Help with bank overdrafts

smallandcute

Hi all I would really like some help. I graduated from uni last year and have two student overdrafts, one with Barclays and the other with natwest. Now I want to get these paid off ASAP and whilst I am employed I earn a very low wage, to the point of it potentially falling below the poverty line (cannot find any poverty line wages for this year but can for 08/09)

By the time I have paid the rent and other monthly expenses such as bus fare, phone bill etc I have around £100 left and that's for clothes, toletries etc. now I do live with my mum and her partner and we split the household bills 3 ways so the bills are slightly lower then if I was on my own.

How can I get this debt cleared? For my wages and bills I bank with Santander as a standard current account customer and I pay £10 a month into each student account.

As for the work situation with my current employer there is no development and I have been job hunting and getting interviews but it's an early start so not heard anything back yet from interviews but hoping to be out of current employer before the end of October

Does anyone have any suggestions for clearing these two debts? Tia

colsten

Play the account switching game for a bit? E.g. apply for a Nationwide FlexDirect via Quidco. That could give you £80, plus access to a zero percent overdraft for a year. You need to check what the overdraft cost would be at the end of the year.

You could set up another donor current account, e.g. with Santander, Barclays or Natwest as they know you already, and then use that account to switch to the Coop (£100), then to M&S (£125), and then to Halifax (£100). Once at Halifax, if you play your cards right you can collect £5 a month.

None of this is giving you instant money but there is around £400 relatively easy to get over a period of 2-3 months, plus perhaps that zero percent overdraft for 12 months.