Advice needed

specialkaye

Your car insurance seems quite high - do you have a lot of additional extras that could be removed or increase the excess slightly? Also companies will often charge more if you want to pay monthly. Have you tried adding your partner to your car or alternative job titles can also bring the premium down.

The gym isn't too excessive - as long as you are using it more than PAYG option. Do you drive to the gym when you could walk or do you do a lot of cardio that could be done for free by running/cycling? It really depends on your workout style/ routine so most of this advice is general but if you do a mix you could do a couple of running/cycle session a week and then just pay for a single weights session.

You haven't detailed what the £250 bills are but it might be worth looking into the utilities to see if you can bring them down a bit so that you can reduce the £250 to £220 or something like that. Switching broadband, gas, leccie, insurances can all be done through cash back sites (I get at least £100 a year by switching each year which I then can then use to pay for things I want and use my actual wages to bring down my debt).

Could your food bills be brought down a bit - you could look into whether your work has a benefits scheme which offer discounts on gift cards including supermarkets - i.e. you buy a £100 voucher for £95 - one retailer even allows vouchers to be used on fuel payments.

The solution Bobcat2 suggests is a good one - as long as you have the financial restraint to bring down that overdraft as you increase your credit card debt - otherwise you will end up with double to debt before you know it!

Gethino

Thanks for all the replies and advice everyone. The main points I've taken from this is I need to watch where every penny I spend goes and manage my money better. I've gone and got a credit card with Virgin with 32 months 0%. My thinking is when I get paid at the end of this month I'm not going to touch my debit card and use the credit card (thankfully July is a much lighter month in terms of costs). I'm really hoping to save at least £500 on my debit card so at the end of July my overdraft will be down to £3000. Follow this on to xmas and hopefully there will be a real dent in it and all but cleared. Granted, I need to be very careful I don't rack up another £3500 on the credit card or all I would have done is shift it from one card to another. I've calculated my payments and if all goes to plan there should be between £2000 to £2500 on my credit card by January 2018 and overdraft free in my bank account. I've then got 25 months at 0% to pay off that which is £100 a month direct debit. Any spare money will be added to that £100 as well to get the credit card down as much as possible. Does this sound realistic?

tlc678910

Hi,
Just to say you need iron discipline to use the 0% purchases card in the way you plan to and not just keep spending (made that mistake). E.g. There will be no end of the month skintness near payday to slow you down so it is possible to just keep going.

You seem alert to the danger of simply running up more debt than you are paying off - I would strongly suggest you closely budget how much you are "allowed" to put on the card each month so you are fully aware if you begin to actually increase your overall debt level.

Good luck
Tlc

Gethino

tlc678910 wrote: »

Hi,
Just to say you need iron discipline to use the 0% purchases card in the way you plan to and not just keep spending (made that mistake). E.g. There will be no end of the month skintness near payday to slow you down so it is possible to just keep going.

You seem alert to the danger of simply running up more debt than you are paying off - I would strongly suggest you closely budget how much you are "allowed" to put on the card each month so you are fully aware if you begin to actually increase your overall debt level.

Good luck
Tlc

Totally agree. I've got to be so disciplined with this Credit Card or I'll put myself even further trouble. It is a risk but it's one I'm willing to take. Been stuck in this overdraft for 5 years now and nothing's changing so I had to try something new. I want to succeed in this for myself more than anything. I'm 26 now and so not a little child anymore. About time I took some responsibility with my finances. It's gonna be a bloody hard slog but I'm up for it big time.I'll keep you updated and as I said by Christmas this year I expect about £500ish left on my overdraft and when we enter 2018 phase 2 begins of paying off the Credit card. Hopefully there won't be much more than 2k on it by then!
P.S - I haven't told my girlfriend the plan as I'm nervous she might blow the roof when I tell her I've gone and got a credit card. Any advice how I can tell her in a positive way?

zippygeorgeandben

We've just started this month so how about you account for every single penny this month? Whatever your salary was paid to you onthe 31st this is the amount you have. Surely you have had direct debits come out already? I can help keep you on your toes this month if you want? Just DM me if you want me to be a prod throughout the month!

LabRatty

Hi,
Congratulations on getting a plan together. I found a spending diary was helpful on two fronts - not only does it inform you about the leaks in your budget, but you tend to think twice about spending if you know you're going to have to write it down afterwards. Result!!
All the best,
LR

bobcat2

Gethino wrote: »

Thanks for all the replies and advice everyone. The main points I've taken from this is I need to watch where every penny I spend goes and manage my money better. I've gone and got a credit card with Virgin with 32 months 0%. My thinking is when I get paid at the end of this month I'm not going to touch my debit card and use the credit card (thankfully July is a much lighter month in terms of costs). I'm really hoping to save at least £500 on my debit card so at the end of July my overdraft will be down to £3000. Follow this on to xmas and hopefully there will be a real dent in it and all but cleared. Granted, I need to be very careful I don't rack up another £3500 on the credit card or all I would have done is shift it from one card to another. I've calculated my payments and if all goes to plan there should be between £2000 to £2500 on my credit card by January 2018 and overdraft free in my bank account. I've then got 25 months at 0% to pay off that which is £100 a month direct debit. Any spare money will be added to that £100 as well to get the credit card down as much as possible. Does this sound realistic?

I would just double check that the virgin card you have got is definitely 32 months for purchases, I haven't seen a virgin card currently offering 32 months for purchases at 0%. The purchase cards seem to be 28 months. The 32 month card looks like a money transfer card with 3 months for purchases, so I would just double check that you have definitely got the product that you think you have.
If you've got a money transfer card with 4% transfer fee then interest free for 32 months you could clear the lot to that and gradually pay off which wouldn't be bad as it only works out 1.5% per year. May even be simpler than messing about with purchases etc. Just be sure to then not spend at all on the card

bobcat2

Thinking about it if the virgin money transfer card is available to you, there's one with 36 months at 2.9% fee to transfer money straight to your current account. You set up a direct debit for £200 a month to the card and have it cleared in 18 months. ...sorry I would have suggested this before but didn't know it was available. If you feel this option suits better, might be worth having a chat with virgin and see if that option is available to you as you've just opened the card.

Gethino

bobcat2 wrote: »

I would just double check that the virgin card you have got is definitely 32 months for purchases, I haven't seen a virgin card currently offering 32 months for purchases at 0%. The purchase cards seem to be 28 months. The 32 month card looks like a money transfer card with 3 months for purchases, so I would just double check that you have definitely got the product that you think you have.
If you've got a money transfer card with 4% transfer fee then interest free for 32 months you could clear the lot to that and gradually pay off which wouldn't be bad as it only works out 1.5% per year. May even be simpler than messing about with purchases etc. Just be sure to then not spend at all on the card

Oh god have I got the wrong one? This is the one I've got.
32 Months Balance Transfer Credit Card
Balance Transfers: 0% for 32 months (0.60% fee)
Money Transfers: 0% for 32 months (4.00% fee)
Purchases: 0% for 3 months

Regarding my plan in my posts above... does this majorly change things? Do I need to phone them and cancel this and get another one or is it still doable with this one? Advice needed anyone!

[Deleted User]

Your deductions seem quite high.

Do you have deductions beyond NI and Income Tax, such as CCJ deductions, child maintenance, benefit over-payments?