Finally made a SOA.. But I think I have worked most things out :D

lisopiso

So I've taken much advice from DFWB (and thank you all!!)

I have found a new job, I'll be moving into a new place, contacted all of my debtors.

After a long talk with my boyfriend, some tears shed. We sat down and made out a budget.

Monthly Earnings:
~$1400/month

Monthly Expenses:
Rent: $450
Hydro: $100
Internet: $50
Cell: $75
Food: $100
Gas: $50
Savings: $30
Entertainment: $45

Total Expenses: $900

Debts:
Cogeco Internet: $99.09
Telus Cell Phone: $132.00
Visa: $615.52
Line of Credit: $10,167.91

Grand Total: $11,014.52 (ahhhh)

Each month, I'll have around $500 to put towards repayment of debts. $500/4 is $125 for each debt/month. In the first month I will have paid off my 2 smallest debts, allowing me to focus on the larger ones.

My parents have been so kind as to offer their financial support and matching every payment towards my Line of Credit to help me pay it off as quickly as possible!!! :T

Redbedhead

Could you tell us what the rate of interest are for each debt - then you can focus your energies on those you pay the most interest towards.

oops_a_daisy

Hello Lisopiso :hello: and welcome to DFW

I was wondering why your SOA had dollar signs and then noticed you are from Canada
It is ususlly best to pay off the debts with the highest interest first but looking at your debts it might give you a bigger boost to pay off the little ones first then work on the others to give you smaller targets to go for. So if you pay off Cogeco and Telus in the first month that will give you a good start and then you could concentrate on your Visa which will probably have a higher rate of interest and the interest is added monthly. I take it that the 'line of credit' one is a loan ? if so check to see if you can make overpayments and if it will reduce the total of the loan if paid off early.
The other way to do it is if your Coleco and Telus are interest free would be to pay the minimums on these till they are paid off and throw extra at the Visa which I think will be attracting higher interest charges ( and I am still assuming that the line of credit one is a loan )
If the Line of Credit debt is a loan and if it makes no difference to pay it off early ( interest is sometimes loaded at the start ) then save up the overpayments for this in a high rate deposit account and then pay it off a bit earlier with the extra interest earned.
Are your monthly outgoings liveable ? I mean can you really live on the amounts in our SOA and have you included everything ? as it will only work if you can keep to budget.
Other things you can do now that you have reduced your outgoings is to try to earn more and this will bring your debt free date even closer. Ebay, Amazon, part time job, are you entitled to any benefits? and there are so many tips on this board.
Your parents sound lovely and are very kind to help you out like that. I hope you get your debts sorted out soon.
Good luck and all the best - OOPS

lisopiso

For my debts, I've decided to split up the most I can spend on it into 4. Tackle the smallest, they don't have as much interest, but they are the ones calling for money. I've included their minimum payments in my monthly expenses.
For my line of credit, yes it is a loan. As of right now, I'm only paying interest. I think around October I make actual payments. As long as I can stick to my budget (which I don't think will be an issue) Visa should be paid off in about 3 months, and the line of credit. Probably about 10 months to a year, if everything goes to plan!!

I don't think I'll have any issues living on the budget. It 's a new job, so I won't have benefits for another 8 months to worry about. I've stocked up on my meds, and have arranged a free dental cleaning with a local dental school. It's only me in the house, I've been bringing lunches to work and have been able to live on much less than $25 a week on food (while going to school). The only thing I'm 100% guessing on is my electricity, I have yet to move in (2 more weeks!!!!!!!!!!) but I've have invested in energy saving light bulbs, always researching ways to save money with water and electricity.

But I didn't include the monthly bonues that I'd be able to get at work. The bonuses are based on attendence, sales, and quality of my calls. so i basically get $0.05/call at about 100 calls/day.. If I show up to work!! I also think I'm over budgeting my gas expense. As I'll be walking to work daily!! And I live about 5 minutes away from a grocery store.