Really struggling at the moment =(

inthedeep

I'm ashamed to admit but I am and have always been shocking with my finances. But now it's getting to the point where, as an almost 30 year old, I've to start fending for myself; my mum has always helped me out but recently she's struggling herself and really feeling the crunch.

I get paid, after deductions, around £1,200 a month and my debts are as follows:-


Credit Card - £500
Overdraft - £1,750
Mum - £1,000


I've also student loan debt but I am paying that back through my monthly salary.


My commitments at the moment are as follows:-


£440.00 - living (inc, shared rent, all bills and council tax)
£100.00 - paid to my mum to pay off the debt I owe her
£115.00 - car insurance (cheapest I could get as I only passed my test in January 2013)
£42 - mobile phone bill (never exceeds as all inclusive)
£32 - another mobile phone bill I stupidly took on as I wanted an iPhone
£15 - debit interest to my bank for the O.D
£10 - spotify; I stream on my phone and can't afford to get internet extra to download music


I'v just opened a new current a/c which doesn't come with an overdraft; the idea been to have my wages paid in to this a/c so I can transfer a set amount a month in to my overdraft a/c to eventually pay off my o.d facility.


My partner lives in Manchester and I live in Leeds, although I am moving there in July I'm spending around £150 a month on petrol.


Any constructive criticism, or advice most welcome and extremely appreciated.


L x

RAS

So you cannot account for £300 of spends each month?

Clothes, going out, car tax, maintenance?

What would an advbnaced purchase rail tiket cost at the weekend? Can he come to see you every other time?

cripes_2

looks pretty good to me

bluebag

Hi honey,
Good that you've asked for some help before things get really hairy.

It may be worth losing the spotify for a while to be able to pay that £10 towards debt reduction. As the second mobile phone contract rolls off you will have the extra from that to help too.

Keep a spending diary and note down eveything you spend, this will help you see where your lovely dosh is going and give you some indication where you can cut back.

A return weekend coach fare from Leeds to Manchester is about £10 so even if you only got the coach every other weekend it would free up about £48 a month which you can throw at debt.

Shop smarter, look for deals when going out/ staying in. 2 for £8 bottles of wine in the supermarket , going out for lunch instead of the evening, have a look in charity shops /e-bay for clothes. Try really hard not to pay full price for anything.

You may wish to try and balance transfer your credit card to lower interest or 0% if you can.

Drop a brand, try supermarkets value range and use money off coupons, collect points too, some of them have amazing deals.

You don't have to be out of control with this, grab the reins and give it some!! Money saving can be fun and highly addictive.

All the best.
bb

lindsloo

If you switch accounts you run the risk of the bank closing the account and defaulting you, if you're okay with this do it, otherwise why don't you phone them up and reduce the OD every month?

Good luck

foxgloves

You haven't got a huge amount of debt, it looks like more of a case of getting some bad spending habits in check before they get further ingrained. Your mobile phone spend is a case in point. My contract is about £12 a month. I get all the data, texts, calls I need, & it came with a nice new smartphone. My budget (even tho we are now debt-free) doesn't run to a new Iphone, therefore, I don't have one! That's how it has to be. Keep a spending diary & you'll find this is revalatory! I used to be a terrible fritterer...my bad spending habits lasted from age 19 (student, first time living in big tempting city!) till my early 40s, partner just the same. Make a strict budget every month when you get paid. When all the essential bills have been paid, the amount remaining is what you have left for everything else including extra debt repayments. Grocery bills are reasonably easy to cut by shopping around. Other costs like parking can be reduced, say by parking out of town & walking further. Only buy essential clothes.....that's pants/bras/socks, etc, when you're paying down debt, not 'I need more jeans, a dress for so & so's party, etc (I'm not meaning to sound patronising.....I've been a real bad spender in the past & WISH I'd turned it round earlier) & drop back a couple of brands on skincare, etc. I used to practically LIVE at the Clinique counter. I now use more affordable brands with no ill effects at all. Little frequent costs such as nipping into coffee shops for a latte add up a lot over the month. Do you take packed lunch to work? For us, taking packed lunches saved a whopping £2000 (!!!) a year for the 2 of us. Do you have clothes you no longer wear, things you no longer use? Get them on ebay.....any little extra bits of income, however tiny, can usefully be paid into your debts. Remember that every single £ saved (& this can be as simple as swapping to 99p Shop for basic toiletries) frees up another £ to throw at your debts. Don't take 20 years to sort it like we did! Learn to budget & live within your means now & it really will be a skill you will be thankful for for your whole life. Best wishes x

Danni-R

Just a thought.... If you're travelling to see you BF/OH at the weekends I remember there being a site where you can offer a lift for petrol money. Yes its to strangers but might be worth it. It covers their share of the petrol which might help you out.

As others have said, its not a massive debt but it could be if you dont kick it in the but now.