In serious debt and starting University - Advice needed!

Martin660

Hey everyone

I'm starting University next month, moving away from home to Cardiff. I'm 24, and have just completed a one year Access to Higher Education diploma. (I left sixth form college early back after school as I wasn't the most confident person in the world and didn't feel ready to progress my education.

After leaving sixth form I decided to get a job (supermarket job), and got a car on hire purchase for 5 years (which I finished paying off earlier this year woo! ). Unfortunately however, I crashed into a deer a week after I finished paying the finance off and managed to completely dent/crack the front wing (Just my luck!) :P

I guess I needed some life skills before I was ready to commit to college and university! I've always wanted to be a teacher and so last year I decided it was time to follow my dreams and started the full time access course.

Unfortunately, due to the demands of the course I had to cut my hours down at work slightly to fit in with their availability and this has meant that I've gotten myself into a bit of debt. I live with my mother who is also in serious amounts of debt, however she is due to retire next month.

My current financial commitments are:

Sunny Loan - £300 (due to be payed in September)
Wonga Loan - £200 (due to be payed next week)
Quickquid and Lending Stream loans all recently payed off

Aqua Credit Card - £800 (hit limit)
TSB Credit Card - £1250 (hit limit)
Vanquis Credit Card (New- got purely for buying stuff for Uni) - £220

In terms of other bills I only pay £17 a month for my car insurance and £12 a month for my car tax. (I pay Phone line/internet etc at the moment but my mum has agreed to take these on from next month when I move out)

I have now finished my job and so the only income I will be getting until my student finance comes through next month will be the money I get from helping out at my brothers shop occasionally.


Here's where I need advice! I am trying to decide what I should prioritise with my student finance when that comes through. The amount I get is as follows:

£2492 in September
£1000 Bursary in January
£2492 in January
£2492 in April

My rent for student accommodation will be:

1 £1,606.06 21/10/2015
2 £1,606.06 20/01/2016
3 £1,606.05 20/04/2016


So from that, I can work out that I will be left with £886 of my student finance for the first term after paying rent. The advice I am looking for is whether I should use this to pay off either of the credit cards (in part or full), and then use the credit cards again for any purchases I need to make whilst in Cardiff, or whether I would be better keeping some as cash to spend and then waiting until January when my £1000 bursary comes through to pay off some of the credit card debt?

I have been looking into 0% balance transfer cards (as I feel this would have been a perfect way of managing my debts until I get the £1000 bursary in January and could pay it off), however my credit rating of 556 keeps meaning that I am rejected for most things!

I've also been rejected for having a student account with any kind of overdraft at all the banks I've tried because of my credit rating. (I had been told that there were some really useful deals available to students). It's frustrating because something like an interest free overdraft would have actually helped to improve my situation and credit rating rather than harm it!


I know all of this is my fault, based on stupid decisions in the past taking out credit cards and payday loans with extremely high interest rates, however when I first got stuck in this endless loop I didn't envisage myself becoming a student again, let alone starting University and moving away! So now I'm a little lost as to which direction I should take to manage my debts more efficiently so that I'm able to enjoy the experience rather than go through each day hating myself for the mess I've gotten myself into and the endless headache!


Thanks for any advice or tips, or any similar experiences people may have had

Martin

dancingfairy

I'm a bit confused. I can't see that you will have a spare £886. Will you not need this for food and socialising or textbooks? travel? How are you paying for these expenses?
df

missbiggles1

How much will you be earning when you move to Cardiff and why have you left your current job so early?

ETA

Why have you chosen what seems to be one of the most expensive halls of residence - are you too late to change to somewhere cheaper?

Martin660

dancingfairy wrote: »

I'm a bit confused. I can't see that you will have a spare £886. Will you not need this for food and socialising or textbooks? travel? How are you paying for these expenses?
df

The £886 is what I will have spare from my first student finance payment after I've paid my rent. :P What I'm asking is what would be the most effective way of me using this to help my debts and whether I should use it to pay some of the credit card balances off etc.

Or whether I would be best off keeping some in my main bank account to spend on the things you've mentioned rather than paying the credit cards off and ending up using them again. :P

It's really confusing me as to what the best way forwards is, because I have a feeling that once I get the bursary in January it will help out a lot, but in the meantime I'm racking up quite a bit of interest on the credit cards etc.

ShakeItOff

Can you look for extra work when you're at uni? I know Exeter Uni's student union employs casual staff, so would assume Cardiff would do the same.

Can you put some money into another account for the direct debits to come out of and pay the minimum payment on the CCs until you are in a better position to pay more?

Good luck starting uni! A very exciting time ahead!

Martin660

missbiggles1 wrote: »

How much will you be earning when you move to Cardiff and why have you left your current job so early?

I'm going to be looking for a job as soon as I find out my Uni timetable. (I think we find out the first week of freshers but not sure), as at the moment I have no idea what days my lectures will be etc. I aim to work around 16 hours a week hopefully, which should be about right to fit in with my studies.

I have been told that I could return to my previous job (at the co-op) if I wanted (My brother was an area manager for the Cardiff area), however I need to know my availability and stuff first.

I left my current job recently with the intention of helping my brother out for a few weeks before starting Uni I had been at the co-op for 6 years, however retail really isn't what I want to be doing forever, hence doing the college course and starting Uni. In hindsight I probably did leave a little early, but I guess the excitement about leaving clouded my judgement/common sense!

Martin660

ShakeItOff wrote: »

Can you look for extra work when you're at uni? I know Exeter Uni's student union employs casual staff, so would assume Cardiff would do the same.

Can you put some money into another account for the direct debits to come out of and pay the minimum payment on the CCs until you are in a better position to pay more?

Good luck starting uni! A very exciting time ahead!

Thank you It is probably the happiest I've been in a long time and I'm glad I've finally got to this stage and have become a little more confident and stuff! I've already been talking to my flatmates for the next year on facebook and they all seem lovely!

That's a really good idea about having a separate account for direct debits, I'll look into that!

I'm definitely going to get a part time job once I've moved to Cardiff!

Martin660

missbiggles1 wrote: »

How much will you be earning when you move to Cardiff and why have you left your current job so early?

ETA

Why have you chosen what seems to be one of the most expensive halls of residence - are you too late to change to somewhere cheaper?

There didn't seem to be much of a variance in the prices really when other factors are taken into account. The one I have got is right next to the main campus so limits travelling costs and also has evening meals provided/is part catered, which will save on food bills etc.

It was also my 3rd choice (You get allocated halls based on a list of your preferences), my first choice was slightly cheaper. :P You're not allowed to change now until term begins and there is a £20 admin fee to do so. Some people (who left it late applying) got their bottom choices and have been placed in halls miles away etc.

crazy_cat_lady

I would make time, pretty much as soon as you get there to speak to your student finance department. It's a lot of years since I was at uni but they were always so helpful with regard to what options were available etc. (I even got a payment from the hardship fund to help me pay for something I desperately needed but couldn't afford). I don't know if you could perhaps try contacting them now...

Meatloaf1981

From someone who accrued most of his initial debt from going to Uni, my advice would be to use the money you get from your student loan to spend on your books, food and necessities at Uni, not on your debts, or you will find yourself without any money for those necessities. You will be looking for an evening job really, that's a given, and weekend work. I would suggest you start applying for such work now before you start your term because sure as eggs is eggs, every other student will be doing the same when they first get there and you'll find it harder to land a job as a result.

You will have to work hard to service your debts AND complete your Uni course but ultimately the effort and sacrifice will be worth it. Will you be able to go out every single night? No, probably not. Will you accrue more debt? Yes, if you don't budget appropriately and have some self-discipline. Please, please take advice from someone who has been there and done that and bombed out in the second year (Having re-sat the entire 1st year again for poor attendance and failing the exams) when he ran out of cash because he spent it all on unnecessary rubbish.

Discipline is absolutely needed. Enjoy yourself of course, but do not spend more than you can afford to. Budget, budget, budget!!

Martin660

crazy_cat_lady wrote: »

I would make time, pretty much as soon as you get there to speak to your student finance department. It's a lot of years since I was at uni but they were always so helpful with regard to what options were available etc. (I even got a payment from the hardship fund to help me pay for something I desperately needed but couldn't afford). I don't know if you could perhaps try contacting them now...

Thanks for the reply Yeah someone did mention that the University has hardship funds etc to allocate, but I think I would feel bad taking money that could go towards people who need it and are not at fault for needing it. I think self induced credit cards and payday loans don't really come under what the funds are there for haha! I'm sure there will be lots I can't afford but I'm going to just have to budget really hard and control my spending. I know for instance one of the events for freshers week is a ball type event and I don't own a suit so I will be giving that one a miss! :P

Meatloaf1981 wrote: »

From someone who accrued most of his initial debt from going to Uni, my advice would be to use the money you get from your student loan to spend on your books, food and necessities at Uni, not on your debts, or you will find yourself without any money for those necessities. You will be looking for an evening job really, that's a given, and weekend work. I would suggest you start applying for such work now before you start your term because sure as eggs is eggs, every other student will be doing the same when they first get there and you'll find it harder to land a job as a result.

You will have to work hard to service your debts AND complete your Uni course but ultimately the effort and sacrifice will be worth it. Will you be able to go out every single night? No, probably not. Will you accrue more debt? Yes, if you don't budget appropriately and have some self-discipline. Please, please take advice from someone who has been there and done that and bombed out in the second year (Having re-sat the entire 1st year again for poor attendance and failing the exams) when he ran out of cash because he spent it all on unnecessary rubbish.

Discipline is absolutely needed. Enjoy yourself of course, but do not spend more than you can afford to. Budget, budget, budget!!

Wow, thanks for all that advice! It's good to hear from someone who has been through all the University budgeting etc.

I think using the money I have left over to pay for Uni necessaries and stuff is a good idea and what I would have liked to do (I can pretend I'm like everyone else then! :P) I just still worry about this cloud of debt lingering over me though and whether only paying the minimum payments will just mean I get into even more trouble in the long run because of the high amounts of interest being added on to them each month.


It's funny because earlier I saw a credit card which offered 6 months 0% interest balance transfers, meaning I could have transfered the debts from my credit cards onto one manageable card, and then used my bursary in January to pay off a large chunk! :P However with a credit rating of 556 I'm not surprised they rejected me! :P All I'm used to seeing lately is the rejection webpages for near enough every solution I come across. I was devastated when I found out it meant I couldn't have a student account like everyone else! :P