Dfw

poppasmurf_bewdley

schadwick wrote: »

I can't cancel the holiday as it would leave other people in trouble and i'm not prepared to have my family suffer for me

I'm sorry, but when you are in trouble, you HAVE to think about yourself, and let others get on with their own lives.

Explain to them that you cannot afford the holiday. Who knows, you may find others are relieved as they may be in the same boat as yourself. I know that if someone said that to me, I would be understanding and appreciate it. I wouldn't want to get where I was going and have someone alongside who kept saying "I can't afford to do that" every time others wanted to spend money on an outing or go for a nice meal.

MrsGSR

I had to cancel our only holiday this year because we simply couldn't afford without adding more to our debt. Yes it was disappointing but it was a real wake up call that we needed to manage our money better.

dancingfairy

Yes, the holiday is a luxury and no the OP can't really afford it, but they have explained that they a) have paid a deposit and b) can't let family and friends down.
I'm sure next year the OP will save up 50 a month from July or go for a cheaper holiday but everyone makes decision which in hindsight they wouldn't have made but the OP is just starting out.
OP- good luck, anything you can get above the 1,000 a month will really help bring your debts down.
df

dancingfairy

You might find the snowball calculator here helpful:
http://www.whatsthecost.com/snowball.aspx
Each month when you've paid your debt off you can recalculate and see how many more payments you've got left.
df

boltneck123

schadwick wrote: »

I have just sold my ipod which has got me just short of £100 since it was sat in drawer doing nothing..

Good move, go through your belongings and find anything else that you might be able to sell. I sold off a load of old stuff that I never used, including old clothes on E-Bay, made about £250 in total - even turned a small profit on the postage .

A few hundred may look insignificant in relation to your total debts, but find a couple extra hundred pound here and there every few months - either through E-Bay, part time work, cash back sites, lowering car insurance costs etc and you start to see progress. It is probably going to take you a good year, before you start to see real progress and to change your habits. But, you are off to a good start by selling the iPod, which is a want not a need .

Keep it up .

schadwick

I am working away for a few days this week so haven't been able to do a clearout and see what I can sell but I have rejoined avon so hopefully I will be able to make a little bit of extra income that works around my bizarre and inconsistent hours

Broke_Kitty

Good luck OP! I'm just starting out too, and a month in I'm still tripping up, but every time I make a small amount I transfer it straight into my bank account I set up to put my debt overpayments in and it makes me really proud!

I have three accounts on online banking set up (I'm with Lloyds and it's great cos you can rename them) so I have my current account, Emergency Fund, and Debt Overpayments account.

That ensures that I have a little something for life's nasty surprises, and I don't accidentally spend what I've made to go towards my overpayments.

Elena_Handcart

Hullo schadwick,

Well done for starting to sort this problem.

Firstly I would agree, you don't have a lot of wriggle room, from the SOA you posted. BUT the good news is that you do have wriggle room. The few things that I thought on reading your SOA were:-

1. Yes your phone charge is quite high, but the good news is that there is very little time to go before the contract can be extended. When the time comes to change/close your contract look around for the cheapest deal possible. Maybe use this time to work out the most suitable tariff (make sure you consider PAYG too)
2. I thought the holiday saving was excessive, but if you are committed then save the money, and make sure that when you come back from your holiday that the spare £100 is put towards reducing the debts.
3. Your SOA indicates that you have £101 spare. but I think you probably don't actually have this in your purse/wallet at the end of the month. Try keeping a spending diary. It sounds like you travel a lot with work - so if you are anything like I was you will be picking up coffees/crisps/ choccy bars whilst driving with work. If you realise where that £101 is going you will be able to change your spending habits.
4. I think you might be relatively young (compared to me at least) - and that will explain your high car insurance figure. When this is due for renewal, consider adding your Mum as a named second driver. This can actually reduce the premium you pay as I guess your Mum has been driving much longer than you.
5. It is quite important that you try to find out the APRs on your debts. This will help you decide who to pay off first.
6. Without the APR figures - I would concentrate on the DWP first, as it is the smallest balance, and once you have completed it then it will free up the largest monthly payment (£50) to overpay on the nest debt IYSWIM
7. I would consider opening a new bank account. This is because Overdrafts are notoriously difficult to pay off. I assume you get paid directly into your bank. So if you get paid and then transfer all of your pay less say the interest charged plus £10 - then you know that you are at least reducing your o/d by £10 per month. Then the new bank account is solely made up of the money that you need to manage for the month (please remember to refuse any offer of an overdraft with the new account - otherwise you will just double the problem with 2 overdrafts)
8. Unless you have a repayment plan with Halifax credit card or you are actually on a zero% deal, then the repayment figure of £10 seems too low for me. The credit cards I have would charge between £35-£45 for this balance. You will need to get the figures correct so you know how much wriggle room you do actually have each month.
9. I agree with previous posters, home dyeing is a lot more economical these days and very reliable. Often a fun night in too.
10. DON'T UNDER ANY CIRCUMSTANCES CONSIDER A PAY DAY LOAN. These are evil, evil evil and will only increase your problems.
11. If/When you do get payment over the £1000 in the SOA, then pay as much as is comfortable off your chosen debt (as above I would start with the DWP)
12. When you have repaid the first debt - say the DWP. Then you don't have to immediately start paying the 'extra' £50 to the next debt. You could maybe reward yourself by allowing yourself an extra £25 for your budget and then use the other £25 to paying off your debts more quickly.

Call me supersticious, but I don't wanna put a thirteenth point down - So I will wish you loads of luck on your journey. This debt repaying can get very addictive you know

Elena

schadwick

the Halifax and ambrose Wilson debts have been on payment plans with interest frozen as I got into serious arrears on them previously when I suddenly found myself unable to work, which is why they are 0%.
yes I have no idea where the rest of the money goes but as you say it will be lots of little things.
I am 29 but have only had my own car insurance for less than 2 years although I've been driving 8, adding my mum isn't possible as she can't drive, I don't have anyone I could do that with

Elena_Handcart

OK

Well its no-go on adding a second driver to your car insurance, so here are a few things that I see as a positive for you

Only 4 months before you can renew your car insurance - it sounds like you do already, but be sure to use all of the comparison sites when the time comes to get the best deal.

only 4 months to the end of the tax year, and you will be able to reclaim your travelling mileage

only 5 months until you can negotiate a better deal on your phone

only 7 months until you go on holiday and after that, you get an extra £100 to pay towards your debt

also well done on looking into avon again, any little bit extra helps get those numbers down.

well done on selling the ipod, make sure that £100 goes towards the DWP, then your down to £235.

you also said your take home can vary from 1000 - 1500 depending on overtime. If we say that the average is 1250, then next month you will be able to pay off the dwp completely (if you use the £100 from the ipod) Then when that is paid off, that's another £50 per month.

I have just re-read from the beginning, and you said you had a settled CCJ from 3 years ago plus you want to rebuild your credit score. Well unfortunately the CCJ will be on your credit file for another three years at least, so your credit score will take some time to improve - but improve it will (sound a bit like Yoda now). Use this time to keep up regular payments. If they aren't already on Direct Debit then make sure that they get set up. Then as you get closer to the CCJ dropping off your file your score will continue to improve.

Don't place too much weight on these credit scores though - they don't always tell the full story. Different lenders want different borrowers for different reasons and they aren't always summed up in one simple 'credit score'

Keep up the good work, I have high hopes for you schadwick.

Elena