 5 week month

Thhank you all again!!!!!

deliciosa

test message

scaredy_cat_2

Hi just wanted to say hello - its difficult when new ( i am too) and you hope for replies straight away!! good luck with it all

Annie_Fanny

deliciosa wrote:

3.) taking lunch to work would be funny as the whole team goes to eat together including my boss, im not sure I want to seem unsocial.. but then again it would be extra saving but i have to calculate whether it is actual saving, because i have to buy bread etc even if i bring my own lunch... How do you do a ten a week?

Ahhh good old peer pressure! I bet there are other colleagues who wish they could get out of this ritual! Explain your situation to them (or invent something - like you are saving for a holiday or whatever) and say that you will be bringing in your homemade lunch say 4 days a week or something.

Believe me deliciosa bringing your lunch into work is so much cheaper and more nutrious! I suspect that you actually spend much more than £10 a week on lunches/drinks/snacks at work. Have you had a look on the OldStyle board - they can work wonders for your budget!

Welcome and good luck!

justruth

deliciosa wrote:

Hi

First of all, thank you very much for posting & helping again. I will try to reply to everything...

Justruth:

1.) First of all I checked that Snowball calculator and it makes sense (however it is very scary) and my problem with it is that I don't know how much can I allocate monthly for repayments because it varies and I always pay weekly (tens, twenties - not a lot ) but it was very useful and I will be on a monthly salary from 10 February (yeah!) and then I will see my whole monthly allowance etc.
Thats cool, it's not gospel but it gives you a good idea about which debts to pay off first and roughly how long it will take depending on how much you can afford. As your income changes or you make savings elsewhere you can play around with it and see the difference that extra £10 a month can make. I find it motivating, you may too.

2.) Credit searches: I did not know this about the 6 months, tank you very much for letting me know. so if Imade the applications in December, that means I should try again in June? July? I would like to go for a 0% credit card as I understand that would save me lots in interest. Please could you let me know how much damage it caused that I missed payments and hsbc put marks on my credit file? how long does it take to repair it and what to do? I already written to camden council to put me on te electoral roll...
Yeah I would suggest putting it off till July to be certain and making sure that all payments in the meantime are made up to date. You can buy your credit score but to be honest it doesn't mean that much and will probably change in the next 6 months. Ultimately it is up to each credit issuer to decide where they draw the line, and some will be cool if you have had a clean 6 months! If you can get rid of a bit of debt in the meantime tht will also help your application as you don't want to appear overburdened with a lot of cards. The alternative to the 0%card when the time comes is a low life of balance transfer which will save you money still on the interest and also prevents you having to tart around with new cards.

3.) taking lunch to work would be funny as the whole team goes to eat together including my boss, im not sure I want to seem unsocial.. but then again it would be extra saving but i have to calculate whether it is actual saving, because i have to buy bread etc even if i bring my own lunch... How do you do a ten a week?
Well I am skint so I learn lol, I live on a lot of pasta (£1 for a kg bag!) I freeze big packs of food in portion size bits so I dont waste any eg bacon 2 rashers at a time, bread 2 slices at a time. At this time of year it's really easy to blag that you're on a new health kick or something to avoid eating out but I am a proud MSE'r and tell everyone I'm being MSE, I eat well as I budget to allow 5 fruit and veg a day and meal plan when shopping. When you bulk up your food with rice, pasta or potatoe, it doesn't take much to add in a small amount of meat and veg. As for stuff like washing powders etc, I buy it when it's on offer and currently use 1 tablet however on the OS board theres a mix that I used to use that worked as well for a fraction of the price. Once you get into it it's fun (or maybe I'm just a bit of a loser)

4.) The 5 friday month would be good but as I said I will be on Monthly salary from February (this is actually good ebcause there is a payrise too, a little)
Thats quality as I am sure you will find it easier to budget. I make suggestions but I am never offended if you choose not to follow it.

5.) the overdraft limit is only 50 and I dont really want to increase it, its just for the case if i miscalculate....
Then that's the right thing for you. You have to remember that it is you taking control over your finances, you go with what works best for you and the way you spend

6.) I will receive an extra £350 (yay) in February as a bonus and I don't know where to put it - according to what you guys said it should go straight to Capital one right?
That would be the best idea as it would have the biggest impact on your debt.

7.) this morning I had a panic attach and wanted to cut off my Capital one card but its so pretty with the british flag (I know, sounds silly.... it IS silly...) i've got to get rid of that terrible card...
Then cut it up, clear the debt and cancel the account, or even better, leave it open but with the card cut up for a few more months as it will show positive marks on your credit file but cancel around April so it shows as closed when you apply for the 0% cards in July

8.) Second job - i am volunteering for a charity on sundays and saturdays are not good because i am jewish, so it could be only evenings.. i was thinking about starbucks because a.) i love them and i could get free drinks then and b.) they might employ people for like 4 hours a day or so? gotta find it out.
Yeah go for something that suits you. What do you volunteer doing? Is there a way to turn it into a paying job?

Just a few suggestions, from what you have said.

deliciosa

Hi Guys

thanks again it means a lot that you reply & care...

1st let me share good news with you: one of the card companies just gave meback a disputed charge yay roll on amex, they are realllllyyy good and friendly!!

ok i try to reply to everyone in order:

Scaredy Cat:

Thanks for your encouraging words , i am feeling more and more positive every day and i WILL pay it all back and then save and have a flat!!!

Annie Fanny:

thats a good idea thank you!! or i can actualy say im going out because this is justifiable, other colleagues do that too sometimes, so if i "go out" (and eat my packed lunch out...) twice a week and bring food once, thats three and i eat with them twice...? what do you think? or i can arrange meetings for my lunchbreak, but thats not custom...

where do i find the old style board?

no, the tenner is actually correct, i put it on every friday to my entry pass which also works as the company currency, and ten pounds last until next friday... but if i could reduce it to 5, thats extra almost£25 saving a month!!!!?

so good to see that there are other people who save... it doesnt make me feel like a cheap idiot.

Justruth:

wow thanks for the long long reply!

Yeah the income calculator is most useful to see what difference a few extra pounds make! maybe i can pay it all off in two years time... but that interest still hurts so much, £80 JUST on interest, i cant believe, i would rather throw that money out in the trash, that way a homeless person might find it and it would be useful, other than making the banks richer

2.) that makes sense thank you, i will do a credit check in july. and i already registered to vote!!!!

3.) freezing food thats a good idea!!! i will try and see how much cheaper it is... i will start this friday.

4.) i would be grateful for any suggestions!!!

6.) ok!

7.) ok this is a very very good advice because this is exactly what i did not know how to go about... so i will collect my courage and cut it off someday.. it is so bl*********dy hard!!!!! is it hard for everyone????

8.) can't get money out of our charity, literally has none need rich donors. its supporting kids. I will enquire at starbucks.

THANK YOU THANK YOU THANK YOU again!!!!

x:T

lynzpower

just to add my support too :wave: welcome

Just to add, have you got anything you can sell- books, cds, furniture, anything.

theres a brilliant thread on here " what did you never think youd sell" with people fething money for old tax discs and empty purfume bottles. Madness really LOL but there is always something to flog and get some money rolling in. be it amazon/ ebay / loot / green metropolis for books

deliciosa

Hi Lynzpower, thank you as well!!!

Yeah I've got loads of books and dvds to sell but cant do ebay because they blocked me before saying my account was linked to a previously blocked accoutn which was NOT, but anyway....

i tried selling books on amazon before but my account doesnt work either, can't log in... are there any other auction sites? if yes please can you give me their address etc?

Many thanks again!!!!

deliciosa

Update: I forgot to write down that I got £200 from parents and I paid it in to my amex (should have paid to cap1 but next time?) so all debt down to 4600 now!

:j