Student with £1400 overdraft and no money coming in

tabbyx

So I'm going into my third year of uni and I want to try to clear as much of my overdraft as possible by the time I finish and move in with my boyfriend. I have no job at all, which isn't great, but I am trying to find one.

So this is what I'll get in:
September: £1994.64
January: £1994.64
April: £2024.72

And outgoings are:
Rent- Term 1: £720
Term 2: £720
Term 3: £336
Phone bill: £40 a month
Internet: £8 a month
and then the normal household bills, e.g. gas and electricity.

I usually do a budget, but find it so hard to stick to it. I really need some help with this. How can I start clearing this debt without putting myself in serious problems? Please, help!

DizzyDizzy

tabbyx wrote: »

So I'm going into my third year of uni and I want to try to clear as much of my overdraft as possible by the time I finish and move in with my boyfriend. I have no job at all, which isn't great, but I am trying to find one.

So this is what I'll get in:
September: £1994.64
January: £1994.64
April: £2024.72

And outgoings are:
Rent- Term 1: £720
Term 2: £720
Term 3: £336
Phone bill: £40 a month
Internet: £8 a month
and then the normal household bills, e.g. gas and electricity.

I usually do a budget, but find it so hard to stick to it. I really need some help with this. How can I start clearing this debt without putting myself in serious problems? Please, help!

How much debt are you trying to clear? The above look like current outgoings? The best way to control your spending is to work out your weekly budget and stick to it. Also keep a spending diary, detail exactly how much you are spending on everything.

claire16c

First thing I notice - do you really need a phone bill that costs £40 a month? Ive got a contract with 02 with hundreds of free mins and texts and only costs £10 a month.

Your loan covers your rent so thats sorted, have you worked out how much per week your budget is after that? You could then see how much that is and put a small part of that towards paying off your overdraft each week even if its only a few quid? Is your overdraft interest free though?

In September what would the term be about 15 weeks? So if your loan is £1994.64 youve got £1274.64 after rent, so approx £85 a week left.

How much do you tend to spend on food?

Also have you budgeted for tv license?

tabbyx

I'm trying to clear my overdraft of £1400. Really need to get it down. Am currently at £1350 into my overdraft.

At the moment, I have to stick with the £40 a month phone bill as I've not long switched contracts...I can decrease it in another 3 months.
As of right now the overdraft is interest free and is until I increase it to over £1500.

TV licence is something I have to budget for, but we are paying for it in a lump sum so I'll owe my friend £35 for that.
The term beginning in September is 15 weeks so that's sorted with the rent.

I usually allow about £40 a week for my spending, but I'll tend to go over that and just deny that I've done it

claire16c

One thing you could do is each week take out the £85 in cash, set £40 aside for your spending and put the rest in a pot, or savings account. Pay for every single thing in cash. Then at the end of the week you'll see whats left, and if the £45 is there, put it bank in the bank to pay your overdraft with - or keep in interest earning savings account which you could build up and pay off over draft at end of the year. then you can actively make it a challenge to try to leave that £45 sitting there.

Also when you pay for everything in cash its so much harder than just handing a card over - I know this is where I overspend.

tabbyx

That is an excellent idea, thank you. I never know how to start things like this.

tabbyx

I've just kinda figured out a budget and I've come out with this:

This includes my outgoings including TV licence, rent, gas and electric, my phone bill and my internet I can use:

Term 1: £54.48 per week (for 16 weeks)
Term 2: £64.98 per week (for 15 weeks)
Term 3: £70.34 per week (for 20 weeks)

And to cut down my overdraft if I saved the following amounts per week I'd have it cleared by next year:
Term 1: £20 per week
Term 2: £30 per week
Term 3: £40 per week

So I'd spend:
Term 1: £34.48 per week
Term 2: £34.98 per week
Term 3: £40.34 per week

I'd pay off most of my overdraft.

Don't know if that makes sense to anyone.

claire16c

Sounds like youve got a plan - the hard part is now sticking to it!

globalds

You could look into match betting.

If you have a PC and internet this is a good good little earner for a student.
It does not last forever but it is fairly easy to make £1400 within a year maybe more.

Read here:
http://forums.moneysavingexpert.com/forumdisplay.php?f=41

Until you understand it....Then read it some more.
Start small ,ask lots of questions.

It will cost you nothing to read up on what it is about.
HTH

elaine12022

also allow yourself money for 'equipment', books, stationary etc and also for travel.

Are you making full use of student discounts?

How long is the overdraft 'free' for? Could you open another account elsewhere so your money goes into 'credit' instead of straight into overdraft?

Being a student is not easy, trying to juggle everything, it's important to enjoy yourself too/try things out while you have a chance.

What skills do you think you could improve on to help you manage better financially? do you need to work on cooking eg? As maybe you could start practising while you're on holiday?

good luck with everything, be kind to yourself as change doesn't happen overnight

happycamel_2

You need a few tools to help you follow your plan:
1) spending money in cash, not on a card
2) a spreadsheet that analyses where the money goes, update it weekly. Keep track of your balances too.
3) a penny jar to store loose change
4) some sanctions and rewards. For example, a tee total week as penance for an over spend. Spend 20% of any under soend on a treat

Good luck