New member! So confused.. Need advice!!

Choockiepig9

Hello I am new to this so I need some advice to help me sort out my money issues.

I am looking to move out into my own house in the next 5 years but I want to sort out my finances and get my credit score up.

I earn between £780-£850 a month,

I have an overdraft of £1600 which I pretty much use every month (bad mistake I made one Christmas getting one)

I owe a family member £2500 as they bought me my car which I repay £100 a month

And I pay £100 a month rent to my parent

I'm fed up of being in the red and want to get out and start having savings!

Any advice is welcome I just want some sensible and decent advice which I can work on.

Many thanks

Oneday77

Without more detail it's hard to tailor advice for you, so here are a few general pointers.
After rent and the car your left with roughly £500 a month. What do you spend it on? You may want to keep a spending diary.
Do you have any debt, arrears, defaults etc?
It might b worth filling out an SOA to break down your outgoings.
Www.makesenseofcards.co.uk/soacalc.html I think it is for th recognised SOA calc.

Choockiepig9

I have a phone bill of £37 a month which is never £37!! Without going over my allowance there is always hidden charges.. I have breakdown cover of £7.35 and phone insurance of £6 plus I pay £25-£40 a month to littlewoods! But I honestly don't know where my money goes I spend about £30 a week on diesel sometimes more. I just want ways of saving money and the best solutions of how to go about it

abundant1972

Hi there & welcome!!!! I always think logging in here... creating a profile and joining is a huge first step - so well done!!! I think a lot of us would agree... admitting you are on a slippery slope takes a lot of courage!!! So now you are here... have a look around and am sure you will have folks messaging you with helpful advice in no time...

I guess my first step would be to sit down and do a budget. Look at all your essential outgoings... Rent, bills, fuel, groceries etc... and see where you can slim things down... Remember - it doesn't have to be forever... just until you get into a better space financially.

One thing I have done is start buying 'Value' food at my supermarket, planning my meals (less impulse buying!), following the driving guidelines to save on fuel (they really work!!!) and perhaps the biggest shift has been joining several of the challenges on these forums.

Each week there is a weekly spend challenge where you pledge to spend under a certain amount. I put aside money for essentials and whatever is left is fair game. Checking in each day helps and I feel I am really being supported by everyone... I don't want to let myself or them down... There is a No Spend Day (NSD) thread where you try for so many days of spending nothing etc...

Cut back on your expenses and start to slowly chip away at your debts - even if it's only a couple of £ here and there... You could ask your parents if they would mind you taking a payment holiday or reducing your car/rent just until you get on top of your overdraught... then sit down and work out realistically how much you can pay... and how much they need from you each month... You could look at getting additional income...? I have just traded in all my CDs (now saved on i-tunes) and probably made about £125 off Music Magpie... sorted out a load of things to sell on Amazon that were lying around... I even had a few bargains... sold one CD for £29.95!!!

Keep at it - keep in touch with us all on here - am sure you will succeed... and maybe even start to save some money for a deposit on a house afterwards too!!!

x

Choockiepig9

I did music magpie a few months ago and made £53! Was actually quite impressed!

My problem with money is I'm lazy, instead of say making myself lunch for work I'll go to a cash point take out £10 spend about £3 and then have change lying about. But then I'll go to buy something later on won't quite have enough change so I get more money out of the ATM.. That's my biggest downfall. And it's a hard habit to get out of.

I just don't want to hide my bank statements no longer.

Edwardia

Hi there ! I'd suggest sitting down and working out how much your outgoings are firstly.

Then would your family member allow you to cut the payment on the car so lengthening the time you pay for it IF you showed him/her that you're using the money to pay off the overdraft not go out with your mates ??

Does the £100 rent to your mum/dad include food etc ? If you have to buy your own could you do a deal whereby you bulk buy basics together to save money ? Could you make your own lunches instead of buying them ? Or I suggest if there's a subsidised canteen using that if it works out cheaper.

Could you take out cash and hand over to parental to dish out and help you budget ? Alternatively, if you're not over overdraft limit suggest using debit card not ATM so you're not walking around with cash in pocket.

If you could sell car and repay family member and take public transport or arrange car share with someone at work that could be an alternative - or letting it be known you'll pick up/drop off colleagues to/from work if they help with fuel.

Your phone deal doesn't sound good. We pay £65 pcm for two smartphones with unlimited Internet so I'd suggest checking out deals and seeing if you can switch when contract up. Or what about pay as you go ? Also, the insurance seems a waste of money on your phone. We always keep one phone at the end of a contract as a spare and flog the other one.

Have you got stuff you could eBay ?

Could you do odd jobs at weekends eg mowing lawns, washing cars or do you have a skill eg IT, painting, baking, bricklaying etc that you could make money from ? Could you deliver newspapers or leaflets ? Be an art model for a college ?

Cynical_Monkey

abundant1972 wrote: »

I have just traded in all my CDs (now saved on i-tunes) and probably made about £125 off Music Magpie...

So you now technically listen to pirated music..?

Choockiepig9, as others have said previously, a spending diary and self control are the only real ways for you to save money. Out of curiosity, what do you do for a living? Is there any scope to increase earnings through overtime?

Choockiepig9

I've done a ridiculous amount of overtime in the past month so I'm waiting to see this months pay to see if it has made a difference.

I work in a supermarket.

Oneday77

If your going over you mobile allowance check why? Don't call 118 numbers or enter TV comps/votes etc.

£30 a week on Diesel, do you do a lot of social driving? Cut back if you are, also look into better driving habits to save fuel.

Do not cut back on the car or rent payments. If you want to save money you need to respect that you have monetary responsibilities that come before enjoyment. Sorry to be a kill joy on that front.

I assume that you buy stuff at work to eat for food hence the £10 change habit. Buy a store specific gift card and load it with £50 at the start of the month, that way you can spend £2 and not have to waste £10.