I’ve only just realised what a financial mess I’m in.....

DebtFreeAliB

Toni'sfriend wrote: »

I used to use Gatineau for cleansing, toning and moisturising. Can't remember how much it cost but it was expensive, especially the moisturiser. Now I use Boots cucumber at a couple of pounds each but frequently on three for two. Can honestly say I don't notice the difference.

Ha - yes - the face stuff....I haven't tackled that yet. Still using Dermalogica. Need to find some reasonably priced alternative that does exactly the same for my skin. I can't use oil on my face and other brands of oil free products leave my skin feeing dry and tight. It's a bigger challenge for me than the body products.

Kitten868

I think saving yourself £10 per shower is enough progress for today. I would say save yourself the expense of buying new brands to try out and watch some reviews on YouTube. You can suss out the clueless and the paid reviewers and weed out some of the options. My friend bangs on and on about lush and the body shop. She loves the shampoo bars etc.. I know they aren't cheap but they are price per wash I think.

What is the forever home plan? You upgrading? Downsizing? Xx

ohdearhowdidthathappen

Have you ever heard of Beauty Pie? I'm a massive fan... you pay a monthly membership fee (can be as low as £5) and then all the make up, skin care etc is all cost price. Sounds a bit dodgy, but google it, it's recommended by all the big beauty mags etc

Can you switch any of your debts onto 0%? Some of your interest rates are eye watering....

You could also check your car deal.. once you're half way through the term, there's often an option to hand it back no questions asked. You could then get something cheaper.

Good luck on your journey, you sound very motivated

Doing_it_my_way

Hello, I just thought I would also say hello You are in a similar situation to me, I have suddenly also woken up and thought OMG I am half way through what am I doing?? Wishing you the very best, you got this!

enthusiasticsaver

DebtFreeAliB wrote: »

The lowdown on my debts and the current plan based on APRs:

Debt No. 1 - Credit Card 1 - APR 41% (!!!) - Balance: £5829.81
Debt No. 2 - Credit Card 2 - APR 28%(!!) - Balance £4523.80
Debt No. 3 - Loan 1 - APR 6.9% - Balance £10694.04
Debt No. 4 - Credit Card 3 - APR 0% - Balance £7141.91
Debt No. 5 - Loan 2 - APR ?% - Balance £4682.25

The 41% card used to be 22% until about a month ago. Needless to say it is now my number one priority until it is paid off in full or I can find an interest free card or low interest loan.

I still owe about £30,000 on the car. By the time my 4 year period is up (June 2021) I will still owe £17000. The question then will be do I hand it back at that point and buy a cheap old runaround or do I pay it all off and keep it forever? I do love it a lot but I need to be sensible. All thoughts and reactions welcome.....

The interest rates on the credit cards are awful so I would definitely look to reduce the balances as soon as possible and move them to 0% when you can. Try the soft eligibility checker on this forum to see if you would qualify. With £33k of current debt though you may have to wait 6 months and reduce it as much as possible over that period and try for a deal then.


The car loan is huge. Is that a PCP deal with a balloon payment at the end? Have you only just taken it out? I very much doubt it will be worth £17k in 4 years time unless it is some sort of niche car so I think I would give it back.



Why no pension? Do you have an accountant? There are tax advantages to contributing to a pension.

You also need an emergency savings account so you are not tempted to put any more on credit if you have an unforeseen expense. £1000 is the usual recommended amount.

savingholmes

Personally I would look at how much it would cost to get rid of the car early and do it asap as otherwise will be stuck with payments for a long time on a hugely expensive car. We bought a £24K car at one point when we shouldn't have done - we gave it back at the lease break point which was about 3 years into it. We feel we can finally breathe again now we are not paying that £360 a month. I can't imagine what you payments must be like... I wish we'd done it sooner. I knew the first week after we signed up for it it was a mistake but there you go... We can only go forward.

I would look around your house and look for anything you can sell.

Well done on the wake up on the toiletry products, I imagine you are likely to have a similar wakeup call on makeup. My DD is makeup obsessed and spends almost all her loose funds on it - she finds big brand makes in beauty outlets at those outlet village type places and also TK Maxx. Worth a look. She also introduced me to some £1 eyeliners and other products in Superdrug - revolution and Mua which are very low cost but work better for me that some of the more expensive brands.

All the best.

FootyFanDan

Hello

I just wanted to pop in and say well done for realising and putting a plan into place to fix this, its going to feel tough to start but this forum is a fab place to pick up tips and hints, if nothing else it will give you a place to keep you honest to the plan. It sounds like you have a plan in place. Good luck on your journey

DebtFreeAliB

Kitten868 wrote: »

I think saving yourself £10 per shower is enough progress for today. I would say save yourself the expense of buying new brands to try out and watch some reviews on YouTube. You can suss out the clueless and the paid reviewers and weed out some of the options. My friend bangs on and on about lush and the body shop. She loves the shampoo bars etc.. I know they aren't cheap but they are price per wash I think.

What is the forever home plan? You upgrading? Downsizing? Xx

Hi Kitten - Thanks for this. I shall take a look.
Re the house - I have been renting since I sold my marital home after my divorce in 2012. I just need somewhere to call my own. Don't mind what size it is as there is just me and my giant dog most of the time. My other half and his parrot stay at the weekends. No kids in the picture. For me its about location above all else. I need a rural location. Can't live in town. xx

DebtFreeAliB

savingholmes wrote: »

Personally I would look at how much it would cost to get rid of the car early and do it asap as otherwise will be stuck with payments for a long time on a hugely expensive car. We bought a £24K car at one point when we shouldn't have done - we gave it back at the lease break point which was about 3 years into it. We feel we can finally breathe again now we are not paying that £360 a month. I can't imagine what you payments must be like... I wish we'd done it sooner. I knew the first week after we signed up for it it was a mistake but there you go... We can only go forward.

I would look around your house and look for anything you can sell.

Well done on the wake up on the toiletry products, I imagine you are likely to have a similar wakeup call on makeup. My DD is makeup obsessed and spends almost all her loose funds on it - she finds big brand makes in beauty outlets at those outlet village type places and also TK Maxx. Worth a look. She also introduced me to some £1 eyeliners and other products in Superdrug - revolution and Mua which are very low cost but work better for me that some of the more expensive brands.

All the best.

Hi Saving Holmes - the car is an issue. I'm hugely attached. It is a lovely car and perfect for my needs. I will keep it as long as it lives I think but I don't know haha......I keep coming back to it though. Will have to think about what I would get instead. My head knows it's stupid but my heart loves it very much.

Re makeup - I'm not really a makeup person. I wear the bare minimum to work (light foundation, blusher and mascara) and don't wear any at the weekend unless I'm going out and then its still the bare minimum with the addition of a bit of lip gloss haha. It's all Boots No.7 and it takes me a long time to get through it. I think I would be surprised if I spent more than £50 a year. I'm low maintenance in that sense. 5 mins in front of the mirror in the morning tops haha.

I have a few things I could sell. Some jewellery that I could possibly get about £5k for but again - I'm attached.
I am selling a couple of iphones and perhaps my ipad. I have 4 brand new pairs of shoes that are going on ebay this weekend along with a couple of hacking jackets that I haven't worn and cant really justify keeping. I also have a wedding dress that needs dry cleaned before I can sell it. I could probably get a few hundred for that. I used to make jewellery too and still have a lot of beads, silver, crystals etc so I might start that up again or at least sell the materials. Need to make some kind of 'to do' list.....

astrocytic_kitten

Following to cheer you along - the Molton Brown post really struck a chord with me! REN was my downfall, love their products. For the face, I have ridiculously sensitive skin but am doing very well with Lush ultrabland.

You sound very organised and determined - good luck!