Best borrowing method for small loan

TMK_2

Hey guys,

I need some advice regarding borrowing around £1,200 for an engagement ring.

At the moment the only dept i have is my student loan and i have cleared all other credit card and overdraft depts as of last year. My credit card expired at the start of the year and and i havent bothered renewing it or getting a new one to avoid any unnecessary spending.

I recently started a new civil service job so im only earning around £13,000 per year, (£900 after tax per month) but this rises every year.

As im not earning over £15,000 im not repaying my student loan yet so my only outgoings are living expenses.

I would like to keep this dept seperate from my current account which has around a £1,000 overdraft (Halifax current account).

Am i best getting a new credit card or is there a better option?

In general i try to have 0 dept so i'll want to clear this within a few months if possible.

Thanks in advance for any advice

CLAPTON

OD or credit card or simply save up for it (the best solution)

Dylanwing

Try looking at Gems TV, some of the rings there are a lot cheaper that the High Street, and the stuff is good quality. It might be worth checking out the website, Mrs Dylanwing was very happy with the ring that I bought her. Just a thought, but would it be better to spend a bit less on the ring, and a bit more on some of the practical items?

Welcome to the Civil Service, I hope your Department does not have the ridiculous random test needed for promotion to 'Management'!

TMK_2

Hey guys,

Thanks for the advice.

I was considering saving it up but there is a special date for us coming up next month and it seems the perfect time to do it. Unfortunitly i didnt realise this sooner and give myself time to save up. I think i'll look at the crdit card side of things and see if any of them will give me a better APR than my halifax account.

I've hmm'ed and haaa'ed about the what to spend on the ring and i've been told that its traditionally a months wages....... I'll have to do more research regarding diamond quality and white gold Vs platinum. I'll def look into Gems TV tho.

As regards to my department we dropped those tests last year. At one point we weren't even interviewing for new staff, it was just done via a test. The result was a number of people coming into the deparment with absolutely no communication skills. Needless to say they have learned their lesson, i hope!

Thanks for the great advice Guys

Dylanwing

The result was a number of people coming into the deparment with absolutely no communication skills.

Judging by where I work, that seems to be a pre-requisite of joining!

CLAPTON

i think the 1 month wages theory was started by jewellers and anyway 1,300 is more than your monthly wage by more than 40%. the price of the ring wouldn't determine the happiness of the marriage.

and the very best of luck

divadee

how about a diamonique ring from qvc!!

we had no money when we got engaged and i mean none, so i said dont get me one, but then i saw this lovely silver diamonique ring on the qvc website. It cost mr divadee £30 and i love it, we are in a position to afford a better one now after 10 years!! But I dont want one i love my qvc ring and it reminds of our younger days when money was so tight we had to eat beans for a week as we had no money And you might not have to tell her it aint real you can get diamonique set in white gold and platinum i think for about £200. Have a look on the qvc site


Its the thought and sentiment that goes with a ring not how much it cost. I have seen 1k rings that look nasty comapred to my £30 job

TMK_2

CLAPTON wrote: »

i think the 1 month wages theory was started by jewellers and anyway 1,300 is more than your monthly wage by more than 40%.

I get a lot of overtime in the summer and autumn as part of a bird/bat monitoring programme, its not as regular as id like it to be but its good seasonal work.

Point taken about price though. I think i may have set my budget a bit higher because of the retail prices in my area, i'll have to explore the net/TV pricing a bit more. I am however a bit unsure of buying it without seeing and holding it in person. Can items of this nature be returned without any major problems?

But i suppose divadee is right, its what it represents thats important i guess, not what its made of.

I'll spend tonite looking into unknown territory, tele-shopping, and see whats on offer.

Thanks again people

Dylanwing

Gems TV offer a full refund service. The only drawback is that they only do 1 size, but they offer a £12 re-sizing facility. What my OH likes about them is that a lot of their stuff is slightly unusual, and they often only have very small quantities of each design. Well that and the fact that they are cheap! Definitely worth a look.
I think that QVC, Price-drop TV and Bid TV also offer money back services. I have bought from the latter two and they are both very reputable - And have good, easy to navigate websites so that you don't have to sit through hours of rubbish TV.

regularsaver1

TMK wrote: »

Hey guys,

Thanks for the advice.

I was considering saving it up but there is a special date for us coming up next month and it seems the perfect time to do it. Unfortunitly i didnt realise this sooner and give myself time to save up. I think i'll look at the crdit card side of things and see if any of them will give me a better APR than my halifax account.

I've hmm'ed and haaa'ed about the what to spend on the ring and i've been told that its traditionally a months wages....... I'll have to do more research regarding diamond quality and white gold Vs platinum. I'll def look into Gems TV tho.

As regards to my department we dropped those tests last year. At one point we weren't even interviewing for new staff, it was just done via a test. The result was a number of people coming into the deparment with absolutely no communication skills. Needless to say they have learned their lesson, i hope!

Thanks for the great advice Guys

How about a 0% credit card. Your bank do one to go alongside your bank account, as you say you'd want to clear in a few months

kenshaz

divadee wrote: »

how about a diamonique ring from qvc!!

we had no money when we got engaged and i mean none, so i said dont get me one, but then i saw this lovely silver diamonique ring on the qvc website. It cost mr divadee £30 and i love it, we are in a position to afford a better one now after 10 years!! But I dont want one i love my qvc ring and it reminds of our younger days when money was so tight we had to eat beans for a week as we had no money And you might not have to tell her it aint real you can get diamonique set in white gold and platinum i think for about £200. Have a look on the qvc site


Its the thought and sentiment that goes with a ring not how much it cost. I have seen 1k rings that look nasty comapred to my £30 job

It is impossible to tell without removing the ring from your finger and examining with an eye-glass ,my wife has one and every-one looks upon it with admiration ,she just smiles and looks at me .I agree taste not diamonds is far more alluring.