Another newbie, had my lightbulb moment today!!

Charlie1986

I have been lurking around the boards for about a year now but have decided to be brave and put up my debts. So far i just seem to be rolling along but not really getting anywhere with them. Hopefully that is all going to change now!!
Anyway here it goes

Incoming -
£806 approx per month ( I don't work regular hours as a care worker)

Outgoing-
phone insurance = £5.99 (Cancelling this, this week)
Car Insurance = £49 (just reduced from £69)
Lloyds Loan = 351.13
Next = £48 (approx) (Hopeing to take out a 0% card for this)
Mobile = 35 (£52 cashback at months 6,9 and 12)
Pet Insurance = £22.21
Board = 80
Pet food = £20
Petrol= £70 (I have to use my car for work)
Credit cards = £30
Family Load = £0
Total = £711.33
Left over = £95

oops_a_daisy

Hi there Charlie :hello: and welcome to DFW

Well done on having your lightbulb moment and you have come to the right place for support and advice

have you had a look at the sticky thread for newbies ? that will help you to do a full SOA ( statement of affairs ) as I think there may be a few things missing off the one you have posted...... like food for yourself :rotfl: ( now I know the dog has to be fed but so do you! )

The budget planner on here is good too.

Have you shopped around for all of your outgoings ?

sorry to bombard you with questions but if I dont ask somebody else will.

All the best and good luck xoopsx

Charlie1986

:rotfl: I still live at home with mum so that comes under 'board'. Although I do buy the odd things we run out of if i'm passing a shop. I suppose about another £30ish a month is spent on food for the family and toiletries

I have just changed my car insurance, £20 a month cheaper now that I am 21.
I can't really change the pet insurance from pet plan as the dog has epilepsy and they pay out for the life of the condition.
I am hoping to look into getting a 0% card to pay off the Next account as the interest on that is rather high.
Not sure how else I can cut back but doing lots of overtime at work to try and earn some extra money.

oops_a_daisy

OK so it looks like you have an extra £100 per month to pay off your debts but also be careful to put some aside for chirstmas/birthdays/car maintenance so that you dont have to resort to credit cards in emergencies.

Start a spending diary and keep a note of all those extras that you spend on. This will show you if you are spending £30 a month on 'bits' here and there or if you are spending much more. It also makes you look at every penny you spend in a different light. You dont need to go out and buy a proper diary - a piece of paper or even if you just keep all receipts and tot them up at the end of the day/week/month will do.

Well done on everything that you have done so far.

Have a look at this site http://www.whatsthecost.com/snowball.aspx you can put in all of your debts and work out how long it will take to pay them off at the minimum and which ones to pay off quickest. Keep an eye on when 0% offers end though and also be careful about applying for too may credit cards at once as it can affect your credit rating. If you can not get another 0% prioritise the Next card as it is costing you most in interest then get rid of the other credit cards and then save up to pay off the loan early.

Hopefully others will be along soon with more advice

SarahNeedle1872

Hi Charlie, welcome to MSE/DFW, and congratulations on having ur lbm...

Ur SOA doesn't look to have too much scope to cut back, so could u make some extra money? Is another pt job an option? Also do u have anything u can sell on eBay/Amazon?

Sarah x

Charlie1986

SarahNeedle1872 wrote: »

Hi Charlie, welcome to MSE/DFW, and congratulations on having ur lbm...

Ur SOA doesn't look to have too much scope to cut back, so could u make some extra money? Is another pt job an option? Also do u have anything u can sell on eBay/Amazon?

Sarah x

Unfortunately due to working as a carer I have no set hours, each week is different so a pt job isn't really an option. I am doing any overtime that is offered to me though.

I have a few books and things i can sell on ebay, i will put them on there on thursday which is my day off. Also have just remember OH owes me £450 on the CC but i will use that to pay off most of my next account instead, which will free up another £50 a month.
I was also thinking of taking a months holiday from my loan to get rid of the rest of the next account and pay back some of the money to my family as it's been a while now since i paid them anything

always_amazed

hi charlie!

just wanted to say hello and congrats on the old 'lightbulb moment'; scary I know, but at least DFW is here!

One of the things I did just after I had my lightbulb moment was read through the Debt Free Roll of Honour and put some of the 'pearls of wisdom' into action! It's great to see that it can be done!

(I'm making asssumptions here, but by your username I'm assuming you were born the same year as me, don't know if that helps at all: but I found it good to know I wasn't the only one who was still living with parents and in debt etc etc when I came on here!)

take care and Good Luck!!
xxx

SarahNeedle1872

I would definately focus on the next, purely because of the interest rate.... if u could take a one or two month holiday from ur loan, u could definately kill off Next, then use the extra £50 towards the next highest apr debt..... and make sure u get the money back fron ur OH too!

With ur family, do they know about ur debt? Are u able to talk to the person u borrowed the money from and explain the situation.... even if it was just until Next was paid, and explain that then they could maybe have a bit extra each month (from the £50 u would otherwise have given to Next) once Next was killed off?

Sarah x

SarahNeedle1872

Now that I've looked at ur sig again..... if u really wanted to pay the family debt, using the 'Next' £50 each month, u could pay it off in 11 months.
Also, is there any scope to over pay ur loan without getting penalised? If there is, throw as much spare money as u can at that.... If not, get a high interest savings acc and start saving towards ur 0% cards (making sure u pay off the lump sum before the 0% ends).... use this http://www.moneysavingexpert.com/cards/credit-card-tart to remind u when ur 0%s are due to end.

Finally (for now anyways!) sign up to all the survey sites (I'll try to find the thread in a mo) and Cashback sites, to earn some extra tha way....

Sarah x

SarahNeedle1872

http://forums.moneysavingexpert.com/member.html?u=71402

Send a personal message to EagerLearner thru the link above, theres a great spread sheet for making money from the cash back sites (the money can take a while to come thru, but its all money!).
Also, the survey sites/mystery shopping thread is the first sticky at the top of the DebtFreeWannbe front page...... right, I'll stop talking for two minutes now!

HTH

Sarah x

oops_a_daisy

Lloyds Tsb loan- 12176.45
Halifax credit card - £1200 (0% 12 months)
Next Account - £523.23 (26.49%)
Family Loan - £550
Natwest Credit Card - £575 (0% 12 months)

Have pasted your signature above so that I can remember it !

Can your OH afford to give you the £450 back now ? if so you could put the £50 that you would normally pay off this month and £23.23 from the money you have left from your SOA and clear the next card this month. This is only my opinion but if you then continue to pay the min amounts on your 0% credit cards but at the same time save the £50 that you would have paid to Next and the £95 that you have left in your SOA over the next 11 months which would then give you enough to clear the cards when they revert back to full interest charges. Of course you could balance transfer the 0% cards again but that can not be guaranteed. You would still have a couple of years left on your loan which could be brought forward if you continue to save and can pay the loan off early. How quickly do you have to pay your family back - will they accept monthly payments ? I am also worried that your SOA does not include anything for emergencies and even the odd night out - hopefully you will get loads of overtime to allow you to live a bit ( and replace clothes ) aswell as pay off your debts.

all the best xoopsx