Right, this week i am going to take control!.........but how???

[juicychops]

I am £1000 in debt on my overdraft which i want to pay back asap. Im constantly up to the limit and want to sort it out and pay it all back.

I have very little money left after working out incomings and out goings so i need to start earning extra asap.

Every time i leave the house i end up buying food or sweets or household stuff that i just dont need.
I now food shop on a tight budget which buys enough food for the week but with the money i save i end up buying me and ds luxuries every day that i just dont need or even want!
Basically, i think im spending more than im getting.
Need to sort it out NOW. I have to pay for my next lot of driving lessons in a few weeks time then my test in a couple of months. Then i want to think about a car and insurance etc. I also want to start saving for the future. The only option is work but i dont know what. Ive sold everything worth selling on ebay but the money for that has gone on bills.

Please help me. any advice greatly appreciated

bump

anyone

JC you seem a little vague on the details? Do you actually spend more than your income? You don't seem sure. Have you written down all your outgoings for the month? Then, maybe take a notebook in your bag and write down EVERYTHING you spend to see where its going. Then restrict your cash spending somehow - by allocating yourself a small amount for the week in cash, and when its gone its gone? But the first step is to work out your known incoming and outgoing costs for the month.

Ive written down all outgoings and then all money i get in, and i have about £10 to myself after all bill paid. But i spend more than £10 and now im up to my over draft limit. Cant affort to increase it anymore and that would solve nothing!

Why do you go to the shops every day?
Do the food shop once a week (as you do), and apart from that, if you're going out for a walk or something, leave your purse at home.

Ok JC, You need to SSSSSSTTTTOOOPPPP spending whilst you are out. Stop Stop Stop. You DO NOT need the crap you are spending money on, youve admitted it yourself.
DO NOT go down the cleaning aisle unless you NEED something, same for Shampoo aisle.
Meal Plan?
Dont increase the OD, leave as much as humanly possible in there.
Take the rest that you need out IN CASH, and divide it into 4 if your paid monthly.
Is there a partner spending money too, or just you?

I'm sorting mine out too..

I've a £3k overdraft which I'm about £1500 into each month at the minute.. I want to pay it off though. Things I am now doing...

Meal Planning (and only buying what's on my list)
not buying lunch at work
making at least one batch of soup a week
eating out less/not going to starbucks at all.
I'm going to take my mortgage to another lender as my tie-in ends in April
I have an interest free credit agreement on some furniture that has a year left to go, I'm going to try and pay that off immediately (will free up £44 a month)
I've stopped my d/d into my savings account. No savings until o/d paid off now.
I'm trying to use my car less/stay in more so I've gone from 1 tank of petrol per week to a tank about every 1.5weeks (saves nearly £50 over 3 weeks)
I'm going to phone my mobile phone company and see what their cheapest tarrif is, then I'm going to use my phone a lot less.

Go online and get a free spreadsheet to input all your outgoings and incomings, you can then see how much you really are spending (Moneysaver does a good one)You can also tweek it month to month, increase your food budget or add an unexpected bill and it will show you what you have left.
You also should meal plan, that has saved DH and I lots. I sit down on a monday morning and work out what I have in the fridge/freezer/cupboards and then write the weeks dinners on a whiteboard. I will also put on there if members of the house are out for dinner. Then you go to the shops with list and only buy what you need. You will also not throw away good food as each day you know exactly what you are cooking and that you have everything you need.

Also if you plan your meals, you can cook a casserole with cheap meat. You need to put it in the oven for a few hours, but you can make really fantastic meals with cheap cuts.
I walk whenever I can, dont take my wallet to school (then I cant be persuaded to buy sweets etc).

Thanks that helps a lot. I go into town every day as its 5 mins from my house and as i cant afford travel and dont drive, there isn't really much else to do in the day other than the park. i think i will stop taking my purse out with me.

Its only me spending the money as i live on my own

Stay in and MN more...your paying for BB anyway???!!!
You HAVE to steer clear of the shops or you do end up spending.

Join us on the debt free thread, masses of tips there.
But you sound like me , I end up buy chocolate when I go out with work but have loads at home, I never just have a drink in a cafe always want a ckae as well
I know I need to control this and when I point out to myself I am much more careful.

Nikkie and JC, coffee and cake are for RICH people...lol....have it less often and view it as a TREAT again!

But I go to a cafe at least twice a week as part of my work which is where the problem comes from (I ahev started taking bottles of coke to college through instead of buying them and I have to hide them in my bag )

Coke??? Coke??? water me dear... Have a big breaky and take no money when your at the cafe!

But then I Still have to sit in the cafe and just not eat anything
My coke is actually a small bottle filled from a big one too