Keep Going Backwards - please help

daysie_2

Have a Question perhaps someone can tell me the best way to go?

have been thinking about The three loans i have:
one was for £1300 originally, approx £1000 left (about 2 and a half years)
one was for £5000 originally, approx £3800 left (about 3 and a half years)
one was for £10000 orginally, approx £9100 left (about 4 years)
i have spoken to santander who i have the 2 largest ones with, and they would be willing to combine the loans together, totalling £13900, which would have a lower interest rate of 11.9% and which would bring my monthly repayments down by £67 to £371, however i would have to go back to 5 years again.
My instinct is that this is a bad idea, even though it brings the monthly outgoings down - what does anyone here think?
thanks

MummyDrusilla

Just been reading your thread and you've made some brilliant first steps so far!!!

daysie wrote: »

Hi, the car tax is for the car and the van 2 lots of 6 months per year, per vehicle
can you still get car tax stamps? that would be somthing worth considering.
Its Pet Insurance/Vets Bills - we don't have any pet insurance, this is all vets bills and average over the last 4 months, so may be lower over the year.

Are you buying your car tax every 6 months for each vehicle? I believe 12 months' car tax costs less than 2 x 6 months. I've just opened a savings account to transfer 1/12 of our car tax into every month so we don't have to 'find' it when the bill's due. Like the old stamp scheme but DIY!

Hovel_lady

daysie wrote: »

Have a Question perhaps someone can tell me the best way to go?

have been thinking about The three loans i have:
one was for £1300 originally, approx £1000 left (about 2 and a half years)
one was for £5000 originally, approx £3800 left (about 3 and a half years)
one was for £10000 orginally, approx £9100 left (about 4 years)
i have spoken to santander who i have the 2 largest ones with, and they would be willing to combine the loans together, totalling £13900, which would have a lower interest rate of 11.9% and which would bring my monthly repayments down by £67 to £371, however i would have to go back to 5 years again.
My instinct is that this is a bad idea, even though it brings the monthly outgoings down - what does anyone here think?
thanks

My feeling is that unless you are really desperate for an extra £67 a month don't do it as overall it will cost you more.

daysie_2

MummyDrusilla wrote: »

Just been reading your thread and you've made some brilliant first steps so far!!!
thanks!


Are you buying your car tax every 6 months for each vehicle? I believe 12 months' car tax costs less than 2 x 6 months. I've just opened a savings account to transfer 1/12 of our car tax into every month so we don't have to 'find' it when the bill's due. Like the old stamp scheme but DIY!

yes i would like to do this but am in catch 22 situation where we can't afford a whole year at once, and then can't afford to put any by for the next one after paying for 6 months!
hoping that as things get easier it will be possible

Gurj247

daysie wrote: »

Have a Question perhaps someone can tell me the best way to go?

have been thinking about The three loans i have:
one was for £1300 originally, approx £1000 left (about 2 and a half years)
one was for £5000 originally, approx £3800 left (about 3 and a half years)
one was for £10000 orginally, approx £9100 left (about 4 years)
i have spoken to santander who i have the 2 largest ones with, and they would be willing to combine the loans together, totalling £13900, which would have a lower interest rate of 11.9% and which would bring my monthly repayments down by £67 to £371, however i would have to go back to 5 years again.
My instinct is that this is a bad idea, even though it brings the monthly outgoings down - what does anyone here think?
thanks

I would have to agree with Hovel Lady on the above, I just don't think it is worth it.

I'm not sure what your credit rating is but assuming it is "good" the below are two things i think you could try (might have been suggested already).

0% on new purchases Credit Card - Business Use only.
This will allow you to track the business expenses that your husband is accruing. After a couple of months you will then hopefully be in a position to see if the business is still worth while, or if looking for an alternative job would be better for you both.

0% on Balance Transfers Credit Card - Personal Use only.
I know that most of these cards come with a % transfer fee however over the longer term i think this might be worth while, and hopefully allow you to consolidate a number on debts onto one card. Overall Minimum payment would be lower (i think) and you could over pay as you could afford. Key thing being that you will hopefully pay off the overall debt before the 0% period expires.

daysie_2

cannot get any more 0% cards at present i have tried so I will be doing some shuffling about this week, to get as much on the lower ones as i can.
Some good news, Hubby is actually thinking about giving up smoking, its a delicate operation, and its a bit like stalking wildlife, if i push it, it may scare him off, but I am holding my breath. the last decision will have to come from himself.
have told him we can't have a holiday this year, which he agrees with if we can't afford it, but this has also helped to bring things home to him.
Completed the marathon by the way! took me eons to finish (6hrs 18mins!) not helped by q-ing for the loos 4 times! but i have my t-shirt and medal proudly displayed

Hovel_lady

daysie wrote: »

cannot get any more 0% cards at present i have tried so I will be doing some shuffling about this week, to get as much on the lower ones as i can.
Some good news, Hubby is actually thinking about giving up smoking, its a delicate operation, and its a bit like stalking wildlife, if i push it, it may scare him off, but I am holding my breath. the last decision will have to come from himself.
have told him we can't have a holiday this year, which he agrees with if we can't afford it, but this has also helped to bring things home to him.
Completed the marathon by the way! took me eons to finish (6hrs 18mins!) not helped by q-ing for the loos 4 times! but i have my t-shirt and medal proudly displayed

Hope DH does give up smoking.

Well done on completing the marathon :T

[Deleted User]

Daysie, firstly well done for being brave enough to tackle your debt. I have not read all the comments, just got through the first 2 pages and agree with firewyre. I jotted down the following - what i pay for our household - me and 2 18 year olds

Electric (we don't have gas) - £56 per month, was 76, but we swapped, batch cook, we put on a jumper instead of heat, turn heat off at night and use hot water bottle/hubby, use smallest rings, it all adds up, showers we have are 5mins,
Mobile phones £9 per month each on cash, back deals with all landline calls included and unlimited internet,
Groceries - i normally spend £80/£100 per month, but had guests for easter, so made it higher. I am aiming for £40 for may, as a one off, to try to pay off the last of our debt - you could try shopping at online places like approved food, rospa etc, joining the grocery challenge on here really helped me
Satellite - i would get freeview when out of contract
Water rates - we used to pay nearly £500pa, but got it down to £130 (i think), as we opted for water meter, they could not fit one, so put us on the lowest, special rate, you can also pay less if you have less people, than bedrooms.
Vet bills - maybe you could go to RSPCA or similar, they used to be free, were amazing and take a donation
Presents - Last year i made toffee vodka and this year im going to make blackberry vodka - you can also bake biscuits and tie in voile, pickle stuff or make cheap hampers with baskets bought from charity shops, paint lightbulbs, glass etc one year i painted terracotta plant pots, they looked great
Haircut - i get a trim once in a blue moon and it costs £5, i do keep it long though
Toiletries - you probably don't need ANY if you are overstocked like most of the population, the odd deodorant
Take aways - when i can't be assed, i have pizzas or other stuff i have premade in freezer, you could even have indian in metal containers frozen, if you want to keep it authentic (lol)
Milkmen - seems a lot, supermarket, is probably cheaper
Bank charge - i got an authorised overdraft, then i don't pay the charges, and claim back the back charges if you can
Alcohol - I have just made a batch of homebrew - it was the easiest thing in the world - its called inmate brew, but that is probably going a step too far.

I hope some of this helps, it becomes quite addictive money saving and it gives me such pleasure. Good luck and there is so many helpful people on this site. I will subscribe to your post to see how you do. ;p.s. this is a useful thread on making meals for 2 for 50p which i find useful https://forums.moneysavingexpert.com/discussion/326929

katsu

Buy a clothes horse/airer (or two). Put that up in the spare room or the bedroom(s) and hang washing on it. You don't need a tumble dryer. We don't have one and dry our washing indoors if it is too cold/wet to put it outside. You can even put it outside to start off and finish it off inside. I don't go to the laundrette, I just bear in mind washing takes several days to get from dirty ready to wear again, rather than several hours.

We are 2 adults in a semi-detatched house with Gas CH and an ancient boiler, electric cooker and hob, washing machine, computer on most of the time but no TD or TV. Our G&E bill is just under £50 a month. I'd imagine you should be able to get yours down to at least £100 less than it is now - £1200 a year extra money off your debts.

Look at borrowing an OWL meter from your local library so you can see what is using the leccy. Turn everything off - no charging mobiles overnight, no leaving things on standby. Check the hot water thermostat is not higher than 65C, check the timer on the heating and hot water, check the room thermostat is <20C. You must be able to really get that cost down.

Try a local hairdressing college for cheaper haircuts.
SaveDosh sets a good example on pressies. I use charity shops, sales, keep a few storage boxes going all year round for things.

All the best.

determined_new_ms

Hi op looks like you are really making some excellent inroads well done! Ok just wanted to add a few practical suggestions to bring down the cost of things you want = having the same standard of life for as lower cost :money:

1. Recently I have been getting 6 bottles of wine in the monthly shopping. Asda do £10 for 3 bottles so do this x2. Then I put 2 in the larder and 4 in the spare room (hidden!) the following week I transfer another 2 and so on hen 1 week a month we have an alcohol free week. Its worked well and the old adage "out of sight..." really works

2. The mooncup - get one they are fantastic! I have ridiculously heavy periods and have no probs wih it. If you need to go to the loo every half hour on bad days so be it. I just wear a pad at night/on heavy days as well. Always carry a bottle of water with you for when you are out to rinse! Honestly once you have one you won't look back. I recently replaced mine with a femcup for £8.50 :T

3. Hair cuts - have a style that can go a little longer without being cut & get a home hairdressor. Mine costs £10 every 2 or 3 months

4. Never use a tumble dryer! I have a heated towel rail which is in our spare room. Its can hold 2 loads and then have hangers on. Cost me £80 from lakeland. I do a wash in the evening and then once on the dryer put sheets over it to cover it up and the following evening the clothes are dry. Costs pence to run. Sell the TD and it'll never be a problem again! I've never had one so its never been a problem not having one IYSWIM?

5.Give the fiscal diet a bash. the idea is to not spend a bean on food/incidentals for a week and just use what you have in the fridge/freezer/cupboards exception being petrol & milk. Its amazing how long you can go by without spending anything. Really changed the way I looked a food shopping and how I automatically go food shopping at the weekend! Look on the old style board for the thread

6. Just researching how others do i really opens up loads of ideas that you've never thought about

good luck