Positively Planning and Enjoying Life

savingholmes

Happy New Year - don't try to tackle everything at once. Continue to follow the sock drawer method and over time things will fall into place.

StripeyTightsSpottySocks

hi savings thank you for the suggestion and encouragement

StripeyTightsSpottySocks

student loan

Any ideas on the below appreciated.

I have a student loan and having read lots on here i do seem to be in the bracket of having to repay it back in full - it won't ever be written off. When i remortgaged they did have questions about this unsecured lending.

Having not had any correspondence about this for over a year i read today that i can check the balance online.

£2642 owed as of today. Interest is being charged at a higher rate than i could get in a savings account.

i'm wondering about maybe paying ad hoc extra payments to this to try and clear it. It's my only debt apart from the mortgage and it will be nice to see it gone.

My salary isn't very big so it would take several years to clear through wages alone given my current salary.

StripeyTightsSpottySocks

Phew yesterday went by quickly after yet another visit to family. I am definitely not driving until at least Tuesday now when i'll pop out for fresh food only - only a day off it seems lol.

No spend yesterday. I did declutter 3 items to pass onto others and decisions to be made on other items but didn't have time after getting home later than expected.

This year i will declutter every area of my home i can get to (i can't get in loft, but, because of that, there's very little up there!)

I will try and sell what i can to make the shortfall up in my wages - now having 1 main, less than average paid job, i am feeling the pinch of not having the other jobs.

Having been awake from about 1am the last few mornings i am having a quiet day today. Hope everyone has a good day

South_coast

I would definitely go for it with the student loan if you can. I overpaid mine as, like yours, it wouldn't have been written off, and it was fantastic to get that money back in my pocket every month. I actually paid it off with a 0% credit card in the end, so I didn't have to pay any more interest. I don't think they'll let you pay by credit card any more though (although you could do the same thing with a money transfer). Having that 9% back would really help with your cashflow

savingholmes

I object to paying interest in principle - so personally I too would find a way of reducing the cost of the student loan £

StripeyTightsSpottySocks

Thank you so much for your replies South Coast and Savings - i had been a little worried - not the right word really but i was worried everyone would say i shouldn't overpay - but after writing it down it and having seen the interest i just wanted it gone. So even writing about it on here helped to focus my mind. I'll have a think what i can divert to it 

StripeyTightsSpottySocks

Tired

Well i am very tired today and am back to work at 6am tomorrow  I don't sleep well anyway but have been awake from about 1am the last 5 nights or so - it only became apparent it was actual toothache after the dentist had closed. I'll be calling them tomorrow - i hope they can see me and i hope it is something simple (and cheap) and not very painful 

in better news, although my plans changed yesterday i did have a no spend day.

The mortgage will come out tomorrow because of the bank holiday so i'll try and update my signature. I just calculate the daily interest by dividing the interest by the number of days in the previous month - assume that works out right? I can't reduce this interest as the maximum 10% has now been paid but i still like to calculate it and try and keep myself motivated for the next window of overpayment.

Despite being tired had a nice late breakfast - brunch? I would say we made breakfast together but the truth is I made mine Mr Socks made his and then we shared a bit with each other.

Tomorrow i want to follow my new work timetable as best as i can - i think i'll need to drop the exercise part if my mouth / face feels like this and i'm a bit of a coward and not a fan of going out in the dark cold morning! Maybe situps could be a compromise.

We will need a small fresh food shop and i would like to tackle one of the bags filled with things! I also have a pile of books to go through to see if i can sell any and, if not, i will pass onto the charity shop. I need to start selling things on the bay to try and up my income.

Right pots await washing and the rest of the day beckons.

badmemory

If you are 100% certain you will land up paying your student loan off in full then I would agree that the sooner you do it the better.  They say it doesn't effect your availability of credit but it does if they ask you if you have one, otherwise why would they bother asking.  You have such a small amount outstanding that it must make sense to get shot.  The rates they charge students are disgusting & you are just paying for those who are no longer in a position to pay off theirs - often through no fault of their own.  So go for it, it will be one less thing to have to declare!

ETA mind you just think of all those people you are keeping employed too!!!

savingholmes

Hope you get a dentist appointment quickly. I pay for a private scheme - but even on the nhs you should have been able to get emergency dental treatment. Something to remember for next time. It can be quite serious if you get an infection and leave it untreated - so they take it seriously.