How do I get out of my student overdraft debt??

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  • Superhoopza
    Superhoopza Posts: 433
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    Ok just seen you've helped others so I don't want to knock you entirely but this was useless and patronising. It's not a one policy works for all people type thing.
  • Dobbibill
    Dobbibill Posts: 4,133
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    OP - fill in a SOA (you don't need to post it if you don't want to) and make sure you account for every penny.

    There is no quick fix - it will take sacrifices and hard choices to decide how/when you want to be debt free. The good thing is student/graduate overdrafts have a proportion that are fee free so it isn't costing you yet.

    Check out the old style board for batch cooking idea so see if you can make your shopping bill less each month (you don't say how much it is excluding travel - you may already be very frugal with it).
    Are there any bills you can reduce? You don't list them separately so there are no suggestions given.

    While the OD is fee free moving it to a CC is a bad idea.

    Look at a second job in the evenings - maybe in a bar so you get to socialise and earn all in one go ;)
    I’m a Forum Ambassador and I support the Forum Team on the Budgeting & Bank Accounts, Credit Cards, Credit File & Ratings and Energy boards. If you need any help on these boards, do let me know. Please note that Ambassadors are not moderators. Any posts you spot in breach of the Forum Rules should be reported via the report button, or by emailing forumteam@moneysavingexpert.com. All views are my own and not the official line of MoneySavingExpert.

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  • Dobbibill
    Dobbibill Posts: 4,133
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    jjg95 wrote: »
    A little introduction, I graduated university last May with a film degree and managed to get myself an entry level job last September in the advertising industry in London, which is great!

    So I was one of the many students that took out a student 0 % overdraft while at uni and once I left i ended up getting deeper and deeper into it and that now amounts to £1,850. This has now converted into a graduate bank account which gets gradually lower over a 3 year period, so basically I need to reduce this to £1500 by this summer, and eventually £0 in two years time.

    Any ideas would be greatly appreciated!
    I can't quote on my phone but Candyapple seriously what a ridiculous statement to make. I do not believe anyone never spends a penny outside their food, rent and travel budget. Not a penny? They aren't [STRIKE]allowed[/STRIKE] don't need a single beer, t shirt or coffee?

    Sorry if I've misunderstood but nobody can live like that.

    I think you have misunderstood Superhoop, so I've corrected it for you.

    The OP said they needed to reduce their OD. This then become a priority over what they want - no one said they didn't want a beer/t shirt or coffee but they don't need it and small sacrifices like that will make a difference to how soon they pay off their OD that they need to pay.
    I’m a Forum Ambassador and I support the Forum Team on the Budgeting & Bank Accounts, Credit Cards, Credit File & Ratings and Energy boards. If you need any help on these boards, do let me know. Please note that Ambassadors are not moderators. Any posts you spot in breach of the Forum Rules should be reported via the report button, or by emailing forumteam@moneysavingexpert.com. All views are my own and not the official line of MoneySavingExpert.

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  • Candyapple
    Candyapple Posts: 3,384
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    edited 25 April 2018 at 3:18PM
    I can't quote on my phone but Candyapple seriously what a ridiculous statement to make. I do not believe anyone never spends a penny outside their food, rent and travel budget. Not a penny? They aren't allowed a single beer, t shirt or coffee?

    All your other points about the salary being low are fair but don't underline your point about not spending a penny extra, not for a few weeks but 6 months like it's good advice. I hope you were being sarcastic otherwise that is useless and unrealistic advice. Sorry if I've misunderstood but nobody can live like that.

    Also reading the OP he's a grad. Grads move to London to work up the chain to their ideal jobs. There are unlikely to be jobs in the country for his level and his best experience will be in the centre. Just because he has an overdraft he should shift his whole life and give up on his dreams.

    I've had some good advice on this site but God it frustrates me the amount of people that think they are helping when they are actually harming someone and talking so much rubbish.



    I did not say they were not allowed a beer/coffee/t-shirt etc. don!t take things so literal. Six months in the grand scheme of life is like a raindrop. Some people have to live without a spare penny every single day because they don't have anything left over after everything has been paid out for each month! The OP is young. I!m guessing 21/22 if they graduated last year and they have £300 spare after their essentials are paid out for. I!m sure 6 months of not going out to excess and/or spending unnecessarily is hardly going to kill them.

    If I was fed up with my situation to the point where I have to ask strangers on an internet forum for help as to how to get out of debt and someone suggested that my debt was so small that if I made a few small sacrifices I could be debt free within 6 months, this would be music to my ears and the catalyst to get my butt into gear. 6 months and debt free or 2 years plus added interest/monthly overdraft charges on top? I know which one I would choose. Everyone is different and I am not saying OP has to take my advice, just that it was a suggestion and for them to think about it hence why I underlined it as it is important. Sometimes seeing things written down in front of you makes a big difference. Small sacrifices now, pay dividends in your future.

    As for grads moving to London to further their careers, I am not disputing that London isn!t a brilliant city for opportunities however what so many outsiders fail to realise, or rather choose to ignore is, that it is damn expensive! There are so many other cities outside of London where you can get onto better grad schemes/well paid jobs. Also, lets not forget that the OP has a film degree and now works in advertising so hardly in London working in an industry related to his degree. If anything, OP sounds like everyone I know who left uni with a degree; they all work in jobs which bear absolutely no relevance to their degree subject. Even if the same job pays slightly less outside of London, the lower cost of living more than makes up for it. So whereas OP is now house sharing probably on the outskirts of London, they could possibly elsewhere in the country be renting their own house and be able to walk to work or a much shorter commute.

    The point I was ultimately trying to make was if you are working in London in a poorly paid job like the OP is, sooner rather than later, you will end up in debt either by trying to keep up with your friends and attending parties/socialising, or you will end up frazzled, tired and jaded because you have no spare money to start saving for say a house deposit, a car maybe, or even holidays and wonder why you work so many hours for so little to show for it. Before you know it, you are about to hit 30 and wonder why all your other mates who do not live in London are able to buy a nice house whilst you are still living with 3 other randoms with nothing to your name, still trying to fool yourself that you are living the dream. OP himself even stated that the £300 spare he has each month I always end up going over this so again, it is just the start of things to come going down that slippery debt slope.
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  • JayRitchie
    JayRitchie Posts: 526
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    Hey,

    Well done on the job - its hard to get a position in media work so you are doing great.

    I'd have a look at your cost of living. How much is your rent / bills and travel costs? My guess is that you are paying a bit more than necessary. Have a look for rents inclusive of all bills for under £600 a month - possibly somewhere where you can take buses to work as thats a lot cheaper than the tube.

    As a poster has already said, sometimes its worth spending absolutely nothing for a few months to clear debt and gain a lot of freedom in the process. London is really good for this as there are lots of free things to do - particularly if you have a monthly travel pass. Meetup is great for finding free activities and groups doing outings around the city on the weekend.

    Also consider a Saturday night bar job. These can pay pretty ok and give some social life at the same time if you go to the right one.
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