Can't stop spending :(

always4lora

Hi Guys,

My names Ben, I've been in debt since i was about 18/19 (I'm now nearly 26).
The amount of debt has slowly increased as time has gone on, originally I took out a credit card to get some computer parts as my PC was playing up which was about £400, when the interest free period was up I balance transferred the card to another, however as i didn't hear anything for a wile I did another balance transfer and lo and behold I ended up with 3 credit cards and -£800, instead of transferring the money back I spent it (stupid i know)

I managed to pay the cards off and was debt free for all of a month before I got my first car which I got a low interest loan for £4000 over 3 years. I pretty much paid this off before I wrote of my car and got another which I needed an extra K for so I put it on a credit card and got another loan to cover this over.

Since this point i got a push bike on my Credit Card which set me back a bit but also saved money on car tax petrol ETC.

I've juggled money around the last couple of years, in March I took out a £2400 loan over 9 months to clear my overdraft and cover my credit cards. Now i was debt free for less than a month before i ended up getting a new and more expensive push bike which put me to the bottom of my overdraft (around £2000). I noticed by overdraft with the bank was around charging something silly like 19% so I decided to get a interest free credit card for 18months and have started to transfer my overdraft to the credit card by spending my daily expenses and what bills i can on it so i am not paying interest.

My loan with rate setter is up in December which will make me £200 something a month better off. now because I've spent pretty much the full loan I am no better off than when I started, if anything worse off due to the cost of the bike and bike parts.

I've been pretty determined to get debt free and I always seem to struggle to get nearly debt free but cannot help but waste my money on something. It's almost as if I've got a screwed up head which is subconsciously telling me to spend money!



Is there any where that helps with stuff like this? It's not that i am struggling to meet minimum payments but i just always owe money. Most of the places for help with money seem to help if you're struggling to make minimum payments.


I believe i can pay back what i owe as i earn £1200 a month after tax and childcare and have around £700 bills coming out a month which should leave me with around £500 left over to pay of the debt, I just don't know how I'm not going to just waste a load when I have nearly paid it off.


Last question.... I was wondering if its worth selling my bike for whatever i can get for it and getting a cheaper bike to commute on and put the left over towards paying of the debt? I wont get anywhere near what I paid for it. I love the bike and off road riding is most certainly my passion, I'm not sure if I sell the bike i wont just end up getting another bike or spending my money on something else.


Help!

bluebag

Hi,
It's a bit difficult this spending stuff, and you are by no means alone.
It sounds like your spending is controlling you and not you controlling your spending!

Think of what you could have done with all the interest you have paid on loans and credit cards over the years, probably some savings to tide you over a bad patch.

You are employed at the moment, but nothing is certain as I'm sure you know. You are one step from real financial trouble as you have no savings and very little in the way of assests for all your years of work.

Make a realistic budget you are likely to stick to, pay off your debts, start some savings and begin to invest. Otherwise the rest of your life will be exactly like the last few years, if nothing changes... then nothing changes.

Wasting money is wasting your life, as it takes time to earn it.
Hope you manage to make some good changes.

nicnacnoo

thought i was reading my own spending history then!...my (new) debt free date is next September.....im hoping to start 'spending' my money on savings from then on, not the next big thing! good luck, im sure some one will come along with some great advice, I'll be checking back!

R_P_W

Your post mentions child care....so making the assumption you have a young child? If that isn't enough motivation to stop wasting your money and start providing some financial security for him/her I dont know what will be.

I'm not going to try and tell you what to spend your money on as that is none of my business. But if you want to be able to buy expensive bikes you either need to increase your income or to cut your outgoings elsewhere. Where it does become a problem is having to borrow money to buy these things, it just puts you in a never ending spiral unless you make a lasting changing to how you deal with your money.

Make a budget and try and pay back your debt as quickly as you can. Once your debt is gone try and build up some savings - firstly so you have some emergency cash to help you when you need it. Secondly, try saving for a specific purpose - maybe a holidays with your kid or something?

quantic

I used to struggle to save my wage but found that setting myself a simple task was a good way to start, to begin with, I told myself that I wanted to get to the end of the month with having a surplus the day before payday. Up until that point I was aways overdrawn (even if a small amount) before payday so never really got my full wage.

The first few months I was £20-50 overdrawn instead of £100-200, then eventually I started to get it to the point where I was +£20-50... I know this example might not work for your exact circumstances but if you work towards something small to begin with it will help to change your behaviour.

Another thing I do is make sure that I wait until 2 weeks after payday before buying substantial things, otherwise you end up broke 2 or 3 days after payday and it can decent into a downwards spiral.

always4lora

Hi'

Thanks guys for the tips, I've got nothing left I need to buy so shouldn't have any-more large purchases to make. Being paid and having my full wages would be pretty awesome, I think I'll make a log for each month to ensure I'm heading in the correct direction.

System

Just wanted to say take a look at the 1% at a time forum in debt free wannabe section - this is an easy way to break your debt down into a small amount - and challenge yourself to get rid of it 1% at a time. Setting yourself a challenge is definitely the best way - and make it visible - set up a spreadsheet to track or a bit of paper on the wall where you can mark down your achievements. It works for me - I don't always get rid of as much as I would like, or something crops up - but it helps me to get back on track quickly instead of thinking of it as a lost cause!
Good luck - the fact you are posting means you are already most of the way there.

always4lora

Hi' Do you happen to have the link to the thread, ive had a browse through and cannot see it.

katy_ann

Its here https://forums.moneysavingexpert.com/discussion/4016713

always4lora

Many thanks, i've started having a read through the thread and shall print off the square sheet tomorrow and make a start on saving my 1%'s.