In debt, but not for long

gwen80

Hi

I've read a lot of other threads on here and wondered if all you helpful people could give me a bit of advice. I think I've been kidding myself that I'm not in debt, when clearly I am. Its not too bad though. I think its less than £2000, but I do need to add it up properly. I have in the past been in more debt, but I worked hard and cut back and I got out of it. However, I'm worried I'm letting things slide again and want to nip it in the bud. I also want to save up to get some work done on my house. For the last few years I have tried to follow Martins tips to get a better deal for things, but recently I haven't been so good and I wondered if any of you could spot some relatively painless ways for me to get myself back on track.

I can't find Southern Scousers sticky that tells you how to do it, but I'll have a go at doing my SOA.

Income:

£1531

Outgoings:

Mortgage - £420
Council tax - £78 (this is with single persons discount, think I could look at getting my house rebanded though as all other houses like mine in the area are a band lower)
Gas and electricity - £65.50 (had bargainous fixed rate deal for last 3yrs, came off it, before you knew it I had whopping bill and they upped my DD, now on a new deal, waiting to see how it goes)
Xmas fund - £20 (I try and make Xmas a bit less painful)
Holiday fund - £50 (I have close family who live abroad, so I try and save so I can go and visit them)
Rainy day fund - £25 (Just 'in case', not much, I'd like to increase this)
BT DD - £15 (Currently about £15 in credit though)
House insurance - £19
Abbey CC monthly payment - £80 (Balance around £3-400 mark, pay £80/month, 0% interest, will be paid off before the deal ends)
TV licence - £11.37
Broadband - £14 (One year contract is up in Feb, loath to change it though, its so fast and reliable!)
DVD rental - £3.99 (Could probably stop this as I've had the same DVD since Jan (I'm not kidding), I just love that if there's nothing to watch on telly, I can just put a DVD on without having to go out and hire one)
Car expenses - £60 (This covers tax, insurance, MOT and service. Any leftover goes on tyres and any leftover after that will go in my pot for a new car when this one conks out)
Dentist - £7.10 (Hmm, took this out as needed wisdom teeth removing and thought I might need x-rays etc when I really should have been on the level below. Now I've had the offending teeth out and apparently I can't move to the level below because its full?!)
Water - £16.42
Mobile - Usually somewhere between £15 and £25. (Not sure how it is this much though as my line rental is £13.99/month and I hardly use it. Thinking of switching to PAYG. Can I do this after I've got my free upgrade?)
1899 - Usually between £5 and £10. (I use these guys for every no. I can call with 1899 in front of it. I have yet to figure out their billing schedule though!!)

I think thats everything. That adds up to £920.38 taking the maximum costs where I've given a range (I think, using stupid calculator on laptop, please correct if wrong). The rest - no idea where it goes, guess thats the problem, food, petrol, treat myself to the odd top etc. Like I said though, I'd rather make painless changes (I did the painful cuts before and I'm enjoying having a bit more freedom - perhaps too much), but obviously if I have to I'll make the painful cuts.

Right the scary bit.

Debts:
Abbey CC - £3-400 0% interest
Overdraft ~ £700 by payday
Other credit cards - Need to tot these up, less than £1000 - I hope!:o

Thanks in advance for all the great advice you're going to give me.

Gwenx

gwen80

Forgot to say, I also do £25 a month sharesave. That comes straight out of my salary and will also go towards a new motor. Putting another £25 in soon, another reason to cut down.

HairyHandofDartmoor

I can't see food on your SOA. Do you eat? lol.

Keep a spending diary as you need to know how much you spend on food, petrol and everything else. I would cut out the DVD rental in the meantime if you don't watch it that often. Re the dentist, how can the level below be full? Maybe you need to change your dentist? Is this payment with Denplan?

Let us know how much you owe on all credit cards, your limits on them and the APR's so we can advise you better.

HairyHandofDartmoor

By the way if you have had a free upgrade for your mobile then you have probably signed up for a new contract. They are really pushing the 18 month contracts at the moment so you may find that you are tied in for that period, so check your paperwork.

You would be better off on pay as you go when your contract ends as you can give yourself a limit, say £10 a month and then stick to it or your phone will run out of credit (it keeps you focused on not wasting your credit!)

Floss

O2 will let you drop to the tariff below after 6m, and then again after another couple of months...only 1 drop at a time remember. Most companies will do this, as they want to keep you when your contract runs out.