Newbie debt free wannabe needs help!

A question about : Newbie debt free wannabe needs help!

Hello dfw geeks I could really use your help.

I have debts that need paying off ASAP along with really low discretionary income once all my bills have been paid. I will give you a quick overview now so you can see.

Rent 540
Council tax 67
Water
Electric 20
Food 120
Train fare to work 305
Mobile 38
Tablet 19

total is 1109

My salary is 1266 a month after tax

Now I have debts with

Santander- OD is 700
Cc is 1100- 0% for 18 months (min payment each month)

Natwest-- student OD is 1300
Cc is 500 high apr needs checking (min payment each month)

Barclays- student OD is 1000

Now with the cc I always make min payment and try to put Ј10 each month in the student accounts. I never miss a payment for my bills so not in big as trouble as I could be.

What would you suggest would be the quickest and easiest way to get my debts paid off? Really need the help now

Thanks for reading

Best answers:

• I imagine your assessment of bills and spending is not entirely accurate. A full statement of affairs (SOA) as explained in post 2 on this thread will be useful and help everyone understand your position better. https://forums.moneysavingexpert.com/...d.php?t=562271
  That said your two biggest issues are rent and travel. With little other information you need to 1. find somewhere cheaper to live 2. find a cheaper way to get to work - ideally you would find somewhere cheaper to live that is nearer to work.
  You can also try increasing your income by taking on a second job, ebaying stuff, taking in a lodger, etc etc but again without knowing more about your life its hard to say
• No my assessment is accurate. I'm single and live on my own. I have to live out from where I work as the city I work in (not London) is incredibly expensive to live in and would be even more expensive then combining rent and travel together. Also my rent is the cheapest that I'm going to get within the county and travel is as cheap as it's going to get as well.
  I work full time and earn commission on top of my salary but this can vary depending on time of year etc
• Hi
  How much are you water bills?
  Is your property all electric heating? if so will Ј20/month be sufficient through the winter? Do you not have any contents insurance? do you pay a tv licence?
  How much do you spend on expenditure on clothes/medical costs/presents/entertainment/haircuts?
  Obvioulsy your budget is very tight with the rent and travel costs and on your current salary. If you cannot increase your income could you consider a shared property rather than renting alone to reduce your outgoings?
  Are you in contract with the mobile and tablet?
  Do you still spend on either of the credit cards at all?
  As your expenditure is listed it looks like you have Ј157 (less water at least) to put towards your debts a month. If you do have that amount then you need to target the most expensive debts first. How much are you paying for each of the 3 overdrafts? either in fees or interest rate? What are the minimums of the 2 cards?
  Obviously things are very tight at the moment
• Well you've listed Water but no amount included. What about other costs - contents insurance, dentist/medical costs, clothing, haircuts, TV / Broadband package - if TV what about licence?, entertainment, christmas gifts etc etc
  Your electric seems low. Mobile seems high. No gas? Without an accurate review of where your money goes you won't be able to make the decisions you need.
  When you know how much you have left you can then decide where to focus that money - try the snowball calculator. Some go for highest interest first, others smallest debt - it depends on what motivates you.
  But unless you get a pay-rise its going to take a long time - at best you have Ј150 a month available and you owe Ј4600 - thats 2 and a half years not allowing for interest and charges with no going out, no new clothes etc etc.
  Is your credit good enough to get the MBNA money transfer card to try and get some if not all of the ODs on 0% as well?
  Realistically, regardless of how against it you are, you do need to consider reducing living costs and that could mean moving into a house-share or becoming a lodger
• I agree with above, you would be better to post a SOA, there's no amount next to water on your list, no tv licence, clothing, contents insurance, presents (birthday/Christmas), medical (dentist etc), entertainment, emergency or haircuts.
  Here's the link if it helps, it does give a more accurate view https://www.stoozing.com/calculator/soa.php
  good luck
  DB
• oops - looks like we were all thinking the same and asking the same questions, didn't see the posts above until I had posted
• smallandcute, I hope the reason you've not responded isn't because we or more specifically, grouchy-morning-me (sorry!) have scared you off.
  You CAN beat these debts - its not going to be plain-sailing nor is it going to be an overnight fix but it can be done. You've made the first step - realising that you need to do something now and stop things getting worse.
  Presumably you've recently graduated, you've got a long time ahead of you in life so now is the ideal time to get to grips with the spending and get it all under control and then when you decide to settle down /buy your own place /start a family /set up an animal sanctuary /take off on a year long trip etc etc you'll have the financial freedom to do that with good budgeting habits, a nice nest egg, no bad debts and a good credit history.
  It may be painful to start but the superb people on this board (excluding me I'm just an infrequent visitor) and those others on the old style savings boards can provide excellent advice to help you start and keep you motivated.
  Do the SOA - yes, it will take a bit of time to do it properly but the more accurate it is now, the better the advice you'll get so the better the outcome for you.