Tales from the city

crazy_cat_lady

Our mortgage is with NRAM. I have absolutely no idea if we have PPI or not on it - I wonder how I would find out.
Hello by the way - I stalked you over here after you posted on my diary. Looks like you'll have your moving in fund in no time at all

ani*fan

Crazy_cat_lady, just phone NRAM and ask. Cardiff Pinnacle underwrite NRAM's ppi policy so if you don't the policy number, they will find it for you. Don't worry about sounding daft, if you don't know if you have ppi or not then someone may well have told you it was compulsory and part of your mortgage, or they just included it and didn't tell you. NRAM are very pleasant and so are Cardiff whatsit. Calls take 5 minutes, you'll find the numbers on here, (or I can give you them) it's worth a try!

Igamogam, I only held the mortgage for a year and a half. First 6 months ppi were free, so maximum one year of payments, and also I cancelled it at some point, not sure when, so there won't be loads to claim but something, hopefully.

ani*fan

I got a Tosco voucher through the post yesterday, £2, so treated myself to some cheap coffee and a reduced price loaf of bread. It's in the freezer and will make good toast. :j

The new leasing agent are not asking for the furry purrball deposit so the amount I need is £500, not £700.

Ski boots sold so along with the skis, cash from my mobile and the rent surplus in October, I have £288. :j Wonder where I can get the rest? It's a shame my ppi claim won't be through in time, or maybe it will, who knows.

ani*fan

So I've been playing with the snowball calculator. Usually this freaks me out :eek: but strangely this time I took it in my stride.

If I continue to make minimum payments, my debts will be paid off in 2021, so 6 years away is a bit much and the interest paid will be massive. I thought, 'I can do better than that'.

If I make £100 overpayment every month then my DFD moves forward to July 2019. So 4 years away, but still with lots of interest.

If I make £200 overpayment every month then my DFD moves forward to July 2018. This looks better, much less interest (still £3,709.00 though, eek!!!).

I'm trying to decide on a target as I seem to do alright when I have a plan to focus on, other than 'pay all the debt off as fast as I can'. It's a bit vague really. My new budget with OH looks as if it could cope with £200 overpayments. I want enough cash to live on though.

The other thing to consider is that my job is only guaranteed until September 2017. Ideally I would have as much of the debt paid off as I possibly can by this time, just in case the worst happens and I'm out of work for a month or two.

I think this is the deciding factor. I am lucky enough to have employment right now so I need to use that to pay down the debt.

Goal: £200 overpayment every month

This will involve good planning, being ready for things, not overspending. Being without a car is the best thing I ever did. Not only am I much better off but I'm also fitter than I've ever been from walking everywhere.

I've applied for a 0% balance transfer for one of my cards and I'm hopeful it will come through. This would help push the DFD forward again. If I don't get it then I'll apply for a different one.

Thanks for all the inspiration everyone. It really helps.

misstara

Morning ani

Fab news about the lower deposit, you're over halfway there already

Sounds like a great plan to overpay £200 a month. I'll be here cheering you on. Hope you get the 0% balance transfer.

ani*fan

Just checked my email and got a shock, I've been approved for £5.5k on a 0% balance transfer credit card.

:j:j:j:j:j:j:j:j:j:j:j:j:j:j

I'm not sure how long the interest free period lasts as I understand it can be different for everyone depending on your credit score. I need to wait until the card arrives and then log in to find out. But still, even if its just for a year it will be a massive help.

I put this into the snowball calculator and if I get the full term 0% then my debt will be paid off in March 2018. So DFD brought forward by 4 months! And interest paid in total on debt will be £1449.00 so a saving of £2,260.00.

Omg I love barclaycard right now, and I love the snowball calculator, and in fact I love the world. Hugs to you all!!! :happyhear

Igamogam

Looking good Ani! I cant get my head round the snowball thing - all my cards a permanently on 0% because I switch from one to another but snowball cant seem to cope with this and has me paying mountains of interest over many many years..........or maybe I am just putting the figures in wrong:o Anyway I understand the principle and throw as much as possible to the card which id going to complete is 0% offer first...........seems to work for me:D

crazy_cat_lady

Brilliant news - both on the card and on the goals. It's so important having an achievable goal to work towards - I'd forgotten how much it helped me to focus until I suddenly needed a load of cash in a very short period of time.
Thanks for advice re NRAM - I'll give them a call

ani*fan

Morning misstara

Thanks for the encouragement, it feels so good to have a proper plan. I'm now excitedly waiting for the postie to bring me my new credit card and also the freepost envelope for selling my mobile phone. I never get exciting post, this is great fun.

In the meantime, I need to log off from here and do some study.

I had a thought though, if I can keep bringing my debtfree date forward, (somehow!) how great would it be to finish my studies and have all my debt paid off in the same month?

Wow, maybe it's possible, I believe in miracles...

ani*fan

Morning Igamogam and crazy_cat_lady

Igamogam, I think the idea is to make minimum payments off the 0% card and overpay the card with the largest %...I'll check that again though.

crazy_cat_lady, it really is worth a call, I'll be interested to hear how you get on, this ppi business is really quite shocking and I have a few others loans I want to investigate too, Arnold Clark car loans for one, I've had a few of their loans over the years and the totals never did quite add up, I'm thinking now they added ppi and never even asked. :mad: We're only reclaiming what we are truly entitled to.

Have a wonderful debt busting day everyone.