Well its January and I know I have to do it, but how? Sorting my finances.

[Disenchanted3]

Urghh, I'm totally unorganised and very unmotivated lately so could do with some help.

I have to get rid of my debts, several or more catalouges and also a large overdraft i want to get rid of, whilst paying off a loan (this is my last 12 months/36) and i also want to put a bit away(!!)
bearing in mind we are on very low income.

i feel like im drowning,.

frig, wish it wasn't jan, i know i have to do it though.

any practical advice on how to get started?

I'd recommend a cheap diary, big enough to write down all your incomings and outgoings.
That way you can see exactly what you have everyday.
Start budgeting for everything especially a shopping list. NO impluse buys then!

It took me 6 years to clear £10k of debt left by Ds' father with only benefits to live on.
If you can pay all essentials (mortgage/rent etc) on DD that helps. Then you know exactly what goes out on the same date every month.

If money is very tight ot your outgoings exceed your incomings try your CAB. They have financial help there too.

Thanks PC, we are on benefits, stupidly it seemed easier to shove everything on credit when we ot our home, bad move.

Excluding the loan, which is 1/3 gone and always paid on time anyways. We have about £5000 worth of debt, i would love to get rid of it all this year but not sure if thats possible, guess Ive got some working out to do eh?

sorry 2/3s gone.

Do you mind me asking what interest rates you are paying?

If theres any chance you can shift all debt onto a low interest loan/credit card it may be worth it.

Theres a site called zoopa (i didnt think highly of it at start, but reading more and more about it and think I might use it as a lender) You may be able to get a cheaper loan from there than at a bank and clear the catalogs.

Have you looked on www.moneysavingexpert.com for the budget planner (absolutely brilliant) and general money saving tips?

My number one tip is to fill in the budget planner from that site. it's scary. You might find you need to make bigger cuts than you need to in order to pay back your debt, but trust me, it can usually be done . I can't believe how little we spend on food/bills/fun stuff now compared to 20 months ago when I started to tackle our debt, and now we really struggle to spend money (spent about half an hour debating a new scarf today, despite having earned loads of extra money last month!).

If you do the budget planner and find you're still in real difficulty, do talk to someone like CAB - they will help you, honest!

Other starting points include:

• menu planning, and ONLY buy the things you need. Do online shopping if you know you'll be tempted in store
• cook more from scratch, if you have the time
• ebay anything you don't need, even if it only makes a few quid
• walk more (if you usually drive) - even the odd journey will save a couple of quid
• investigate cheap/free entertainment locally
• Any debts on higher interest rate should be paid off first (or switched to 0% credit cards, but only if you have the willpower not to spend on the newly-fred-up cards!)

verrrry high interest

cannot get 0% credit card or low interest loan, have tried bad credit now,

thanks by the way, will sort out budget planner.

Have added it up and owe about £4000

oops nope I meant £3000
well paid that £1000 off quickly didn't I?

£3,000 is very manageable. I know it seems horrific, but you've done really well clocking that it needs sorting before it gets to the point where you really can't afford to pay it back!

If there's any more help you need, shout.

have written down all ins and outs and on paper is very doable but its the organising - making sure things go out on right days, having food money at right time etc

im not too good at planning,

What sort of benefits are you on?

Could you get an interest free budgeting loan from Social fund to pay off the biggest debt?

we already have one of those unfortunatly!

Well done for getting your accounts done so quickly - certainly gave me a kick up the backside

Re your loan. Since it seems your credit rating isn't perfect atm, you can look at arranging an IVA with the lender. This is where they have to agree repayments you can actually afford, taking everything else into account. Plus you get the interest frozen!

This is the "little known secret" all those rip-off agencies advertise. You can do it free, either by yourself or with the help of the Consumer Credit Counselling Service. They are FREE, incredibly helpful & efficient, and are a charity (funded by compulsory contributions from the finance companies )

Good luck! Just off to stare my own fiscal fiasco in the face ...

I know, the actual sticking to the budget is the hardest bit! I have become ferociously organised since starting to pay off our debt.

My number one tip would be don't get despondent if you miss your budget one month, just get back in the saddle and try again.

If it helps, budget on a weekly basis, take out what you need in cash, then get someone else to look after your cards.

There's no getting around the fact that it takes a lot more organisation than getting into debt in the first place does, but it's definitely doable!