time to come out of the red and into the black

rico2k_uk

hi all,

firstly, what a relief of a site like this!

Right, i am 25 and have been living with my partner for the last 5 1/2 years. i have always taken the back seat when it comes to finances. i just am no use. we had a joint bank account where all our pay goes in and all the bills come out.

i started in the relationship with some debts from uni,etc and so did she. however we have both took out loans in the past and cleared other debts. unfortunatly this only made it tempting to get into more.

recently we argue alot how unhappy she is about taking all the responsibility. to be honest it wasnt the first time, and i can totally understand it. so i have had a look into the 'books' and found that we are close enough to not make a difference to £30k in debt!

this was ashock, and we decided (more me then her!) that we have to move out of our rental flat and back to our folks. we did this once before where we both stayed at her parents to clear some debt, but lasted 2 months and more debt!

So, i have decided i want more control of my finances and she can control hers.

I have tallied all my debt and want to see if there is a quicker way of clearing them.

I have :
1 over draft (RBoS) -£750
1 personal loan (cahoot - 5.6%) -£7000 remaining (until 21/02/2011) @ £171.74pcm
1 personal loan (a&l - 6.4% - 1770.02 remaining (until 02/08/2008) @ £177.02pcm
student loan - £4048.68

when i move back into my mums place, i will have minimal expenses out. I have put my car up for sale, and off road (no insurance/tax/running costs).

I am budgeting £20pcm for storage unit (shared), £50pcm living costs to mum, £100pcm for food, £35pcm for gym, £50pcm for travelling.

All the rest of my income (990 after tax pcm) will be going into a savings account to save up and have the set amount of money to clear the loans. I want to save up all the money i can to clear them each as quickly as possible.

What i have been trying to find out, is there a quicker way of clearing them? i want to be clear of all debt (student loan isnt so important) for the first time in my life!

Anyway, thanks guys, i know there are plenty of people in a worse situation and that im not too bad....:beer:

Dr_Hook

Hi and welcome :hello:

Glad you've decided to take control and get your finances sorted - it's scary at first when you tally everything up, but it's a great feeling when you start to take control of your circumstances instead of being a victim of them.

Having said that, I'm not convinced that moving back home is the best way to resolve your situation. I think it would be far better for you to learn to budget and live within your means as you are now - you say say yourself you've both tried unsuccessfully moving out before to clear debt. Once the debt's gone and you move back into rented accommodation, what's to stop the debt building back up again?

It'll take years to clear £30k of debt, even if you can throw £1k each at it a month you're still talking a year and a half (don't forget interest will continue to accrue as you're paying the debt off) - do you really both want to live apart that long? Will your parents have you that long? :shocked:

Why not post up your SOA so we get a better picture of your finances and can make suggestions from there?

Whatever you decide to do, best of luck and keep posting!

rico2k_uk

thanks!

errr.. whats a soa?

we didnt suceed the last time when we both were living at her parents house - way too cramped and stressful!

This time we are apart and hopefully get our lives sorted. The big reason for moving out to the folks is that we dont have to spend £400pcm on rent, then bills on top plus increased travelling costs. We were running 2 cars as we live in the middle of no-where!

We are both prepared to be living at the family homes for a good year or so, but tbh, i want to be clear before then and possibly travel a bit!i was just hoping of some loop holes to clear the loans quicker without effecting my credit rating!

CLAPTON

It would be better if you posted a proper SOA with details of your income and planned spending.

You need to work out a proper budget that includes realistic spending on everything that you will spend.. so you are going to spend something on socialising, clothes, the odd present / xmas etc... be realistic but then stick to it.

Your debts don't seems too bad ... leaving aside the student debt which I assume comes straight from your salary, your debts total 9,500. It looks realistic (subject to seeing your real SOA ) to clear this within 18 months if you apply yourself.

You or your OH may wish to post up their full details too.

Skint_Catt

What about finding somewhere with the same or cheaper rent in town or close to where you both work? Maybe even a studio flat for 6m? Then you could still get rid of your cars.

C xx

Dr_Hook

rico2k_uk wrote: »

errr.. whats a soa?

Have a look at this post for info on SOAs

Unfortunately there's no "quick fix" (oh how I wish there was! ) and it takes hard work & self discipline to sort out your debts. The good news is that the folk on this forum will help you and be with you every step of the way and the skills/habits you develop while paying off your debts will stay with you & set you up for the rest of your life. I've already seen a sea-change in myself and I've only been doing this in earnest for a few months!

mae

You could clear it quicker by selling any stuff you no longer need on ebay and also maybe getting a bar job or other part time job.

Also have a look at Matched Betting loads of info on this site and people are making a good profit it.

Also is the charges on your over draught? If so may be worth looking into changing banks and getting a fre over draft until its cleared??

If you have ever had bank charges too you can try and claim these back again loads of info on this about it.


Good luck