Don't know what to do

Tiglet

Hi Broke Student,:wave: and well done for facing up to this problem.:T

I would recommend getting along to a meeting of Gamblers Anonymous. You should be able to find them somewhere near you 7 days a week so there's no need to wait until Monday - best to strike while the iron's hot.

Even if there isn't a meeting that you can get to, I would say you'd be more than welcome at a local meeting of any related groups:

Alcoholics Anonymous
Narcotics Anonymous
Cocaine Anonymous

Ultimately, the mechanism of all addictions is pretty much the same, and the ways of dealing with them are the same. You'll get a tremendous amount of support and encouragement at any of those meetings, and nobody will judge you.

it's the same here as well, so make yourself at home - we'll soon have you back on track

olibrofiz

As everyone says, well done for recognising you have a problem and starting to try and sort it out.

Regarding your Uni have you spoken with your tutor? For a variety of reasons, financial ones included, students take a year out. Have you thought about suspending for a year, from the beginning of the spring term, and working your @*! off for a year to make your debt more manageable before going back next Jan?

I know the lure of getting a degree can be great, but if you're not concentrating 100% on what you're doing you may not do as well as you could have. It's no shame, taking a year out. You could tell your parents you just didn't feel so focussed and you needed the time out to get back on track. Just a thought. Good luck.

tesuhoha

Hi broke student. Just wondering how you are getting on. I think you should come on here regularly for the next few weeks at least. It will give you encouragement to go on. Maybe you should treat this thread as a kind of diary. I am so glad that you have stopped gambling but please keep in touch as its people like you that the folks on this board worry about. I think olibrofix has got a point about taking a year out if that is at all possible. I dont know how you feel about telling your parents but I certainly think that you should offload all this on someone whether it be your tutor, counsellor, or gamblers anonymous group. Yes we do care about you very much and do not want to see you ruin your life.

boredofbeingathome

Haven't heard for a couple of days, everything ok?

basketcase

Hi Broke Student!

Hope everything's OK. It can be hard telling your parents, but I do agree with other posters. I'd hate to think my son and daughter would struggle with something like this and I do understand the problem of gambling because someone in my family did. You need help and support.

One suggestion for limiting the amount of money you have to spend. Can you get someone to keep it for you (parents?) and only let you have a certain amount a week? You could perhaps try getting a Tesco Clubcard account for your shopping. My DD's at Uni and she has one so I know she always has food:rolleyes: . You get double points for paying with the card, don't see cash and if the amount's paid in weekly (I use a Standing Order) you don't get an overdraft facility. Worth a try?

broke_student111

Hi,

Sorry about the delay in replying - have not been very well recently. Big thanks to all the support from everyone. Things are going ok - no gambling for two weeks, although I haven't really had the money to! I've decided against telling my parents - it was a difficult decision but I think it is for the best, as both my mum and dad worry and panic over the smallest of issues, so I am sure that news of this will not go down too well! I hate the secrecy of it all though, and the fact I have to lie to my mum on the phone about the money situation and hiding my bank statements, but I fear it will do more bad than good if I tell them the truth.

I have phoned the helpline, and they were very supportive - actually talking about it makes me feel a lot better and a lot more confident about the whole 'giving up' process. Unfortunately, there are no local meetings but I have signed up for the university councelling service although there is a bit of a waiting list.

Here is the S.O.A.:

Income:

Student Loan: £3,385.00 p.a. (Not technically income I know, but I don't have to worry about it until I start work!)
Support Grant: £2,765.00 p.a.
University Bursary: £2,100.00 p.a.
Institute of physics Bursary: £1,000 p.a.
Wages at univeristy - average at £200.00 / week after tax for 30 weeks of the year = £6,000.00
Wages at home: currently have no job at home but have applied. If successful would bring around 15 weeks @ ~£200/week = ~£3,000 extra

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Total Income = £15,250.00 (Incl. loan but excl. potential wages)

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Outgoings:

Rent - £325.00/month for 11 months + 1 month's deposit = £3,900.00
T.V. Licence - £17.06 / Quarter = £51.18 for full 3 terms. (My share - split 50/50 with housemate)
Water - £90.00 p.a.
Gas - Unsure what this would come to for the full year as this is the first time I have paid utility bills. Last quarter's bill came to £46.00 which included 1.5 months with heating on, so would estimate at around £150.00 for the full 3 terms. My share = £75.00.
Electricity - As above. My share = £90.00 for the year
Telephone/Broadband - £10.00/month = £90.00 p.a.
Supermarket shopping - £120.00 / month = £1,080.00 p.a.
Bus fares - £88.00/term = £262.00 p.a.
Meals at work - £5/day = £30/week = £900/year (30 weeks in academic year)
Pub/entertainment - £40/week = £2,080.00 p.a. (although not nearly spending this much recently)
Books/Stationery - £200.00 p.a.
Total - £8,818.18

Minimum Payments:

NatWest Bank A/C interest = £50.00 month = £600.00 p.a.
NatWest CC = £7.00/month = £84.00 p.a.
HSBC CC = £20.00/month = £240.00 p.a.
Halifax CC = £60.00/month = £720.00 p.a.
Barclaycard = £7.00/month = £84.00 p.a.
Halifax Bank A/C interest = £15.00/month = £180.00 p.a.
Smile Bank A/C interest = £5.00/month = £60.00 p.a.
Total = £1,968.00

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Total Outgoings: £10,786.00

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Net Balance: +£4,464.00

Balances/Limits/APR:

NatWest Overdraft - £3,800/£3,800 @ 19.41%
NatWest Student OD - £1,250/£1,250 @ 0% for 2 1/2 years
NatWest CC - £300/£300 @ 12.9%
HSBC CC - £1,000/£1,000 @ 15.9%
HSBC OD - £1,000/£1,000 @ 0% for 2 1/2 years
Halifax OD - £1,000/£1,000 @ 18.9%
Halifax CC - £2,900/£2,900 @ 0% for 2 months, 15.9% thereafter
Lloyds OD - £1,500/£1,500 @ 0% for 2 1/2 years
Barclaycard - £320/£500 @ 15.9%
Barclays OD - £600/£600 @ 0% for 2 1/2 years
Smile OD - £500/£500 @ 15.9%

[Student Loan - ~£12,000/£24,000 @ variable]

(unfortunately, a lot of the balances on these cards are cash that I have drawn out for gambling purposes, therefore the rates are a lot higher than the standard APRs for purchases)

Total owed: £14,170, of which £4,350 is interest free for the time being.

Obviously, places I could cut back on are meals at work - I tend to do evening shifts so have to buy a ready meal or something to keep me going - and also entertainment, even though I hardly go out these days and the expenditure is a bit of an overestimate. I can also cut back a bit on the supermarket shopping since I am only buying for myself. I have plenty of food in the freezer/cupboards so should keep me going for a while. I have the bad habit of defrosting some food (e.g. a pack of 4 chicken breasts), eating one portion of it and then forgetting about it until it has clearly gone bad.

Hopefully things will start to get better soon. Maybe, now that I have stopped gambling (at least for the time being), I will start to see the money coming in and should hopefully motivate me - there is nothing quite as depressing as not being able to afford a £1.50 bus fare or having your card declined for £3.00 worth of shopping.

Tiglet

Hi,

I haven't really had time to have a proper look at this but there are a few things that leap out at me.

The first thing is that your cards overdrafts are pretty much all at their limits. You'll need to make sure that you have enough this month to pay off each of them to ensure that they don't go over their limits. I know some are at 0% for the time being but the others will become very expensive very quickly if you don't pay something off them soon.

Something else that stands out is supermarket shopping. If this is food shopping, it's very high. Have a look at the Old Style board for ideas on how to make what you've got go further. Related to this is the amount you're spending on meals at work. Can you take sandwiches etc. to save quite a lot of the £900 a year you're currently spending.


No doubt other people will have lots more ideas (such as how to reduce the £40 weekly entertainments bill, for example:eek:), but that's my lot for the moment. Ta ta.

hooty2001uk

Glad to hear your on the UP...u just have to believe in yourself that your are not going to gamble...I used to do online bingo and slots(I dont even like bingo)...I liked the adrenalin the wooshed around inside...I also know where u r coming from with the parents thing..best of luck and keep us posted :beer:

broke_student111

Hi, thanks for your advice Tiglet.

I think I overestimated the supermarket bill, this is what I was typically spending before I was in debt and had the money - and would also include all the other bits like washing powder, toiletries, etc. These days I hardly ever go shopping, and looking at the past few months I have been spending about half of what I put down.

Likewise with the 'entertainment' section as this (for me) traditionly means chucking a good proportion of the £40 into the nearest fruit machine. Obviously, that's now out of the question! I rarely go out these days, so I think £10 is a bit more realistic.

However, I actually have been spending more on food at work than I thought! Looking through my bank statements, I seem to be spending around £7 - £8 a day at work! I have been doing a lot of long shifts and late finishes (not getting home until midnight) so I tend to eat ready meals at work rather than cooking at home. Sandwiches are definately a good idea, and I think that making a whole load and freezing them for the week would help me cut back. Also buying multipacks of coke, etc. instead of small bottles at work.

boredofbeingathome

Good ideas so far. Use your soa, to negotiate with creditors and get reduced payments. look at the debt charities so you can see what help they may give you. It would be short term whist you get out of debt but it would also limit your access to credit so hopefully you wont be tempted. I would advise against coke as a drink, it may explain one of the reasons why you are overtired. try switching to herbal teas or water and take a good multivitamen, it will help with stress levels. Not very cool- i know but its the parent in me. You can also bulk cook things like spag bol and stews and soups, although flat mate may nick them! There is another poster in despair over hubby's gambling problem- it may help you keep away from gambling- just a thought. You sound more up beat as well- keep going.