Lightbulb moment. SOA included!

studentchick1

Hi, Im 21 and in the summer I would like to move in with my partner, so need to clear as much debt as I can by then. Im a student and graduate this year so it is limited to the time and money I have. But here goes.

Incoming

Wages £390.40

Outgoings

Welcome Loan - £120 (my mums pays £50, as it should be £190)
Capital one card - £20
BarclayCard - £10
Washing machine rent - £14
Mobile phone - £35 12 months contract, cant reduce yet, will as soon as I can.
Joint savings - £30
Flex saver- £10 (for birthdays & christmas)
Going out/odds - £40

Debt
Welcome loan, 55.5% 22months to go at £190.60 per months, if I could pay this quicker it would be less.
Capital one card. 34.9% Card limit. £500, current balance £380.37
Barclaycard. 14.9% Card limit £350, current balance. £266.70
Barclays student account. 0% Overdraft limit. £800.00. Current £921.00. I need to get this to under £800 to get the 0% overdraft.
Nationwide overdraft. Limit £200, currently £51 into the overdraft.

I think Ive worked everything out right. I do use cashback site, do surveys and try to ebay somethings. But not regular do to dissertation work.

I now will have no control off my cards, as my partner is going to have them and give me cash weekly to help me control my spending.

Any advice greatly received.

many thanks

Tiglet

Hi Studentchick,:hello:

The first thing I would say is that some of the loans you've got have very high interest rates. These are the ones to tackle first. Pay the absolute minimum off everything else and pay as much as possible off the most expensive one. That reduces your interest payments as quickly as possible.

Also, it really doesn't make sense to be saving while you've got debts because you'll be paying more in interest on your debts than you're earning on the savings.

I've just noticed that you've gone over your overdraft limit. I'd tackle that first because otherwise you'll be getting charges on the account that will keep you overdrawn.

Also, see what rate Barclaycard will give you for balance transfers. You might well be able to transfer your Capital One balance on to the Barclaycard at a much better rate than the 35% you're paying now. If you can, then close the Capital One card straight after you've done it.

You say you can't change your mobile contract. I understand that some companies will let you move to a lower tariff part of the way through a contract, so that might be worth a try.

I'll stop now - I'm sure other people will have plenty more ideas. Good luck!

hampsterpoo

Hi Im sure someone will be able to give a more detailed help list.
I've a couple of things
Your wages are for a month or week?
wheres your food?

You have joint savings £30
going out/odds at £40
flexisaver £10
£80
but yet
"Barclays student account. 0% Overdraft limit. £800.00. Current £921.00. I need to get this to under £800 to get the 0% overdraft."

Wouldnt it be better to save less and get the payments up.
Also do you keep a spend diary to see what all the odds are?
Do you do the daily clicks?

studentchick1

Hi, thanks for the replies.

my earnings are for a month, I am a last year student and due to the university I am at I am only allowed to work 16hours a week, even this is frowned upon. So thats the max I can do.

I don't buy food, I am in catered accommodation.

I am looking at reducing my phone bill, I only upgraded a couple of months ago so will see if they will reduce that for me.

If I cut out the joint savings I will have to pay rent at home, at the moment I pay her my rent, £40 a month and she saves it for me, to ensure I can get a deposit when I move out of home. I am quite sure she wouldn't let me stop this.

I was thinking that I should aim to pay off the two overdrafts first. Get one of them into the 0% area, which will be fine and pay the nationwide account and close that as I don't use it.

In april I get my student loan, as I have paid all my fee's already, I could use £1000 of that towards one of the debts? Im guessing the loan would be best as thats the highest interest. Or do I pay off both credit cards and get rid of them? Leaving just one loan.

I will working full time in June, one my course is complete, which will allow me to pay off these debts quicker, However I will begin to pay back my student loan when Im in full time work.

Hows that looking?

I am going to start a spending diary, Ive brought a little book for it.

VFR-Rider

Hiya
Sure someone much more knowledgeable will be along soon, but:

studentchick1 wrote:

Welcome Loan - £120 (my mums pays £50, as it should be £190)

should it be £170 or £190?

studentchick1 wrote:

I don't buy food, I am in catered accommodation.

studentchick1 wrote:

I will have to pay rent at home, at the moment I pay her my rent,

Does this mean you're in halls or living at home? Either way it looks like your rent is taken care of?

studentchick1 wrote:

due to the university I am at I am only allowed to work 16hours a week, even this is frowned upon.

Mine had the same "rules".. however they cannot enforce what you do in your own time, I had to work to pay rent/ fees/ eat etc... so maybe you can up your hours?
What is your degree in? Mine was in computing so I was able to pick up a lot of paid work around this subject, is yours a marketable one?

VFR-R

studentchick1

My loan is £190, sorry got money confused. But I pay £120 of it.

Im in halls, I pay rent at home as I am home a lot at weekends and there for all holidays.

I'm about to complete a degree in Law. I am at Oxford, so seriously cannot bend the rules any more over work. We are not supposed to work at all.
Plus I struggle to fit it in as it is.

Tiglet

As regards which debt to pay off first, there are two schools of thought. The fastest way to reduce the total debt is to pay as much as possible off the one with the highest interest rate. Some people say it's better to pay off the smallest ones first, as you get the psychological boost of seeing the number of debts reduce quickly. Have a look at the snowball calculator, which allows you to compare both ways.

Of course, if you can transfer some of your debt to a 0% rate, then that's well worth doing as well. As you pay each debt off, close the account. Not only does this make sure that you can't get into more debt again, it also helps your credit rating, making it easier to get a good deal in the future.

sparky0107

Hi studentchick
Welcome to the madness that is debt free wannabe, you'll find some very helpful and friendly people on this thread that will guide you on the road to being debt free. Try the link below for your spending diary, as you have to put everything into a category and not just list it under food, etc Hope it helps and good luck on becoming debt free

:hello: WELCOME

http://www.spendingdiary.com/