Newbie - is there room for one more?!

MissKJ

Not mean, sensible. Why face it alone? You are thinking of your family.

SarahNeedle1872

Hi MissKJ..... what's a hippo? And where can u get them?

Sarah x

MissKJ

Make it yourself. Get a plastic bole, cut the top off and secure it inside the cystern with a small stone. It fills with water, but when the cystern drains the water bottle stays full. thereby saving that amount of water. Similar to putting a brick in but no brick dust in loo. I don't suppose new dual flush cysterns are too bad, but my old loo uses way too much water. It is not just about money, it is also environmentally friendly too.

SarahNeedle1872

Thanks..... I'm sure I've got plenty of bottles to use...

In_Search_Of_Me

Just saw this & wanted to send a hug! You've done the hardest thing facing it so well done & great that you can get some interest frozen. Have a look round & see if you can get contacts via quidco etc and get cashback fr them...does make a difference. Also consider starting doing surveys/clicks etc (see thread at top for maximising income). I used to hate it when people said get rid of sky and hung on to it for dear life, finally ditching it last week & I've survived!! Also have a look at the old style boards r ideas on where to cut grocery shopping. Good idea re car boot - ebay now getting busier and there is a thread on here about that too! Threads on eveything! Most of all just wanted to say welcome to a new way of life where the kicks are getting a bargain rather than spending a bomb! We also have virtual parties - sad it may seem but is actually a fun & cheap way of gettng through another frugal saturday night!! Feel free to ask questions...someone can usually help!

GettingThingsDone

Hi Sunshine, and welcome to DFW - there's plenty of room in here!

Off to bed now, but will have a re-read of your post in the morning...

gtd

sunshine38_2

HSBC Managed loan - £100.00 (outstanding approx £3,400 - will need to check with OH) - waiting to speak to OH to get full details
MBNA agreed repayment plan - £30.00 (again will need to check what balance is) - ditto above
Vanquis £35.00 per month (balance £730) Purchase interest 34.330%/Cash interest 38.630%
Catalogue debt £25.00 per month (balance approx £250) - dont know if interest on this one as OH pays it through family member
Studio - £30 agreed payment (balance £627 - interest stopped)
Simply Be - £30 agreed payment (balance £940 - interest stopped)
Vertbaudet - £20 agreed payment (balance £520 - interest stopped)
Additions Direct - £15 agreed payment (balance £420 - interest stopped)
Next - £120 (balance £1300) - 26.49% variable
Capital One - £40 agreed payment (balance £950 - interest stopped)
Barclays CC - £30 (min payment £24) (balance £428) - Purchase 29.9%/Cash 37.9%
Citifinance loan - £104 (balance £830 - due to finish May '08) - having trouble finding my original paperwork
LX Direct - £20 (balance £240) - 32.9%
Sofa finance - payments start October 2007 - £80 per month - 0% 12 months
Credit Union - £55 per month (due to finish November 07) - balance £110 -payments included interest at 3%

Well, that's been an education in itself. I'm ashamed to admit that I've never looked very closely at most interest rates/APRs.

I have a question though, when you come to do the snowball calculator and you have purchase/cash interest, what figure do I put in (assuming you only enter one figure for a percentage?

Thank you MissKJ for your help and the tip re cistern - I will have a go at that. Does it matter what size bottle you use - how big a bottle can you get away with using to save the most water?! Thanks for your tips/advice - has it taken you long to get where you are today?

Unfortunately I'm not entitled to any payment holidays - chance would be a fine thing. I think it's the one payment we have never had arrears with although the continuing interest rate rises are not helping our situation at the mo but then I guess a lot of people are in that boat too.

I got the house/content insurance through greasypalm which was something I picked up off this site and got a great cashback with it at the same time - was impressed with myself for that one! Will defo keep trying to get things (when I finally can ) through cashback sites.

Thanks JonathanA. OH is using own car and paying the full settle so that he can work day or night. He is increasing the hours that he's out working but the work has been slow in that he's been out there but no jobs coming through regularly. I know that he's still finding his feet and trying to work out the best times to be out on the road but obviously I become concerned with tiredness etc kicking in if he works all day and late into the night too. I guess he should just stick at it and give it a bit more time? We keep wondering whether in the build up to xmas (gulp!) he will earn much more and then we could throw as much as we could at the debts then and with that prospect on the horizon it would be mad to give up now and try and find another more regularly paid job?

Sorry all, I've rambled on too long

Sunshine x

MissKJ

Sunshine38. No I started in August. But we were silly with money. I had options, which is good, and with jigging around, saving where I can. and a few things coming to us which I have used fairly wisely, I have managed to actually be able to set budgets. I have a long way to go, but it's good to be able to pay, not worry, and know that its achievable. I am lucky to be able to increase my wages working extra hours, and I am tired, but better that than worry. My advise is to allow yourself to become obsessive!!! Then you start to enjoy the challenge.

Re the snowball calculator, i am not sure. See how it works out adding them in as seperate debts, bearing in mind that the company use your payments to "pay off" the cheapest borrowed money first. so maybe put in the highest interest, then when you have paid all that off, adjust the calculator for a further reduction.

sunshine38_2

Hi all, well I've had a go with the snowball calculator and if I've done it correctly the total debt is £14,145 :eek: and the DFD is March 2011 :eek: :eek:

I guess that's what you call your lightbulb moment - ok, that would officially be 23:11 on 30.09.07.

For now I'm actually going to turn my lights off (the house lights that is) and get myself off to bed.

I'm going to deal with council tax arrears tomorrow and then see what else I can work at sorting out. One day at a time eh?

Thank you everyone for your help so far. :T

Sunshine

chloebelle

Well done OP for facing up to the issue. Doing the SOA is horrible, mine really depressed me, but it has to be done. I was shocked and ashamed of my stupidity when I saw my outgoings, but writing it down in black and white has made me so determined to change the situation.

Your situation is quite complexin comparison to mine so I can't offer a great deal of advice. However, I would definately echo the words of another poster, GET OBSESSED! I spend hours reading these forums, doing online surveys, signing up for newsletters in return for points, doing piggy comps, writing film reviews etc... in order to make every extra penny.

If you are budgetted to the max, sit down and make a list of all the ways you could generate more money. amazon, ebay, evening job, car boot sales, daily clicks, mystery shopper, market research etc... Set yourself a target e.g. need to make an extra £250 a month and go for it!