Student with lots of stupid debt!

Jacks_xxx

I did not know that it gets written off after 25 years - or if you die...! My son must be counting on one of those things happening to him I think! :rolleyes:

Love Jacks xxx:D

painted_lady

Contact lenses - I got 12 months supply for £74 online, as opposed to £19 a month in vision express. They are not a standard prescription either, so maybe you can get this cheaper by shopping around.
The phone insurance seems a bit dear. Do you need it at all? I got a £40 2nd hand phone on ebay and it is really good.
Can you bulk buy texts - works out much cheaper.

CharliesAngel

Jacks_xxx wrote: »

I did not know that it gets written off after 25 years - or if you die...! My son must be counting on one of those things happening to him I think! :rolleyes:

Love Jacks xxx:D

lol I sincerely hope it's not the latter. Moving abroad could be quite exciting given the rubbish weather.....

dancingfairy

NUS card, NUS card, NUS card. Seriously I think you need to get yourselves one of these and use it at every oportunity. Even if shops don't advertise it you still should ask.
Yes everyone has a student loan but you really don't need the other debts hanging around.
ditch HSBC - you can get a student overdarft of up to £1800 with Natwest and it's interest free and they gradually reduce it every year after you graduate.
Can you socialise with your friends more cheaply ie go to their houses/cook for them - go to the cinema - frequent Wetherspoons - any other cheap pub rather than cocktail bars/expensive bars etc.
While no-one is saying you can afford a party all the time lifestyle you should be able to afford a decent life. The sooner you can get this under control the better as it seems to be the begining of a slippery slope. You may also need to give up your work at some point to manage your studies - ie in your final year and it would be nice to have that option rather than being in debt and having to work and your studies suffering.
When keeping the spending diary it might be a good idea to write down why you are buying an item - is it boredom/peer pressure etc -this will give you a good idea what you need to tackle to stop the overspending.
The mobile- ow that's high that really needs to go as soon as possible.
Have you got a particular goal you want to achieve - go travelling/work abroad/buy a house/car etc. Keep this goal in mind and think everytime I buy x I could be saving up for my dream holiday/house/car etc. You'll soon become addicted to saving.
You should be able to get a grip on this now and pay it off reasonably easily.
Shop around for everything when you're out.
P.S I have just graduated and owe £18,000 so know what I am talking about here. I know this is a little bit rambled but hope it helps a bit.

debbiedeejay

The very first thing you do HAS to be to start a spending diary!
Find yourself a notebook that you can carry around with you and write down EVERYTHING that you spend money on. The takeaway coffee, the magazine, the petrol, just everything.

I have to back OliveOyl on this one,I have done this for ages but I used to forget where I put my notebook so my OH downloaded some programme for my mobile phone that does this,so it means I just key in everything I buy and I can see at a glance how much I have spent etc!And I rarely am far away from my mobile!

It's brilliant and it just looks like I am texting!;)

Please don't ask me the specs as I have absolutely no idea what or how but I know it works for me,maybe have a look to see what you could get for yours.

Lucie_2

thecatsbarking wrote: »

I have a 'savings' account with Egg which has £400 in it, obviously it is not savings as I owe money out!

Quite right, you should use it to re-pay some of your overdraft, especially if you are bring charged for it. The Mint card is at 0%, so I'd prioritise the overdraft over that.

You say that you should only have 4 outgoings (car/contacts/phone/phone ins) but what about car running costs? Do your parents pay for your tax, insurance & repairs as well?

After your outgoings above, you have £430 per month to spend on everything else, including debt repayment. That works out at just less than £100 per week.

If you concentrate on overtime for the next month, you could have your bank account back in credit before you go back to Uni.

Student loans are cheap borrowing, but I'm still paying mine off 12 years after graduation..........

Helonearth

thecatsbarking wrote: »

Mobile insurance: £8.99

I am going to suggest you ditch this, as it is usually a complete waste of money. Most of the things that happen to phones (dropped in water, going missing rather than being violently taken/stolen) are not covered, and the premium charged is absolutely horrendous. The phone might even be covered under your parent's contents insurance anyway.

If you really feel you need some back-up, put this £9 a month away somewhere safe. If something does happen to the phone, you will have enough saved to buy another one. Alternately, you could just run £10 through a security shredder and then flush it down the loo every 5 weeks or so....?

Hel x