At rock bottom, please help.

TITEASCRAMP

Hi swishter

have u thought about declaring yourself bankcrupt

Adrasteia01

Hi,
If you're looking for a short term means to save a bit of money you could try the following:

*If you have a stockpile of food in the cupboard you're not using, live off that for a while (or try and use some of it up) and only buy the absolute necessities
*Try buying the value ranges from supermarkets or try cheaper supermarkets/pound shops etc to save yourself a bit of money
*Sell what you can on Ebay/Amazon etc
*Sign up to sites like pigsback.com for vouchers etc. While it will take you time to earn points and get vouchers, it's still nice to things back from them (and they can go towards gifts or dinners out)
*Could you try getting a job an evening or two a week or on a Saturday? A single evening's work a week could possibly make up your shortfall a month.
*Consider public transport (especially the bus or walking) instead of driving or getting the train, if they're options as they may prove a lot cheaper (and it won't cost you for parking either).
*Instead of buying DVDs swap with friends or get vouchers for DVD rentals from sites like pigsback.com
*Try spending more time at friends places socialising rather than going out.
*Instead of joining a gym, try getting more exercise by walking or working (personally I think it's a much better use of energy than walking on a treadmill staring at a wall!).
*If you're buying books use the library instead, or try sites like amazon or ebay
*If you want to buy DVDs, try sites like play.com or amazon - they're usually loads cheaper than the shops.
*Take bread etc to work and make your lunches there if you can, or bring a frozen lunch and microwave it. It will save you a lot in the long run. Optionally if your workplace has a subsidised canteen then make use of it.
*If you have any non-smoking friends that are travelling, get them to bring you back duty free or tax free cigarettes
*Try and cut down on the no. that you smoke
*Drink more water than other drinks - it's good for your skin and your general health and it's a lot cheaper than the alternatives.
*If you absolutely must have soft drink, either buy larger bottles which are cheaper, or buy 6 or 12 packs and keep them in the fridge at home and take them into work with you. They work out cheaper than buying them individually. Cordial is also an option, and it is cheaper than soft drink.
*If they have a water cooler in work - fill up a bottle or cups there
*Rather than buying coffees in the morning, either make them at work or take cappuccino sachets (if you like those). They work out about a 10th of the price and are actually really nice. (I recommond the Nescafe Vanilla ones!)

Just a few ideas. Hope that helps,

Tamara

Woodyrocks

hey swishter,

welcome to the forum. i really felt for you reading your post. you are in good company here and as you have already seen will garner a lot of support from the site. i am not a wizard with the financial advice but i can do practical tips well.

i noticed that you said you work p/t and also that you are leaving current job at the end of the year. could you give us more details. namely the hours you do for each. my first suggestion would be considering doing something else as your p/t job, something that would pull in a lot more than what you are currently earning. I could suggest a few things but not knowing how many hours you have to give or where you live my ideas might not be very useful.

One is focus groups. You can make between £40-£125 for a couple of hours work. You an also do mystery visits and if you drive you can make even more as driving assigments pay quite a bit. You can make up to £12 for a hrs visit. If you are 'open minded' you can do phone chats or webcams and make up to £3 a minute. You could also start doing betterware or something of the like which could bring in about £250 a month for your efforts. Also think about any specialist skills you possess. Could you teach self defence, pole dancing or yoga at your local gym? You can earn up to £20ph for classes. Maybe languages are your thing or maybe its the arts, you can teach private classes for young and old. PM if you want more info on any of these avenues.

I know it is hard not to panic but just take it easy. You ae not burying your head in the sand about this. Set yourself a target date to clear off your debt and work towards this. Set yourself a goal and break it down into task groups. You can do this, you can clear the debt and peace of mind shall be yours xx

nonsensefactory

Mortgage/Rent: £300
Council Tax: £66
Water: £12
Electricity: £25
Gas: £35 Trying to reduce this and electric should drop right down now its spring.
Phone/Broadband: £47 stuck in a contract but trying to keep calls etc to a minimum. - v expensive...BT presumably ?
Mobile (PAYG): £10
Food: £100 - aiming to reduce as much as poss.
Cigarettes: £80, trying to quit - it would make a big difference but the more stressed I am at the mo the harder I find it - stop or smoke rollies
Socialising: £40
Contents Insurance: £10 - AA quoted me £63 pa, this is £120 pa
Car Insurance: £63 - massive amount, shop around
Petrol: £50 - make sure the tyres are inflated, walk more, empty all the unnessary rubbish out of your car (toolboxs etc)
Servicing/Tax etc: £25
TV Licence: £11.50
Course Fees: £33 - course for work you mean ? try and get work to pay
Total: £907.50

Maybe you can get your Dad to clear all your debts in one go and pay him back £300 + pcm ??

chevalier

It is hard when you start out to know what to do for the best. I second the previous poster who suggested that you phone CCCS or Payplan for advice. I am pretty sure you would be a candidate for a debt management plan.

The car insurance is very high. Do you have a high power car, or are under 25? If you have the former, then getting a cheaper car would lower your premiums. If you are under 25 then you may be stuck with the current rate. However if you are over 25 then have a look at signing up with https://www.quidco.com and then switching via them. Most insurers offer cash back on policies so this would help in the medium term.

Below is a list of cash back/ click through sites, that would help you earn a bit of extra money.

https://www.lightspeed.com - this is a survey site, where you get points which turn into vouchers (you choose). May not help with the cash flow, but the vouchers could be saved towards birthday/xmas or given as presents.

https://www.caio.co.uk - survey site that gives money. A bit fits and starts ie no surveys for a couple of weeks, then three or four the same day.

https://www.yougov.co.uk - again paid surveys. However takes a while to get to the minimum payout level

https://www.pigsback.co.uk - this is a points site, ie they give you points for buying things via their site. BUT you also get points for signing up for news letters (some of which are even interesting!), and also for clicking on adverts with pink borders. I have spent NOTHING with them but got a £10 voucher through this week (only been registered since January). There is also a thread in the freebies section, which gives you all the daily answers to the competitions so you can have a better chance of winning on them.

https://www.mutualpoints.com - another points for clicks site. You can also buy things via their site and get points too. For a long time, I just clicked the links in the emails they send you, and that gets you 5 points. At 3000 points you get £20 I think. You can do searches via their site and that gets you points too.

https://www.quidco.com - this is a cash back site, so very good, for checking if any potential new insurers (ie if you have checked your contents insurance say and found a new provider), are offering cash back. Eg Lloyds was offering £120 cashback on new policies at one point (the offers do change). You can also get small amounts of cash again for doing searches via their site. You can earn 52p a day by doing this. Every little helps.

https://www.greasypalm.co.uk - another cash back site, where you can do searches and get small amounts of money. But it all adds up. I think you can get about 50p a day on there for nothing. Minimum payout is £20 I think, but you can sign up to survey sites via there, and get extra money that way for nothing.


sorry this is so long but I hope it helps
chev

lonely_2

Hi there, if I had no assets I would have considered declaring myself bankrupt. This would give you the chance to make a fresh start. But there are other options out there, an IVA, a debt management plan. Speak to someone reputable like CAB or National Debtline abour all your options. If it makes you feel better about yourself I had already turned 30, was £50K in debt, has massive spots and a huge muffin top before I had my lightbulb moment Seriously, there is help out there, you just need to bite the bullet and decide that today is the day you are going to deal with this problem. That's how I did it - little more than two months ago - and I feel much better for it.

irishmanc

"I feel like such a failure. I'm going to be 30 soon and my life is a mess. I'm up to my eyes in debt, have virtually no assets to my name, i'm overweight, have spots and a crappy flat."

OMG you could be talking about me (xcept I'm 24, but have aches and pains and feel like i'm 50)! Let me tell you a few things I have done to make myself feel better.

I used to have mountains of unopened mail, never knew my bank balance etc. I have *borrowed* a file from work and some dividers and sorted out my post, and boy does it make a difference. I have sorted out all my online banking for various loans, cc etc and made the sites favourites, so I can check them quickly every morning. I have sold some books on amazon.

Lastly, I have asked around at work to see if I culd get some OT, hey every little helps!

Small steps make a big difference, maybe not to your bank balance but def to your mood!

joeblack066

Even if you buy Rolling tobacco at the Govt's full inflated price, you can make 2 x 50g pouches last for a month if you discipline yourself. That means you'll spend £25 max inc filters and papers (cheapest off a market or from a £1 shop). £55 saved. Trim your food shopping down as said before, another £30 saved, thats another £85 to throw at your debts. With spring coming and changing your gas supplier you should be able to get this to £100 to throw at youir debts. Is it a one bedroomed flat that you are in? If not, could you get a lodger for a while? You can legally let out a room in your home for up to £75 per week without it affecting your tax liability, under the Govt Rent A Room Scheme. TTFN

Swishter

Thank you so much for all your replies. There are some great ideas and advice, need to take a bit more time and read through them all carefully.

I'm feeling much brighter today, mainly thanks to help from you all. Had a good think about what I can do constructively rather than just thinking panic!

I have been making all my payments, I have did some extra bits and pieces with overtime and I think that that kept my head afloat. Unfortunately all OT has come to and end now and that’s when I thought panic!

I can do extra work part time, with a bit of effort I can more than double the amount I bring in. Can't do too much for the next couple of weeks as I am away on free family weekends for the next 2 weeks but after that I am going to get stuck right in. Going to check out some more of the ideas and see if there is any other extra bits I can do.

I would dearly love to move back home but unfortunately its 250 miles away, the cost of the commute would wipe out savings!

I do need my car for work, I get free parking which is something. This had reminded me though that I do have a pile of mileage that has not been claimed. I am bringing all my receipts home with me tonight to sort through, think there could be over £100 there which I would get back in May. Also to put a claim form and pen in my car and to start filling it in whenever I incur mileage. I am going to check my tyres on the way home and when I get back I will remove the junk and tool boxes from the back. I figure I can be less lazy and walk to the Market at lunch to get my shopping, its cheaper, keeps me fit and will help reduce petrol costs from going to the supermarket plus give me more time at the weekend to do other things. Probably save me a packet in not smoking to as a supermarket shop always leaves me wanting to ram people with my trolly and then I need five cigs just to calm down enough to drive!

I might see if I can borrow a bike from someone though, I could get away without driving in a couple of days a week it would cut down on petrol a lot, as well as help to firm my wobbly bits for free. My old employer would give you 'mileage' of 15p a mile if your rode your bike for work purposes, it was to encourage people to be more green. Might suggest it to my new employer - who knows might get a £10 gift voucher if they like the idea!

My insurance is stupid, my ex had an at fault accident in my old car on my insurance and then I was involved in a multi vehicle pile up, we were all told to go bump to bump and its cost me a fortune in premiums. But I am going to do a fresh search and see if I can save myself some pennies, theres nothing to be lost. Also to check out my other insurance. Although one drawback is the area that I live in, one of the most expensive for insurance in the country.

Unfortunately I already smoke rollies so you can imagine how much I get through! I have just checked online and reserved 'The Easyway to Stop Smoking' from the library, I will pick it up at lunchtime and see how I get on.

Telephone, your right its way too high - I'm banning myself from calling mobiles from now on and will research the cheapest way to call Ireland and Canada (don't do it that often though). Going to switch my calls to Primus Talksaver and discipline myself and wait until weekends or after 6 to make my calls when its free. To call BT and try and reduce my BB package.

I've had a bit of a look at the OS board and think I can make savings. I do have a lot of food in at the mo and am going to make a list of everything in the cupboards/freezer etc and have a blitz using all that for the next few weeks, have frozen veg and bread so might be able to keep spends to just a bit of fruit, salad and milk for the next few weeks. Overall aim is £60 per month there.

I think part of the reason I hate my flat is its so cluttered, I've also been feeling very down and shutting myself away. I am going to have a good declutter and sell as much as I can on e-bay, maybe see if I can drag together enough stuff for a car boot - should be easily acheiveable.

Spoken to my Dad, did not ask him to clear the debt as he is retired and its important to me that I stand on my own two feet and sort all this out. But I am only going to pay him back on the months when I can, that gives me breathing space.

So if I can save £80 smoking, £40 on my shopping, £10 petrol, if I could save just £20 a month from other bits and pieces and make an extra £125 per month that would put me more than £75 in credit to throw at debt rather than nearly £200 in deficit. Add on ebay stuff and my mileage and it would start to make a huge difference.

I don't think I have answered all your questions just yet, my mind is whirring around with all the ideas! I will expand on my already lengthy reply after work.

Thank you again!

cocalls

wow what a turnaround in less than 24hrs! they all sound like great plans to me-just make sure you do them!! Good luck!!