Need some new direction and a big kick!! SOA added

findingmyownway

As a regular on the board i am somewhat ashamed to be typing this.
Last week the hard drive on my laptop died a permanent death. As a result i lost a lot of files, some precious photographs and all my SOA/budget/debt spreadsheets etc :eek: .
Obviously i am gutted but nothing can be done about it now. With regards to my finances, i’ve had to start again with new files – not such a bad thing as i was in a bit of a rut anyway with the debt payments and so now is probably a good time to reassess everything and plan for 2008.
Anyway, whats really disappointed me is i am no further on than when i started!! Obviously i don’t have the old figures anymore, but i think i was about £4K in CC debt at the start. And now i’m at £3.5k + £9K car loan L.
In the last year i have finished a PhD (well, i haven’t actually finished the thesis but am writing up in ‘spare’ time) and have got a great job which is close to home, well paid, has lots of prospects and generally i couldn’t have hoped for better! I literally finished full time PhD on the Friday and started work on the Monday which is practically unheard of. So all that is great, but i’ve been working for months now and haven’t made the inroads into the debt that i’d hoped.
I’ve had a think about how much of the problem is due to my attitude – if its slipped since initially joining MSE etc. £2K of the debt is still carried over from my days as an undergrad student – i never managed to clear it when started PhD. I think when i started work this year it was easy to think all my problems were sorted, when in reality they still need a lot of work. My battered old car (which in true MSE fashion i was running into the ground) died over the summer and i felt i had to get a respectable one to suit the new job. And yesterday i replaced my laptop (this really really was essential, i HAVE to be able to write my thesis at home – and after losing the files that i did i couldn’t risk freecycle etc). But its all money i don’t have.
Anyway, this seems to have become a bit of a self indulgent moan. I think i just need a kick up the @rse and a push back onto the wagon. Please!!

Lucy1982_2

Well Come back!

And have a big kick from me! I've been stuck in a rut to and I am looking into a new spreadsheet for 2008 (assuming I ever learn how to work excel!)

So sit down and re-do your SOA, collect all your debt info and sort out that plan!! And of course let us all know so we can have a nose and offer advice!

Good luck x

angelflower_2

consider yourself just kicked....

Now get on the laptop and start planning!!

xx

Mad_old_tory

...and make sure you back things up in future, memory sticks are cheap now so do that and keep in a separate place to the laptop

and dont forget where you put it

hypno06

kick kick kick kick kick.......hope you don't bruise easily!!

Deep breath...now get on with getting debt free!!

findingmyownway

Right here goes, brand new SOA


Joint Expenses (i live with OH and we pay halves)


mortgage £675
gas £30
electric £37
telephone £12
internet £25
house ins £15
council tax £79
water £31
tv licence £12
food £300
total £1,216
half share £608

(food covers me, OH, his 3 daughters for half of the week and the cat. me and the girls take packed lunches, OH buys his own while out)



Personal Expenses

Household bills, mortgage & food £600.00
Mobile (Orange) £25.00
Gym (Virgin) £40.00
Life Ins (Direct Line) £6.00
Car Ins (Swiftcover) £33.00
Loan (Sainsburys) £280.00
Petrol £40.00

Total £1,024.00

I also put £50 away for car expenses

INCOME

£1729 (after tax, NI and student loan gone out)

DEBTS

HSBC Visa £1,466.00
EGG Visa £140.00
HSBC OD £2,000.00
Total £3,606.00

HSBC visa apr=20%ish. Egg=7%. HSBC overdraft is 0%
Plus car loan of £9000, 6.4% apr for 3 years but i think i'll treat this as a bill for now, at least until others are clear.


I already sell on ebay(£100 in paypal account), go through Quidco (about £70 owing) and shop around for insurances etc.

As you can see, the figures show i have £600 left over for clothes, presents etc. The trap i fall into is paying loads off the CC on payday and then running out of money by the end of the month and spending on it again. Need to fix something more realistic i think.

What do you think? Do your worst, i can take it

itsnever2lateisit?

If you havent done anything with the hard drive since it packed up, then it can be recovered, depends how precious those pictures are

the software I have used in the past is Stellar Phoenix, costs money I know. I could do it for you, but that is a huge leap of faith on your part

findingmyownway

thanks, i'll have a look into that

nearlyrich

Have you got the interest rates for your OD, cards and loan?

As you have done this before you probably know about the snowball site What's the cost... this will give you an idea of which debts need to go first.
The treat calculator on there will also show the true cost of your spending on none essentials.

Welcome back to DFW, you will get this sorted you just need some motivation, I am sure the fantastic people who use this board will get you back on track.;)

findingmyownway

nearlyrich wrote: »

Have you got the interest rates for your OD, cards and loan?

As you have done this before you probably know about the snowball site What's the cost... this will give you an idea of which debts need to go first.
The treat calculator on there will also show the true cost of your spending on none essentials.

Welcome back to DFW, you will get this sorted you just need some motivation, I am sure the fantastic people who use this board will get you back on track.;)

Yup they are in the post. HSBC credit card is by far the highest. I have applied for a couple of 0% cards but keep getting turned down, don't know why, i have never missed payments and didnt have a problem getting lowest advertised rate for loan (6.4%).

findingmyownway

You are right, all i am lacking is motivation and determination.

I am going to a concert tonight and spending a few hours in city centre beforehand. Its going to be a test! I have £100 cash and i am determined thats going to last me until next payday (2 weeks), paying for EVERYTHING, including petrol for 400 mile work trip next week (will claim expenses when i get back).