Help,Advice Nedded :(

maria08k

Hello All,
Im in abit of a pickle! Although it might not seem as though i owe alot of money, its really beginning to take its toll on me and i feel as though im in a never ending vicious circle.
December 2007 i had a £400 overdraft on my Barclays current account, owed £350 to Mint creditcard, £600 to Capital One and £700 to Barclaycard.I also owe £350 to a Barclays advance,have £234 to pay off a tv by 11th March 2008 i bought with Bennetts and i have £326 to pay off of my holiday by 30th march 2008.
My mum gave me money for christmas which i used to pay off my overdraft and £100 on one of my creditcards.
I now owe £328.46 on my Mint card, £592.61 on my Capital One card and £565.01 on my Barclaycard.As well as still having to pay off my part of the tv and holiday with 2 months pay.
I earn £932 a month at work and pay £470 for rent/bills a month, £120 a month for food,£50.00 for my mobile phone bill,£12.50 for pet insurance, £20.00 a month towards the advance. Thats £672.50 before i even think about paying money on my credit cards and money for the holiday/tv. Im only 21 and have got myself into a right mess. My aim is to be debt free by 1st december 2008, i know it will be easyer once i have payed for the tv and holiday because i can pay large quantitys off my credit cards then. Just need advice how to manage my money better!
Do i aim to pay off the credit card with the least amount of money on it or the one with the most? My capital one card is 34.5% and all i seem to be doing at the minute is paying off the minimum which i know is getting me nowhere

Any advice would be fab guys

Thanks for your time x

Lizalu

Hi Maria, if you go to www.whatsthecost.com and enter the figures (inc APRs) into the snowball calculator there, it will help you organise which card to pay off first.
Other people will be along soon to offer more advice but if you're looking for ways to reduce your outgoings, your mobile bill is pretty high, can you reduce that at all?

Verbatim

Hi and welcome,

The smart way is to pay as much as you can to the card with the highest interest and minimum payments to the others. This is the quickest way to pay off debts.

can you get a second part time job for a few months? Bar work, stacking supermarket shelves perhaps or babysitting?

Can you get your pet insurance cheaper? If you join Quidco and go through them you could also get cash back.

Are you taking your lunch to work and planning meals ahead to limit impulse buys?

Well done for realising it needs tackling before it gets too out of hand. You'll feel much more in control once you have a plan.

maria08k

Thankyou for your advice, it feels better talking to people about it, a weight off my shoulders if you like!
I've had a huge clear out of my wardrobes and im going to sell some bits and peices on Ebay. Also going to ask if there is any overtime available at work.. Just feel at my wits end as about a week after payday im skint again. I miss enjoying nights out with friends and me and my partner going out to dinner. I want to be rid of my creditcards and i have more money to myself, so im not late for buying family & friends birthday presents and can treat myself to bits and peices that i havnt been able to in ages.
Im going to try to reduce our weekly food shop aswell.
Maria

Tiglet

maria08k wrote: »

Im going to try to reduce our weekly food shop aswell.

In that case, you'd do well to have a look at the old-style board as well as this one. You'll find all sorts of clever ways of making things go further.