Is There Any Way Out Of This?

robnye

can i suggest that you actually cancel some of the cards that you have a zero balance on......... as this could effect you aplying for new 0% deals......

socialising is a very human trait...... it doesnt have to be lonely... ie just you two at home.... but it doesnt have tobe expensive...... meals out etc....!
local ramblers.... walkers not speach....
evening course together........ general diy, car maintenance etc

finnerty

Loads of things to do when you are trapped in with relatively little cost.......buy a dart board and darts from a carboot mine cost me £6 in all and i have friends round twice a week for a few games of darts and cards and i have also joined a local pub darts team cheap and enjoyable night out not every ones cup of tea I know, but both you and your misses can do it and you do get to meet local people much more fun than 'trendy' expensive wine bars :-)

Join your neighbourhood watch group you will get to meet the locals and help protect your house at the same time...if you don't like the people you don't have to socialise with them but there is always a chance you might like them :-)

lionelflare

already got the dartboard, you cant beat a bit of bully! not too sure about trying to join the local darts teams though as it brings me back to my no.1 problem..... going to the pub! I suppose once a week wont hurt just as long as im sensible. give myself a 2 pint limit or drink orange and water.

Dammam

See it as a big opportunity - you both spend so long at your jobs, you can now find things to do together. What you perceive as a risk to your social life could bring major bonuses to your partnership.
It's nice to be lavish with the cash when you're young, but I think a lot of us here have thought the same way in the past and you can see the unhappiness it has casused to people here. I think you've sussed this out at precisely the right time and are in a position to sort it before it causes any damage.

The phone bills need to be sorted, but apart from the travel bills which, as you say, are essential there doesn't seem to be too much on the list that's outlandish. Does the phone & TV money include the BBC licence fee AND Sky? As long as you're watching them, I'd keep them personally - or try the trick of phoning up and threatening to cancel Sky if you aren't too bothered if you lose it - you may save yourself £20 a month for a while. Do you eat in town or a canteen when at work? Perhaps make your own food to take in - if you both save just £2.50 a day doing this, that's another £25 p/w in your bill paying pot!

If you're anything like me it's the magazines, sandwiches, "treats" etc that eat into the loose cash. I reckon you're halfway sorted before you've even hit trouble.

Good luck.

lionelflare

The phone bill is pretty essential im afraid as i use it for my work, i give my mobile number to all my customers so that they can get hold of me. I find that i seem to sell more this way thus earning me more money! it can be a hassle though as i do get plenty of phone calls on my day off but in the long run it helps. The phone and TV money does include telewest broadband and tv and this is one thing that we must keep rather perversley it actually saves us money during the football season as i normally stay in if there is a game on and that means no visit to the pub to watch it.
just got back from sainsburys and the turnaround has started only spent 20 quid and that will do us for the week, got a few reduced bits and did the crafty buy two reduced things that are also on a multi save deal and get extra discount!

mrcow

lionelflare wrote:

The phone bill is pretty essential im afraid as i use it for my work, i give my mobile number to all my customers so that they can get hold of me. I find that i seem to sell more this way thus earning me more money!

Good grief! I'd be putting in an expenses claim each month then (especially if I was their top salesperson! ). But then again.....I'm tight!

I'd agree with the other posters here.

It's not about cutting out on treats...it's about budgeting for them and sticking to it.

It's not about one cheap trip to the supermarket (although well done BTW!)....it's about always thinking about what you are spending your money on. ie. asking for everything:

Do I need this?
Can it wait?
Could I get it cheaper elsewhere?

Just going through this thought process can be extremely constructive, but it's not to be taken to extremes IMO.

It's not about barring yourself from the pub, just go a couple of times a week with a set amount of cash, and enjoy yourselves (that doesn't necessary mean drinking your wallet's dry!).

Also, being savvy with your debt is a big winner. Definitely switch the 0% deals when they expire. And what APR is your car loan? I bet it can be beaten ?

What is most important is that you are both in this together. What you both need to go on is a Money Diet, and as with any diet, you need support and long term commitment. Buy a copy of Martin's book and make sure that you both read it.

Remember (and I have worked in sales for many years, so I know how tough it can sometimes be!) you've worked hard for every penny that you've earned. Don't just hand it over to any Tom or !!!!!!. Make it work for you.

lionelflare

Budget now done and it wasnt a pretty site. I added up exactly what I NEEDED to spend and then what we brought in based on the worst month that I have had recently and there was a shortfall of about 200 pounds, that realy got me thinking and a bit of an argument later we moved on to the next step which was finding ways of increasing income. We have now thought about getting a lodger but cannot decide whether it will be a good idea or not? can we just get someone in a do it all cash in hand? should we pay tax on the income? I think some reading up will have to be done before we even think of this route.

We have both said that we will look at our fininces on a regular basis so we dont lose track of where we are going and we have also given ourselves "targets" for things to do in the house in terms of things to decorate/sort out. Im hoping that this will kill two birds with one stone as we will have plenty of things to do in the house so we wont think about going out and spending money. thats the plan anyway!

Willsnarf1983

i know the feeling of not actaully knowing many people where u live, i moved last november ands its not as easy to make firends as univeristy, i have work mates and what not but all my proper mates are in wolves and lincolnshire, the thing i do now is to play table tennis twice a week and for 4 hours thats £5.5 out of my £60 week budget which incs food but not pettrol, i cud tighten this even more but i choose not to as i am budgeting to use about 33% of my weages to pay of debts which i belive is more than enuff

ps anyone from hampshire wanna play golf sometime lol????

Will

Louise20000

Someone posted a good reply earlier (in fact they are all great replies) but someone said cancel all the cards you have a zero balance on as this may affect you applying for more 0% cards that you may need in the future to transfer your debt over too. Once that card is cancelled have a big ceromy of cutting up that credit card - its feels good to do that - I have been in debt for over 3 years and everytime I cut up a card it feels good - I've just 2 to go. Have you thought about doing a car boot sale to raise some cash - its amazing the amount of things people have lying around the house/loft/garage/shed that they don't need and its even more amazing what people buy at the car boot sales - and you can raise some money on a Sunday morning - do it while the weather is fine. When grocery shopping I used to buy the brand names - now I do the 'eyes down for a bargain' thing and buy the shops own brand (blue and white stripes for me) and our bill has gone from about £50 per week (just the 2 of us) to under £30 a week. We also take our own packed lunches (like someone else said) it saves £5 each a day. there are savings to be had in every corner. Its my husband that thought we were millionaires - so over the Christmas period when I was still wide awake at 3am thinking about our debts I knew I had to act - its was only then that I started our weekly budget - we'd struggled along for 2.5 years - paying off a bit here and there and then 'rewarding ourselves' with a holiday. Now we work on a cash only basis - as we both get paid every Friday we simply take out the cash that we need and the rest stays in the bank to cover bills and what is not needed for the bills we pay off the credit cards.

I wish you all the best and although it may be tight and hard for a while - it will be so worth it in the end. I for one cannot wait for the day where I can walk into a building society and pay in some cash to put in a savings account.

xela_17

Nobody so far seems to have mentioned your egg card. Do you know about the egg 0% anniversary offer? If not, find out when it is and when your other ccs 0% offers come to an end you have the option of transferring to egg, rather than applying for another 0% card.