Mmmm what to do

piptom&AndyPandy

Hi
We've just managed to sell a car and get some much needed extra income - now we have to decide what to do with it -

1) clear x4 debts saving us £330 pcm
2) Save it - my job is at risk at the moment
3) Purchase a heating system! - we've only got 2 storage heaters in a 2 bed house

Any advice and opinion welcome

Pip and Andy
xxx

MrsTinks

Well the primary thing would be if you paid off the debts and saved £330 per month, what would your finances look like should you loose your job? And how long would the money last if you saved it and then lost your job?
Heating system... tough one to comment on... I managed for 2 years in a studio flat (converted garage!) with only 2 heaters and the walls were NOT insulated... I just stuck a few extra jumpers on and snuggled under lots of blankets in the evenings On the other hand I do like being able to turn my heating on now when it gets cold...

Westminster

I would defo go for option 1 - it is effectively earning you around £4000 per year in saved repayments

dancingfairy

I think it all depends on the job situation as Mrs Tine says. When do you think news will be announced and how much pay off will you receive? If there is likely to be news soon re the job then perhaps hold off buying a heating system until you know what's what?
You could always go half and half -half off the debts and half for an emergency saving fund until you know what's happening with the job.
Best of Luck
df

piptom&AndyPandy

Hi All
Just to answer a few questions, we'd be able to survive albeit very very harshly on one wage for a short time but the pay out if I lost my job would be 1 months notice and 3.5 weeks leave to be paid out. I had started a fund not long ago and it has x2 months rent/mortgage.

Heating wise when we moved in we had no floor just open floor boards with a 4ft drop below them - no double glazing etc etc so we've come quite far -been without for 5 years now - it's a treat when I visit my mum and it's warm lol.

I think the heating option was a 'it'd be nice' thing, as we'd also have to pay for a gas connection - not cheap!

I agree re the debt but had a call so should hear shortly re job

xxx

foxgloves

I would opt to pay off the debts, as finding £330 a month on a significantly reduced income probably won't be possible. If you don't lose your job, then you can kick the £300 a month you've freed up into an ermergency fund or use it for heating. With the economic situation being what it is (& no signs of it improving in the forseeable future), I would want to be as debt-free as possible. We had our LBM 3 years or so ago & got rid of our last debts in May. Thank goodness we did, as having taken redundancy, that was also the first month of a big cut to our income. I do understand about the heating situation. We have 3 storage heaters upstairs (3-bedroom house) which are very cosy, but downstairs we rely on individual heaters/gas fire. We cashed in a policy a while back & I was so tempted to use it to get some additional storage heaters downstairs, but as things turned out, I'm glad we used the money towards getting rid of our debts.