I can't stop spending - Updated with SOA

Deep_In_Debt

I do understand how you feel about being lonely. I'm on my own too. One of the things I've started doing, especially now the weather is getting better is dog walking. I have an elderly neighbour who has a couple of dogs so I walk them for her as she can't walk far. It gets me out of the house for an hour or so in the evening and I enjoy walking, meet people at the same time, and it keeps me fit. So loads of benefits in one thing! She sometimes gives me money but I don't expect her to but a tenner here and there helps. Do you have anybody near you that you could do that for? Then you could cancel your gym as you'd be keeping fit with a nice brisk walk every evening!

EmptyPurse

cat4772 wrote: »

Oh WOW did I come across as I bit bolsy there:o? If I did I really didn't mean to - my only excuse is I've got backache and I'm a little less than tactful at the moment!

No, it was exactly what I needed and helped me to understand why I keep on slipping back into my own ways. Now, I just need to figure out how to change my mindset. The idea of something like a holiday is great - not sure that a holiday itself would be sufficient to get my butt into gear so I need to figure out what would motivate me.

I suppose it would really help if you knew a) how much you owed and b) what the APRs are. Then you could visit whatsthecost-dot-com and see what your debt free date would be.

Deep breath.......

Have rounded up debts to nearest £100. Interest rates worked out using Albertross' calculations.

Overdraft: c.£900-£1,000 per month (goes up and down a bit)
CC1: c.£4,300. Interest rate: 14%
CC2: c.£2700. Interest rate: 4% fixed for life of balance
CC3: c.£4,800. Interest rate: 17%

Didn't realise things were quite that bad. Oh well. At least I know the size of the problem I'm facing. All £12,800 of it.

Will double check my phone rental as recommended by Daz - perhaps I got that wrong. Looked into reducing my rent but that's a no-go; anywhere the same size in London (small 1 bed) is at least £200 more expensive (my friend owns the flat) and it would cost me £100's to move (estate agent fees etc). Definitely going to go with PAYG - thanks to Deep In Debt for the Tesco tip.

Still thinking about the gym - it's actually a combined package that includes private healthcare (£50) and gym (£15). I had a health scare last year so I don't want to cancel the healthcare; just cancelling the gym would only save £15 per month - and if I'm in the gym I'm not spending money elsewhere!!! Or am I just hiding my head in the clouds, again?

EmptyPurse

I had a go at the snowball calculator last night and am completely depressed. At the rate I'm paying things it's going to take me over three years to clear my debts. The thought of having to be really strict with my finances for over three years seems completely unachievable. I just can't see how I could ever stay on the straight and narrow for that long. I know it acts as a motivator for many people but I'm just feeling sooo demotivated right now. I think it's because I'm feeling very depressed about life in general and use money to make myself feel better

Anyway, on a more positive note, I wonder if I would be able to speed things up by moving some of my debts to a lower interest credit card? Is it cheaper to go for one that offers 0% for a set period and then a 'normal' rate or a low, fixed rate for the life of the balance? How do I work it out?

EmptyPurse

Despite feeling demotivated I'm trying really hard each day to take baby steps towards addressing my debts. Applied for the HSBC card yesterday as it offers a transfer interest rate of 2.5% for two years; if I've got my sums right that would reduce my repayment period by around six months. I've also started keeping a spending diary - nothing too complicated (think that's where I've gone wrong in the past), just a note of everything that I've spent regardless of where the money actually came from (I used to try to split it up into cash, a/c 1, a/c 2, cc1 etc and then never wrote anything down!). It's been a real eyeopener. My aim is to keep a log for at least a month so that I can start to see if a spending pattern emerges.

Any other tips/ideas/ about other things that I could be doing to get to grips with my debts?