What do you forego to pay off your credit cards?

meowie

I got married last July and (yes, sadly) we made the mistake of putting some stuff on credit cards. Since, I have had a drop in income due to returning to education and we are finding ourselves dipping in and out of credit cards every month. As soon as we pay one off, it goes back to about £600 due to bills. We pay all our bills on time but there is nothing left to spend on much else. We have some student loans to save us every few months, but these just level off the hole we dig into our credit up to that point.
We haven't got holidays booked (apart from a trip to my parents abroad - free!) and the only treats we allow are £10 on wine each week or some chippy/curry here and there. We haven't bought new clothes in 8 months.
I suppose my question is: apart from buying cheaper food, how extreme can you be with savings before it gets to your mental health?

[Deleted User]

You need to work out a budget, see exactly what you are spending and on what, and more importantly where you can save a few quid.
You will get some help if you post a SOA over on the debt free wannabe forum on mse.

meowie

I think the budget is where we are failing. We just had the income drop and it's been difficult since. Keep being refused for balance transfers too...Not good.

Dobbibill

Stop applying for more credit if you being refused all the time - you will look desperate for credit and lenders will start to dodge you like the plague.

Can you convert your student finance into a weekly income to help with a regular budget rather than using it as a windfall every few months.

As above, head to the DFW board and get a SOA up - you'll be surprised where there are savings to be made.

MEM62

Maybe the question should be 'What do you forego today because you bought something yesterday that I didn't have the money for?'

If we all asked ourselves that question before spending money on those 'must haves' we would probably make different spending decisions.

PeacefulWaters

I never forgo anything to clear a credit card debt.

I only spend what I can afford to repay in full.

PasturesNew

meowie wrote: »

.... the only treats we allow are £10 on wine each week or some chippy/curry here and there....

I'd see that as excessive for most people who wish to be a bit careful with spending, even more so for people who purport to be trying to clear down debts!

Wine is a luxury; £10 isn't even the cheapest.

That's £520/year on wine.

That's a LOT of wine.

"some chippy/curry here and there" - sounds a bit flakey ... I bet it's a bit more "here" than there!

I spend £0/year on wine.
I spend about £20/year on chippies/curry/pub meals.

These are discretional spends .... not life's essentials... and there's joy to be had from finding cheaper alternatives to what you currently see as your "norm".

ceb1995

meowie wrote: »

I got married last July and (yes, sadly) we made the mistake of putting some stuff on credit cards. Since, I have had a drop in income due to returning to education and we are finding ourselves dipping in and out of credit cards every month. As soon as we pay one off, it goes back to about £600 due to bills. We pay all our bills on time but there is nothing left to spend on much else. We have some student loans to save us every few months, but these just level off the hole we dig into our credit up to that point.
We haven't got holidays booked (apart from a trip to my parents abroad - free!) and the only treats we allow are £10 on wine each week or some chippy/curry here and there. We haven't bought new clothes in 8 months.
I suppose my question is: apart from buying cheaper food, how extreme can you be with savings before it gets to your mental health?

With £40 a month on wine, could you go teetotal for a while or at least find a cheaper wine? I presume you've no chance at getting a student account with an interest free overdraft with the damage already done to your credit rating? Does your university have a hardship fund you can access? Are you living in the cheapest place you possible can?

CakeCrusader

Wine, fish and chips and curry's all mount up, sadly. Curry's really easy to make yourself, it's just a can of tomatoes, spices, rice and chicken/veg, so it costs less than a couple of pounds. If you buy a take away curry you're paying £20ish. Likewise with wine, a bottle costs £10, but a larger box (equivalent to 2 bottlesish so it may help to make this last a couple of weeks) is £12-15. Fish and chips is £15, but potatoes, frozen cod and a can of mushy peas will set you back a few pounds. Life's dull when you don't have little things to look forward to, but you can still have little treats without spending too much. If you do this once a week, you'll be saving something like £38 a week, just on fish and chips, curry and wine, which is £1,976 a year!

I don't cut back. If I know I'm going to be short on month because I have a bill to pay, I'll do overtime at work so that I'm in the red and able to pay everything.

It might help if you post on the debt free board

pogofish

At my worst, I needed to forgo everything but the most basic living and transport expenses in order to maximise my repayments - I had to set a very strict budget and stick to it for a very long and draining time until I eventually paid stuff-off and transferred the remains to an interest-free in order to manage it to best advantage.

Never looked back since and not got into debt again!

Lots of very valuable advice and moral support on the DFW board - get stuck-in there.

molerat

CakeCrusader wrote: »

.............. Likewise with wine, a bottle costs £10, but a larger box (equivalent to 2 bottlesish so it may help to make this last a couple of weeks) is £12-15. ...........

I can't see that one working :beer::rotfl: