Okay, in debt, sick of being in debt, all advice greatly appreciated

clearmydebts

Hi Kolin,

Just wanted to say hi and your not alone. I have been in debt for about 7 years now and it was really starting to get me down. Ironically my lightbulb moment came when my partner went back to uni and we were down to one wage!

I do an extra job too (although it is flexible) and this payment goes towards my credit cards. My OH should be getting work during the summer too and that will help with reducing the debts.

What I find the most frustrating is being in the mindset where I have stopped using my credit cards and am being sensible with my money - but still have lots of debt. It is a long road but people that post when they are debt-free make it worthwhile because they are so happy!

Good luck.

kolin_2

Thanks everyone for replying

HSBC sent me a nice letter through this morning telling me my graduate account was ending mid july and that i would be switched to a standard back account with 18.8%EAR interest on the overdraft (my OD is currently 1500), so its all good.

Northern Rock have replied to my letter with a form to fill in, so i can claim back PPI. Anyone know the best way to do this as i applied for my loan online. I want to make sure I get this right.

kolin_2

Also, I applied for a sainsbury's 0% card but got rejected.

it's all rosey

Emmie_2

Ahhh what a pain... HSBC have given me nothing but trouble too, charges here there and everywhere! I have two credit cards and a loan too.... pretty much !!!!!!ed!.... even if I go in and extend the overdraft, I have to pay it back on my next pay day, so while this is okay for the month, Im back to same problem again the next!!

I am currently looking to get a better paid job and an additional job to help pay the credit cards off quicker!!

The only thing I can think of to help is look at a better phone deal, my contract is £30.00 for 1000 texts and unlimited mins at weekend & Monday and free mins after 7 in the week with O2, you should barter with your phone company and reduce the price as much as you can with them, they dont want to lose customers and also, you could try and get cheaper insurance for your car?? I know these may seem small things to try but over the year will add up!!

Good luck!! x

shell_girl

Myself and OH were in a similar position in that his bank charges each month were erratic and meant that we were never really sure where we were with cash. I would definitely change banks straight away, which is what we've done with fabulous results. We went with alliance & leicester and have had no problems at all so far- because we've been able to treat the old bank as another debt which we can then pay a regular amount to each month. After three months we've now cleared the old debt with the last bank- effectively upping our income by over £100 per month (this was the amount of charges on average). We've launched a claim for these charges back, but in the meantime have increased payments to his biggest credit card by the £100 we've saved. Mentally it's given us such a boost- before the balance on the CC would increase by about £6 per month even after payment- and as you're over your limit then I'm betting you're being charged each month for overlimit fees too.. If you can't get a 0% card then I would try and find some/ANY way of paying off a higher amount on the CC so that you can start bringing it down.

I notice from your SOA that you've got nearly £200 spare after all your minimum payments- if you're living at home rent free then do you really need all this? Could you cut your spending money (the £200 surplus) in half and give your CC an extra £100 per month? If at the moment you're not sure where the surplus is going, invest in a little notebook and pen and each time you spend any money at all write it down- it's scary how quickly lunches and cans of drink add up through the month!

Good luck with everything.

kolin_2

The trouble is i work for myself, so the monthly amoutn can vary between 900 and 1200, am currently working on a project that should net me 3200, but i desperately need to get it finished within the next couple of days to meet the demands of loan repayment dates at the beginning of july.

i'm certainly looking into changing car insurance, been with Direct Line for 4 years not, and loyalty means nothing.

shell_girl, I don't really have anything spare at the end of the month, luckily living with the folks (and they being very understanding) means that i don't have to pay any rent, or food. so i'm grateful for small mercies!

if thers one thing i've learnt within the last 4 years it's to be very tight with money. but for some reason it's not coming off. i don't go 'shopping' (in fact i think i've forgotten how to), and i don't go out, even to the pub.

shell_girl

What about ebaying off any old treasure/junk you've got in the house? If you still live with your folks chances are you may have old toys and stuff in the attic- the cool retro stuff can go for a fortune if it's in good nick. We went to OH's mum's attic and emptied it of all his old toys and cleared around £600 last year thru ebay- and we've held on to the best stuff as a bit of a pension plan! You'd be amazed at what will sell- even if you log on for half an hour a day it's possible to list a few items each day, steady money coming in that way. Also amazon for old CDs and books. Use quidco for any insurance renewals, or if you change bank accounts, we netted around £400 between us that way.

kolin_2

shell_girl wrote: »

What about ebaying off any old treasure/junk you've got in the house? If you still live with your folks chances are you may have old toys and stuff in the attic- the cool retro stuff can go for a fortune if it's in good nick. We went to OH's mum's attic and emptied it of all his old toys and cleared around £600 last year thru ebay- and we've held on to the best stuff as a bit of a pension plan! You'd be amazed at what will sell- even if you log on for half an hour a day it's possible to list a few items each day, steady money coming in that way. Also amazon for old CDs and books. Use quidco for any insurance renewals, or if you change bank accounts, we netted around £400 between us that way.

thats excellenta advice,

i know in the loft i've got loads of original transformers, all boxed, instructions, etc.
i've got 5mp sony DSC-P12 digi camera that i never use anymore, and loads of memory cards, i've got tonnes of stuff i could sell.

the only thing with paypal is all the horrid fees. it's like dealing with a bank.

kolin_2

Wow, i've come a long way since this original post!, and starting to see the light too

Graduate HSBC Current Account.
1)Overdraft, Limit £1500, debit interest is usually around £15
2)Current balance £1233DR

HSBC Credit Card
1)Current APR 24.9% :beer:
2)Current Balance : £5220 (limit £5500)
3)Location of card : shredded months ago.
4)Have paid regular payments of £150/month.

Outstanding Loans
HSBC Graduate Loan
1)Monthly Repayments : £367
2)Remaining Balance : £[STRIKE]16,552[/STRIKE]11,400

Northern Rock Loan
1)Monthly Repayments : £152
2)Remaining Balance : Around £[STRIKE]6800[/STRIKE]5400

My Monthly outgoings are
1)HSBC Loan : £367
2)Northern Rock Loan : £152
3)Visa Card Payment : £160
4)Phone Bill : £[STRIKE]50[/STRIKE] 24.33
5)Debit Interest : £19
6)Car Tax : £10
7)Car Insurance : £[STRIKE]47.31[/STRIKE] 55.00
8)Petrol : £[STRIKE]200 (have to regularly commute 110 miles to business)[/STRIKE] 100
9)MOT : £3.50
10)Car Service : £12

Income : [STRIKE]Usually around £1160 after tax.[/STRIKE] £1430 after tax

doesn't look like much, but i've now got to a point where I have spare money left over after a month.

Car insurance went up because I was forced headfirst into a wall by an erratic driver (who's car insurance wont have gone up. after all i'm the more dangerous driver now.)

Basically I've now got a fantastic job (after being out of work for 3 or 4 months), that i've been in since april, so despite the terrible stress I went through when i had no income to pay these huge debts, and paying off people small amounts when I could afford to, its taken me a good 7 months to get to this stage where I now have spare money at the end of every month, and every thing is already paid and up to date.

My tip so far :

GRAFT, and Stingy Spend.

It's vitally important to not even spend any amount of money on 'luxuries' until you get to a point where your income is higher that the monthly outgoings. I've needed new stuff for ages (smart clothes, glasses,etc), but i've put them off because they weren't desperately needed. Every little saving here and there is vitally important. When i crashed my car (written off), i hunted and hunted and found an excellent bargin, but made sure it was a diesel to get better MPG.

This will be the first month that ends and I
a)wont be over my overdraft limit
b)wont owe anybody anything
c)will be able to treat myself to a little something. but nothing extravagant! still a long way to go yet.

My next milestones are likely to be around november time when my graduate loan finally falls below 10,000
also, I think that come jan/feb next year, i'll be out of my overdraft finally

kolin_2

I think my next question would be.

I've got an extra £100 at the end of every month... do I pay extra on Credit Card? / Northern Rock Loan (who are letting me pay extra if i want to), or both?

other information. HSBC closed my credit card account about 3 months ago without telling me (and after i'd paid £461 in one payment on it), so theres no chance of spending on it!

would this affect me trying to get a 0% card?