in a pickle....

krayzechick

Bum.

I'm stretched to the max on my income paying back debts left right and centre (all Loans) ...just had to fork out £300 on my car and £50 excess for house insurance as I dropped my £300 digital camera on the floor and smashed it to pieces. (which went onto my credit card as I had NO spare cash - 0% for 1 month left on it)

Anyways I put my car in for the MOT today and it FAILED! :'( ...needs about £600 worth of stuff doing to it. Plus the other 2k that needed doing before which was borderline. The car is only worth £1500!

I *NEED* my car to get around. My boyfriend lives 200 miles away, I have to travel 40 miles a day to get to work with no option of car sharing as no-one lives by me.

What to do? =/

I really feel like throwing the towel in and just bankrupting myself. I work 40 hours a week as well as do activities in the evening which leaves me with 2 hours spare a night (in which I need to shower and eat!) I spent all morning crying my eyes out. I just dont know what to do.



My SOA

Income:
Salary - £1020 per month


Outgoings:

Rent - £180 (living with parents.. this includes internet access, leccy, food etc)
Loan 1 - £191.85
Loan 2 - £309.56
Gym Membership - £25 (not going to give this up - i'd rather not eat!!)
Mobile Contract - £29 (use ever penny of it!!)
Lloyds Credit card - £70 per month (£5 min)
Capital One - £20
Petrol - £80 (on average 1000miles per month)

The rest is usually all spent on food, toiletries, clothing, and pressies for people's birthday's etc.

Debts:
about £6000 left on Loan 2 inc interest (A+L via my mum)
about £11,500 left on MBNA Loan inc interest
about £2800 on credit cards (inc £500 car insurance and MOT from yesterday - have about £500 in savings for insurance, due £300 from bank charges, £100 from Halifax and £300 from tax rebate.)
Overdraft of £540


Any advice?

patchwork_cat

not much advice I'm afraid, but (((HUGS))). I think that is part of the problem with clearing debt and a lot of budgets you can just manage untiiilll. That until is your car.

smudgemanc26

Well first things first just try and calm down and make yourself a cuppa you have come to the right place for help. Im new to all this DFW lifestyle so im probably not much help but theres loads of people on here who are great.

What you will need to do first is post ur SOA (statement of affairs) this will help us to try and save you money where you can.

Theres a sticky page on the front of this board which tells you things to list. Its under first time posters thread by southern scouser.

Complete that and we will see if we can help. Dont worry i was extremely depressed yesterday am in the same situation but i feel better today by doing positive things suggested by people on how to save money where i can.

Jen x

climbgirl

Is public transport out of the question? It might be awkward and inconvenient but it could be a good short-term solution.

Post your full SOA and we can offer more help.

Burlesque_Babe

Could your boyfriend come to see you instead? That would tick one little problem off the list.

krayzechick

Thanks for your advice. I've posted a SOA months back and nothing has really changed. but i'll do it again...

Public transport is completely out of the question. It takes an hour and half on the bus normally, but at rush hour will take me 2 hours! ...and thats each way. Plus its £3.50.

Me and my boyfriend tend to do alternate weekends to see each other. depends on what we're doing ourselves, and what shifts he's working. He doesnt drive so has to catch the train.

January20

About 4 years ago, I was in a situation where I had no car (stolen) and no money, so I bought a cheap run around. It cost £475, wasn't very nice to look at but it was cheap to run and took me from A to B for 2 years, whilst I got myself back on my feet (a bit) and was able to buy something else. Any change you could do the same?

krayzechick

I had a cheap car for about 3 months before hand. took me 10 miles down the road on a 'big trip' then broke down!! hehehe... Insurance was more than the value of the car.

I think the cheapest car I can get that'll be able to cope with the milage I do (around 15,000 a year) is about a grand. Something safe and semi-reliable.

I can see your point about getting a cheap car. Moneywise it makes sense, but in reality I need to get something that'll make the distance. Worst thing is I'll get stranded somewhere in Lincolnshire countryside without a signal on my [broken] phone!!

Helonearth

krayzechick wrote: »

I think the cheapest car I can get that'll be able to cope with the milage I do (around 15,000 a year) is about a grand.

I completely understand where you are coming from, but I am going to contradict you all the same. If you know anyone who knows anything about cars, you can get a good car for a lot less than a grand with their help.

In Jan I bought a new car with my mechanic OH's help for 400 quid. It's a 13 year old skoda. I also spent £30 on RAC cover. I regularly travel 800 miles in a weekend, and in the last 6 months have put about 10,000 miles on the clock. With the help of a haynes manual I have even worked on it myself!

Having previously paid almost 3 grand for a car, which had more problems than this one, I wouldn't go back to 'nice' cars. I think I will be driving a banger for years to come! There is less to go wrong on simple, old-fashioned mechanics.

ps. Long distance relationships are a pain in the proverbial, aren't they!?

Chia

We very recently got rid of our '91 Rover, but it lasted for 1.75 yrs. after we paid £300 for it. I think that's pretty good if you are in a cash-strapped situation. After that experience there's no way I'm going back to more expensive cars till we've got more money to spare (we've just obtained another, slightly less aged £300 Rover and it's doing great!).

LJD1_2

We've recently sold out newer more expensive car rather than the one worth £400. However, my husband knows a bit about cars which makes all the difference. I can totally understand you want to know that you're safe.