Student Debt Free Wannabe!

slowlyfading · 18 December 2006 at 2:00PM

Okay, so I've been reading this board for a while now, but have never posted my own thread. but I need help, i'm addicted to buying things I dont need!

Monthly Incomings:

Student Loan: £3305 over the year... get this in three installments so
October: £1100
January: £1100
April: £1105

Monthly Outgoings:

Mortgage/Rent - n/a my kind parents agreed to pay for this.
Gas - haven't had a bill yet
Electric - haven't had a bill yet
TV License - paid for this in full.
Food - probably over £150 - this is where i'm going wrong the most I think.
Contact Lenses - £15
Mobile Phone - £25 - £40 - this depends on how good I am during the month. Did try and cancel this, but can't until November of next year

Savings - £10 each month.
Train Fare - £60. - I might have to stop going home on a weekend.
Text books/piano music/books in general - £70

dvds/cds/clothes/ - approx. £30.
Total: £360

The debts:
Overdraft - £600
Credit Card - at the moment only £110 coz I paid some off.
Total: £710 which doesn't seem a lot, but I have no source of income other than my loan at the start of each term.

Any suggestions? I know my debt isn't very big, but my family are going through a lot of problems right now, so I'll need to start contributing to them as well. -sigh-
Thanks in advance,
Nicola x

medman · 18 December 2006 at 2:13PM

Hi Nicola,

This doesn't sounds so bad but you're right to start thinking about it because debt creeps up on you like fog.

A couple of questions:
1. Are you in student accommodation or hall or residence?
2. Are you paying any interest to your OD or CC?
3. If you are paying interest don't save money elsewhere until the balance is cleared.

A quick look at your outgoings and you're right food seems very high for one person. Look at the MoneySaving Old Style thread I think this link will work http://forums.moneysavingexpert.com/forumdisplay.html?f=33 If it doesn't go through chat forums and it's listed. Loads of good ideas on saving money with your shopping.

You may not be able to get rid of your mobile but ask to go to a lower tariff this isn't usually a problem. And you need to find a cheaper way of funding books, use the library, get second hand and sell books back to the shop that you no longer need.

The only way to keep all this in check is to reduce outgoings and increase income. Have you tried to get a part time job? Even a McJob would bring in some money. See if there is any way you can generate some income.

I'm no expert but I hope this start helps

cheers

MM

slowlyfading · 18 December 2006 at 2:20PM

medman wrote:

A couple of questions:
1. Are you in student accommodation or hall or residence?
2. Are you paying any interest to your OD or CC?
3. If you are paying interest don't save money elsewhere until the balance is cleared.

thanks for replying. I am in a student let house, the rent is £48 per week, but my mum and dad offered to pay for that. I dont have any interest on the overdraft i dont think, or the credit card, but i'm not sure. Cancelling the savings bit would seem the obvious choice so I'm going to go into the bank after christmas and stop that one.
Getting a job is really hard as there's so many students wanting a job! Also, my course is really demanding - I'm doing music so we have to do four hours of practise a day plus own research and I teach in a primary school all day on a friday. I guess I could hunt around for a weekend job though...
I dont want this to get worse

medman · 18 December 2006 at 2:32PM

OK don't forget to try and get you mobile bill down and reduce your shopping bill if you can. I think you could reduce your contact lens bill by 30% by going to Boots or ASDA.

I know Uni is a lot of pressure but if you could work even during holidays it does make it easier. If you shop for food and cater together it can be fun and cheaper but you need to all get on really well.

Don't worry about the student loan (yet) but just make sure you have student banking facilities and are not paying high interest on cards or overdraft.

You might consider starting a spending diary to see where your money goes, it might be better to do this after Christmas! The money spent on CDs clothes etc should pretty much stop while at College and only buy essentials. You can borrow CDs/DVDs from the library and transfer music to an MP3 player or your PC.

Good luck and let us know how you get on.

cheers

MM

slowlyfading · 18 December 2006 at 2:35PM

thanks again. I'll look into the mobile thing and contact lenses swapping. thanks for the ideas! I know I shouldn't get dvds or cds or whatever, but I'm an impulse buyer so I really need to get out of that. I already keep a diary of all I spend, and most of it is on food. I live on the same street as 2 takeaways and I'm the worst cook ever, so it just seems the cheapest option. Even when I go to Sainsburys or Asda, I seem to not get anything that actually makes a meal, nor would I know how to really cook anything other than pasta!
Nicola x

irishmanc · 18 December 2006 at 2:51PM

Hi there,
I'm an impulse buyer too. I started a spending diary in Nov and it really helped me. I hate noting stuff down in it now. I keep all my reciepts and looking at everything i've spent in a week all together like that is a huge turn off.
Also, I avoid the shops. I dont go down the road past shops. I will take an alternative (more boring) route becuase i know i will pop into tesco and buy some crisps, a choc and a magazine.

Trust me, if i (the girl who went on a shoping weekend to NY on a last minute whim) can leanr some self control you can too!

slowlyfading · 18 December 2006 at 3:32PM

hehe thanks for replying, maybe we can do it together!! :j
nicola x

irishmanc · 18 December 2006 at 3:50PM

Sure! Have a look for my diary (irishmanc's debt free diary), recently I really wanted a brand new sparkly piggy bank (for saving!!!) for £10 and was talked out of it.

Also, I love buying people pressies so birthdays etc end up really expensive because I think, ooooh, they'll like this, oh and this.....

If you need someone to talk you down from the ledge, give me a shout, i'm learning how to get down too, x

slowlyfading · 18 December 2006 at 4:27PM

I will take a look! The best thing today is that I've not spent anything! I went to the post office to post some things, but mum gave me the money for that so its all good

I save up 1ps, 2ps, 5ps, 10ps and 20ps in a big box, so I'll count that in a bit and see how much is in there!
Nicola x

cupid_s · 18 December 2006 at 4:31PM

If you look around there's probably loads of bar jobs available. It's not ideal but I did it throughout my first and second year. I also had a quite demanding timetable. I had 25-30 hours of lectures and practicals and at least 30 hours of own work to do each week. I managed to work 10 hours a week at least and it really helped. Particularly because I couldn't go out and spend anything on the nights I was working.

Also train fares - does that include your student railcard discount? Can you book in advance and save money, or is it cheaper by bus?

If you go to the old style board there good advice on cutting your food budget. If you make a proper meal plan and stick to it, then from that write a list to take shopping it really helps. There's also so many good ideas for cheap meals that are so easy to make anyone (even a really bad cook) could do it.

If your parents are covering your rent there is no way that your loan shouldn't cover everything else with leftovers at the end of the year.

Good luck

slowlyfading · 18 December 2006 at 4:42PM

cupid_stunt wrote:

If you look around there's probably loads of bar jobs available. It's not ideal but I did it throughout my first and second year. I also had a quite demanding timetable. I had 25-30 hours of lectures and practicals and at least 30 hours of own work to do each week. I managed to work 10 hours a week at least and it really helped. Particularly because I couldn't go out and spend anything on the nights I was working.

Also train fares - does that include your student railcard discount? Can you book in advance and save money, or is it cheaper by bus?

If you go to the old style board there good advice on cutting your food budget. If you make a proper meal plan and stick to it, then from that write a list to take shopping it really helps. There's also so many good ideas for cheap meals that are so easy to make anyone (even a really bad cook) could do it.

If your parents are covering your rent there is no way that your loan shouldn't cover everything else with leftovers at the end of the year.

Good luck

Thanks for replying. I'm going to have a look around when I get back to uni after the holidays, but I dont know if there'll be any jobs left... The train fare is £35 for me to get home, and this includes my student railcard discount. Is it cheaper to book in advance, would it save any more money? The train ride takes me 5 hours to get home and i get travel sick easily, so getting a bus isn't really an option. I'lll have a gander on the old style board to see if there's any hints and tips for food wise. This is where all my money mainly goes.. so hopefully it'll help me become a better cook! I know my loan should cover everything, but that's why I'm here.

Student Debt Free Wannabe!

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