I want to stop drowning

Options
13567…212

Comments

  • MrsSave
    MrsSave Posts: 1,817 Forumite
    First Anniversary Name Dropper First Post
    Options
    Hi!!

    I've just had a read through, and I can see so much of myself in what you say. I'm bad for holidays. UK ones, not abroad, but it still adds up. We're going away next weekend for 4 nights. I've then already booked our next holiday for May next year. It's a term time one, so not badly priced at all. The balance of both have almost completely been paid off, and we'll be self catering so aim to eat in as much as possible. It is still expensive though.

    You're doing really well with your food budget. We're only a little under that and we're 2 adults and 1 toddler so you're doing great. Have you looked at something like mystery shopping? You won't make a fortune, but it can be a bit of extra money.

    Good luck x
    Starting a new debt free journey
    Starting Debt: £5,250
    Current Debt: £4,995.50
    Amount Paid: £254.50 Percentage Paid: 4.84%
    Emergency Fund: £350
  • debtaghh
    debtaghh Posts: 1,794 Forumite
    Name Dropper First Anniversary First Post
    edited 30 July 2016 at 8:22PM
    Options
    MrsSave wrote: »
    Hi!!

    I've just had a read through, and I can see so much of myself in what you say. I'm bad for holidays. UK ones, not abroad, but it still adds up. We're going away next weekend for 4 nights. I've then already booked our next holiday for May next year. It's a term time one, so not badly priced at all. The balance of both have almost completely been paid off, and we'll be self catering so aim to eat in as much as possible. It is still expensive though.

    You're doing really well with your food budget. We're only a little under that and we're 2 adults and 1 toddler so you're doing great. Have you looked at something like mystery shopping? You won't make a fortune, but it can be a bit of extra money.

    Good luck x


    Thanks. I used to do mystery shopping but because i'm self employed I found it frustrating having to include this on my tax return but may look into redoing it as I did enjoy it and some was quite good money.

    Sold an item on gumtree and via ebay- non business related which is good ( not a lot but better than nothing).
  • debtaghh
    debtaghh Posts: 1,794 Forumite
    Name Dropper First Anniversary First Post
    Options
    We are meant to be going out today but our baby was up quite a lot last night so not sure if this will happen.

    Feeling a bit fed up about this car idea , I don't want to regret selling it but know my husband thinks selling it is the right thing to do.

    I need to sit and plan my week as I didn't do much with the kids last week. I worked out a budget for spending for the holidays so need to cash that out because when it's gone it's gone! Will see if there are any challenges I can do on here!
  • curiousralphy
    curiousralphy Posts: 92 Forumite
    Options
    debtaghh wrote: »
    I am having doubts about selling the car and worry that we will end up buying a problematic car.

    I had the same worry buying my car, I was buying from a used car dealership and I discovered I could pay the RAC to come out and give a mechanical check-over and a report on what they thought. The second hand dealership had no issue with me doing this before I agreed to buy it. It cost me about £100 and this was around 7 years ago. I still have the same car and I've never had a problem with it. I would definitely do it again.
  • debtaghh
    debtaghh Posts: 1,794 Forumite
    Name Dropper First Anniversary First Post
    Options
    That's interesting to know about the RAC check.

    How old was the car you bought and what was the mileage?
  • tori.k
    tori.k Posts: 3,592 Forumite
    Options
    It's a gamble even with something like a RAC check as they are only visual inspections think pre-MOT. another downside with buying an older family car is Tax, insurance will most likely be higher and you wont get the fuel economy. Older car's will always have more wear and tear issues we had to replace the turbo on a second hand Altea 18months into ownership which cost us over 2k on a 7k car.

    Bangernomics is a lottery and unless selling the car will clear the bulk of your debt it's not a road that I would want to go down..

    Whats the running cost on the Car you have? to work that out add together all your cost's Tax, insurance, servicing & parts, deprecation and fuel and divide by miles per year that will give you cost by mile.

    Do the same for the older car your considering buying but add on a bit extra for unscheduled maintenance for the off chance of needing a new clutch, suspension components of the host of small gremlins that comes with an older car with higher millage.
    Is the difference between worth the risk?
  • Moneywhizz
    Moneywhizz Posts: 459 Forumite
    First Anniversary First Post
    Options
    I agree that buying and selling cars is a bit of a lottery and the customer is never the winner. If you can manage to pay down your debts, by cutting back on other non essential spending and increasing your income, I think that would be better in the long term. Getting rid of debt is usually a long term process, so you should think about what might happen in a couple of years if you buy an older car just now. Definitely something to think about very carefully before you decide if it is the best thing.
  • debtaghh
    debtaghh Posts: 1,794 Forumite
    Name Dropper First Anniversary First Post
    Options
    tori.k wrote: »
    It's a gamble even with something like a RAC check as they are only visual inspections think pre-MOT. another downside with buying an older family car is Tax, insurance will most likely be higher and you wont get the fuel economy. Older car's will always have more wear and tear issues we had to replace the turbo on a second hand Altea 18months into ownership which cost us over 2k on a 7k car.

    Bangernomics is a lottery and unless selling the car will clear the bulk of your debt it's not a road that I would want to go down..

    Whats the running cost on the Car you have? to work that out add together all your cost's Tax, insurance, servicing & parts, deprecation and fuel and divide by miles per year that will give you cost by mile.

    Do the same for the older car your considering buying but add on a bit extra for unscheduled maintenance for the off chance of needing a new clutch, suspension components of the host of small gremlins that comes with an older car with higher millage.
    Is the difference between worth the risk?


    Thanks for your reply and no it won't cover a bulk of our debt unfortunately.


    With our current car apart from a new tyre as it stands everything else has been covered by the warranty and we just get it serviced annually. A tank costing £60 does about 450 miles and the tax costs £145pa and our insurance for it is £37 per month.
  • tori.k
    tori.k Posts: 3,592 Forumite
    Options
    TBH If you have a decent warranty like the hyundai seven year your unlikely to save anything by selling, more likely it would cost you more over the longerterm.

    Other than slogging it out with debt there is rarely a quick fix, Post a SOA new eyes can sometimes find things we may miss, then snowball the debts it wont be long before other 0% transfers open up as deals end. then you rinse and repeat, Your already working on the issue around why you built up debt in the first place keep at this.

    Im the worse for impatience where debt is concerned this will be linked to your anxiety if you can forget about selling the car for the moment and focus on your budget, what's on paper has the be the same as what in your purse every penny has to be accounted for at the moment so you know exactly what you need and what's left over for debt repayment.

    It took me 6 months of rejigging to account for everything, it's sad but I know too the penny how much I have to budget for my household expenses in each category and how much I have to overpay the debts.

    You will get there just gotta keep on trucking :)
  • debtaghh
    debtaghh Posts: 1,794 Forumite
    Name Dropper First Anniversary First Post
    edited 1 August 2016 at 6:41AM
    Options
    I think we have one more year on our warranty.

    We ended up going out yeseterday but I was surprisingly disciplined. We had entrance passes and brought lunch from home including a flask of coffee. Our total spend was £3 plus fuel. My family came with me, mum etc but they all went for a takeaway for dinner , we didn't . We resisted and came home and I was cooking at 8pm at night, I am quite pleased I didn't give in!

    Today I need to check the banks and may make a small payment as I have had a few sales the last few days . I might attempt the survey sites again but am finding them slow. Need to do an online shop using my £10 coupons- total budget including coupons £40! I've set myself a limit of £60 cash only on food until we go away.

    We should find out how much we will get offered for the car today but the more I think about it, the more I think we should keep it and be disciplined in other areas. I was donating to charity every month a few pounds but last night I cancelled the direct debit, I do feel bad as I've been doing it for years but really want to clear this debt and need to cut my monthly outgoings
★ ★ ★ Meet your Ambassadors

Categories

  • All Categories
  • 343.2K Banking & Borrowing
  • 250.1K Reduce Debt & Boost Income
  • 449.7K Spending & Discounts
  • 235.3K Work, Benefits & Business
  • 608K Mortgages, Homes & Bills
  • 173.1K Life & Family
  • 247.9K Travel & Transport
  • 1.5M Hobbies & Leisure
  • 15.9K Discuss & Feedback
  • 15.1K Coronavirus Support Boards