Too old to be this stupid and with debts

JayRitchie

AnnMiddleton wrote: »

Hi Jay, you can pick up a 1 bed flat from about £85k where I live, I don't need anything fancy - just so I feel secure and I would also need to get furniture etc.

Hey, thats great! Just to check before writing lots of pointless things (!):

- no car? Is that a sustainable position?
- what sort of job do you do and how secure? You take home pay is very high for an area with cheap housing costs - is this a significant risk? Which part of the country are you in?
- what is the 'other travel'? Commuting costs?

AnnMiddleton

JayRitchie wrote: »

Hey, thats great! Just to check before writing lots of pointless things (!):

- no car? Is that a sustainable position?
- what sort of job do you do and how secure? You take home pay is very high for an area with cheap housing costs - is this a significant risk? Which part of the country are you in?
- what is the 'other travel'? Commuting costs?

I can't drive so I dont have a car, where I live (up north) is very close to a small town centre (5 min walk) for grocery shopping and the train station so it is do'able. I do commute into the main big city every day - have bought the annual card which I pay back monthly - it is part of the Post Office credit card.

I work in operations for a tech company - the industry is pretty well paid although they get their pound of flesh from you: long hours, lots of travel etc. Some people have been laid off recently so it makes me a bit jittery, although I have a good reputation as a hard worker so hopefully that will help. I made the move up north earlier this year so am hoping I can get myself sorted with a cheap flat so it will take the pressure off. Keeping fingers crossed.

I really appreciate all of the advice and pointers, Friday is pay day so I will attack the cards with the cheapest debt and work my way through the rest. I focussed on the large debt purely as the high number stressed me out but completely get paying off the smaller ones first just to get them out of the way.

@ Willing2Learn - will start looking into home contents insurance, it is not something I have thought about tbh. Thank you.

MovingForwards

Furniture for when you get your own place, check out British heart Foundation as they deliver and the furniture isn't too badly priced. I had to kit out this flat I'm in Andi picked up a mix of new (bed/mattress) and old (sofas, TV stand/unit etc), also see if any friends / family are giving things away; it doesn't have to cost a lot; the main thing is getting your own home for your security.

jinkssick

AnnMiddleton wrote: »

Hi jinkssick - the APR is 0% on all cards/debt atm - Halifax until Jan 2020, Tesco until July 2020 and Post Office until April 2021 so a bit of time.

And the bluntness is much appreciated - I really value people's advice and it is great to have the pointers.

Yeh as said before you should be congratulated. You earn well so your story is nowhere near tragic but nonetheless at 0% your laughing. You could clear all that debt by 2020. If you are frightened of being let go I would say safe than sorry, attack it all this year.

kazwookie

Is that right £75 per month on hair cuts?

£900 per year?

I suggest £75 every 9 weeks at least.

Good luck

JayRitchie

You position is really not bad. As an observation you should have paid the debts off comfortably by Christmas without making any further savings from the SOA - you just need to stick to the budget.

Other thoughts:

- don't use the ISA to pay off the cards - its just bad financial planning

- likewise keep up the emergency fund

- £25 a month for clothing looks low for an office worker. Is this based on having a decent wardrobe already or is it a long term budget?

- £75 a month for haircuts looks huge! Something specialist?

- I wouldn't cut the entertainment budget. £80 a month in a new area where you don't know people seems money well spent. You are just not in the disaster zone and the additional savings don't change your life in any meaningful way.

- Likewise if you've paid the main costs for the holiday at Christmas I wouldn't consider cancelling (so long as further costs are not a lot over £1,000 or so). Its worth looking whether there are regional transport deals you could use next year to explore the area and have a cheap holiday. There used to be some great passes in Yorkshire for example - there may be something of interest in your area?

-
Lets say you look for flats at around £100k. If you haven't done so I'd go an view a few now before you are ready to buy so you have a decent idea of what is available. Rightmove ads have a habit of making rooms look bigger than they really are and missing out details of short leases! Best to have a budget in mind.

By early next year you should be in a position to have a 10% deposit available and be saving for moving/ legal costs. Thats not a long time to persevere! I dont think you need to wait until Jan 21 - you should be safely there buy June 2020. You can buy furniture gradually - second hand/ freecycle. can save you a lot until you can afford the things you really like.

JayRitchie

Oh, and to add - what percentage do you pay into your pension and what does your employer contribute?

JCS1

Ask your employer if they do season ticket loans, some companies in the bigger cities will loan you the season ticket amount for train and then deduct from your salary over x months interest free.

AnnMiddleton

Hi everyone,

Thanks so much for all of the help, advice and replies - I feel much better about things and am putting together a plan in place ref the debts, the advice here has been super helpful.

£900 for haircuts over a year does sound mental when I type it out :eek:, I have very thin hair so you can see my scalp on top, it is embarrassing and something I am really conscious about - the hairdresser I go to is a miracle worker with colour and cut and I just go monthly as a default, although I might leave it longer to see what it is like once the roots come through. I also have a conditioning treatment put in with the colour so it is not so harsh.

Ref pension % - I pay 3% and my employer puts in 3% also, I really want to increase this to the max although I am not sure whether to get my debt paid off and then increase or start putting more in now.

The flat that I am in renews it's lease on January of every year, I was thinking of staying here until January 2021 so I can save for a good deposit for future flat with extra for legal fees. move costs, furniture etc (this will be in addition to my Help to Buy ISA which will be around £12k by then - including the bonus £, it is my understanding that you can't use the Help to Buy towards a deposit - but will be a good chunk to whack straight onto the mortgage). January 2021 seems so far in the future!

My employer has introduced season ticket loans so will defo use that next year so I do not go near a credit card again, the annual cost is around £900 per year and quite a saving if you just bought monthly.

Regional travel is definitely something to do next year as a hols, I live in Cheshire and there are some great walks, countryside to explore really near where I live, plus I have started a little garden which I am really enjoying looking after, nothing fancy, just some bedding plants from Aldi which are like mini triffids.

JayRitchie

On the pension - what is the maximum percentage your employer will match?

Where does the season ticket for £900 cover? All transport in greater Manchester? If so there are loads of great places to go. Alderley Edge for a start for scenery and footballer spotting.