Newbe - Finaly getting my debt sorted

Amatheya23

Hi All,

Ok well I've been hanging around for a little while and I finally decided to post and start getting my debt sorted so here's my state of affairs... any advice is most definately welcome

Current Situation

Ok, first of all in my current situation I'm in the process of purchasing a flat on the government part buy scheme so it's possibly not the best time to be sorting out my debt but I like to start acting as soon as I decide to do something otherwise stuff never happens! Anyway, I've got savings of £1,000 (I sold my car **sniff**) which will pay for the remaining conveyance fees and I've got a very nice sister buying all the really important stuff for my flat so that's all sorted.
Other than that I'm going to have to get a loan for atleast £8,000 as soon as I'm in my flat because my current loan is with an ex-partner who now wants his money back
That being said here is all the financial stuff. (Based on what I will be paying when I move into my flat) as of 1/9/7

Debts

Loan £8,000 - 0% interest
Barclaycard £560.14 - 2.08% Interest per month
Capitol One £2,761.70 - 2.18% Interest Per Month
LloydsTSB Credit Card £2,306.51 - 0.79% Interest Per Month
Overdrought £1,434.02 - U/K Interest

Total Debt = £15,062.37

Bills

Rent £120.31
Mortgage £309.85
Bank Charges £20.00
Food Shopping £120.00
Gas & Electric £30.00
Water £20.00
Building Ensurance £6.33
Life Insurance etc. £50.00
Building Service Charge £60.17
Councill Tax £100.00
Phone & Internet £20.00
TV Licence £27.10 (Going doen to £11 next year)
Mobile Phone £30.00

Total Bills = £913.76

Debt Payment Per Month = £375 (Actuall minimum payment required £342)

Total Outgoing Per Month = £1,288.76

Income

Monthly Income = £1,130
Partners Contibution = £200.00 (this can't be upped as he's also in debt and this is all he can afford)

Total = £1,330

Money Left Each Month = £41.24

In addition around November I get an additional £1,130 every year (as I'm paid 4 weekly)

Actions

So far I've gained a welth of knowlege from using this sight. I've done a snowball report on my credit cards and found out that I've been phocusing on paying more money on the wrong credit card so as soon as I've got my home internet sorted so I can have all my finances around me I'm going to switch my payment around so they're more effective. I've also found ways of reducing my predicted utilities and phone charges.

I've already decided to:-

Get rid of my contract phone when it rund out and opt for a PAYG so that I can keep better track of my spending.
Do a mass eBay sale, I think I can earn around £300 to £400 for the stuff I've got and that money is going straight on my credit cards!
I've started buying meat at the local market as it's soooo much cheaper.
As soon as I've got the net at home I will start using programs like Quidco to earn while I surf - Any suggestions of other like sites would be well received.
I'm starting a £10 per week challenge. Every week I'll have £10 to live on and that's it... ok so I don't really have a choice on that one but

Well that's me. Anyone who has suggestions on other things I could do I'd love your advice.

RAS

Hi

Chevalier has a really good list of links for this sort of thing - nicked wholesale from an earlier post. good way to get vouchers for presents etc.

Also have you signed up for www.freecycle.org? This is the equivalent to e-bay except that people give stuff away. You can sign up to your local area and surrounding ones if you can get there transport wise. great for white goods, furnishings and electrical kit.

And check mystery shopping, here http://forums.moneysavingexpert.com/....html?t=454437

finally get onto the freebies forum here, sometimes more useful for pressies but also samples of stuff that make life more interesting.




Here are some survey sites, which will increase your income a little. Hope they help.

Also at the bottom there is some other suggestions ref reclaiming bank charges, and checking you are in the correct band for council tax
Good luck
chev


www.lightspeedpanel.com - this is a survey site, where you get points which turn into vouchers (you choose). May not help with the cash flow, but the vouchers could be saved towards birthday/xmas or given as presents.

www.ciao.co.uk - survey site that gives money. A bit fits and starts ie no surveys for a couple of weeks, then three or four the same day.

www.yougov.com - again paid surveys. However takes a while to get to the minimum payout level

www.mytns.com - again this is a survey site, but it pays you in points that convert into Nectar points at Sainsbury’s.

www.pigsback.co.uk - this is a points site, ie they give you points for buying things via their site. BUT you also get points for signing up for news letters (some of which are even interesting!), and also for clicking on adverts with pink borders. I have spent NOTHING with them but got a £10 voucher through this week (only been registered since January). There is also a thread in the freebies section, of www.moneysavingexpert.com which gives you all the daily answers to the competitions so you can have a better chance of winning on them.

www.mutualpoints.com - another points for clicks site. You can also buy things via their site and get points too. For a long time, I just clicked the links in the emails they send you, and that gets you 5 points. At 3000 points you get £20 I think. You can do searches via their site and that gets you points too.

www.quidco.com - this is a cash back site, so very good, for checking if any potential new insurers (ie if you have checked your contents insurance say and found a new provider), are offering cash back. Eg Lloyds was offering £120 cashback on new policies at one point (the offers do change). You can also get small amounts of cash again for doing searches via their site. You can earn 52p a day by doing this. Every little helps.

www.greasypalm.co.uk - another cash back site, where you can do searches and get small amounts of money. But it all adds up. I think you can get about 50p a day on there for nothing. Minimum payout is £20 I think, but you can sign up to survey sites via there, and get extra money that way for nothing.

Again more medium term money might come from claiming back bank charges. Also if you had an endowment you can write to your provider suggesting you might have been misinformed about its performance. Many people have got money back on that. There are articles from Martin on the main site about how to go about doing this.
If you are going to do this, it is wise to set up another current account first, with a bank that you have no debt with. Just to be on the safe side.

Lazy_Runner

Hi and welcome to MSE!

Just a couple of points. What is the life insurance? It seems like a high figure. Term assurance to pay off the mortgage I would expect to be under £20/month.
There is nothing in your SOA about travel to work, haircuts, clothes/shoes, estimated bus/taxi fares, yearly events like Christmas, birthdays.
Also do you take your own lunch into work? Is this an option? I find by doing this, I don't spend any money during working hours.

1carlos

Hi there, Amatheya23,

I lurk more than I post, and there will be some very experienced forum members along soon I am sure, but in the meantime, do you think your ex would take installments? I don't think you should saddle yourself with another loan at the moment looking at your SOA - and if you do, try to avoid a secured loan.

Also, B-card and C1 seem to be horrendous (sp?) interest rates - could you transfer to lower rate, or "life of balance" card?

Anyway, best of luck, and you have come to the right place for fantastic advice, ideas and support!

1c.