Wildchild on a debt free mission

Wildchild_2

Hello!

Great website :T

I have been having trouble with debts for a little while now and I really need to get my head out of the sand and sort it out ASAP.

There are loads of motivating stories on here and with a bit of luck you will all shame me into getting a handle on my debts.

Here is my draft SOA

Income:
£1360

Total debts:
Loan: £3310.56
CC: £1497
OD: £925
Total: 5710.56

Outgoing:
Mortgage. bills, food and car: £450 (this all goes into our joint account so there is £900 in there every month including £40 emergency money which goes on CC if we have not spent it)
Bank loan: £370 (last payment will be 1st September 2008)
Car insurance: £37.80 (has just been renewed and is the cheapest for us)
Greenflag: £6.80
CC minimum: £50 (a little less than that but I am rounding it up)
Girly stuff: £80 (includes hair, clothes and all that stuff)
Gifts: £20

Total:
£1014.60

This means there is £345 a month left over to pay off the OD and CC. SO that should take me 9 months. That means CC, OD and loan will all be payed off by September 2008.

That sounds like a long way away to me.

consultant31

Hi and welcome to DFW.

I think if you break down the costs you've listed it will be easier for people to try and help you shave them to the minimum.

For instance, put things like TV licence, gas/electric, petrol, car tax, food etc separately so that we can tell where you may be over spending.

Also a spending diary is a good idea, so that you can see where all the money disappears to - Starbucks, magazines etc.

RAS

hi

What are the APRs on your cards, loans and OD?

And if you can split your costs, people can help you better.

Wildchild_2

Hi

Out of our joint account the costs are:

Mortgage: £486.32
Gas: £30
Electric: £15
Phone: £10
Water: £21
Food: £150
Petrol: £125
Car stuff: £50

Total: 887.32

We don't have a tv so I don't pay the license fee even though the BBC are insisting we should and I have phoned them and begged them to come around and look.

We can't cut the petrol down because I use the car to get to work in the middle of nowhere (no public transport available and 32 mile round trip) and OH uses the car to get to work too.

I suppose we could do better on the food front but we try and buy a lot of fruit and veg and this always seems more expensive than unhealthy options. We shop in Tesco.

Wildchild_2

Not sure exactly what the APRs are but I know that the overdraft costs £12 in interest per month and the CC costs £27 so I will be paying the CC off first and then the OD.

With the loan the interest was 7.4% but I am not allowed to make overpayments. Am allowed to pay off early though.

My big problem is that i am due to pay the building maintenance charge on 1st January which comes to £663 for 6 months. I only have £500 of this after paying off everything else.

I have manages to sell a few things on amazon but only made about £25. And I don't have much else that I can sell.

So my priority is to live as cheaply as possible for the next few months and once the service charge is paid start putting all spare cash towards my CC

consultant31

Do you have a market nearby? The fruit and veg is usually about half the price that supermarkets charge. Alternatively is it possible for you to shop early mornings when (in my local sm at least) they put out the cheap stuff which is at the end of it's shelf life. Most of this stuff (which includes all fresh meat etc as well) can be either eaten that day or frozen for later - I make a huge saving on my weekly shopping bill this way.

As for the TV licence, ignore the letters, they'll come round soon enough nd then you can gloat about their wasted journey

If you feel you can't cut back much, the other option is to try and increase your incomings. Sign up to do mystery shopping etc - as the saying goes "every little helps" Have a look at the Old Stle board for ways to stretch you money and live cheaper.

Wildchild_2

Will be checking out our local market this weekend to see if they are cheaper.

I am going to check my account now to see if there is anything there that I can do to improve things a little.

I think my first priority is going to be my CC. If I can start paying £300 off on that every month starting from 1 February (after I have paid the service charge) then at that rate it will be payed off by 1 June. That isn't too bad and then the OD will take me to 1 September.

Will hopefully be able to speed this up a bit by earning a little extra here and there.

I've heard a little about matched betting. Is it really as risk free as people say it is? Sounds quite complicated too.

taxi73

Hi Wildchild...looks like you are well on your way there and sound really motivated and that sounds like a great plan..oooh to be debt free by september fantastic....I don't understand MB at all...good luck xxxand well done for so far

Wildchild_2

Good news - have earned £9.80 so far on Pigsback so I am looking forward to claiming that. On the other hand I had a big spend weekend.

I will be going on holiday to visit family in Belgium for three weeks on Wednesday and I will be aiming to spend next to nothing. I only have present to buy for niece. Everyone else is done. I will have free accomodation and food and will be going cold turkey on the spending.

I will be giving my wallet to OH and he will be responsible for my spending. Childish I know - but I think this is the best way to go. I cannot increase my debt over Xmas.

Am going to check my bank account now to see the damage I have done over the weekend.

HBFS

Good luck with your mission, Wildchild!

Wildchild_2

Thanks HBFS - need all the luck I can get

Been browsing a lot of the threads on here and it seems that debt and depression go hand in hand. It is such a vicious circle. Either you start with debt and that makes you depressed and then you spend more to feel better and so it goes on and on.

Or you get depressed and start spending to feel better and then get more depressed until it all spirals out of control.

Maybe they should put warnings on CCs like they do on cigarettes - overspending may cause depression.

With me I wouldn't really say I was depressed exactly, but just unhappy and I have these mad mood swings and ups and downs. Totally unpredictable personality and shopping seems to stabilise my moods. Until I get the bill that is and then I get p***ed off and beware anybody that comes near me.

Isn't it tragic that in today's world buying a crappy jumper can make you feel on top of the world and then having to pay for it brings you crashing down again.

Anyhow... I am off to look for a shrink now. I obviously need help