Bad Month.

Tuesday 30th September, 2008 - £7,899.83 in debt…

Over the last few weeks, my financial situation has gone from bad to worse and has made me feel a bit despondent. In fact, the only thing that’s made me more emotional all month was the Pride of Britain awards. Now that I’ve stopped howling at the moon (”he threw himself ON TOP of the grenade! And he didn’t even go to hospital! OH MY GOD!”), I’ve managed to compile a list of the month’s successes and failures. The first list didn’t take long.

Whoop! Whoop! Success!

1) I managed to wangle a month’s free Amazon delivery through Amazon Prime, cancelled the payment as soon as I thought of it, and wasn’t charged. At last - a company that doesn’t try to steal from me.

2) I started work for AQA and made £328.80 in my first month, which isn’t bad for a sideline.

3) Rather than donating money to charities, I’ve been clicking on TheHungerSite every day and taken some food, blankets and empty printer cartridges to my local rescue home.

4) I’ve spoken to the boss at my temping job about working from home, and we’ve come to an agreement. This means that, as of this week, I’ve got a weekly wage coming in again. Hooray.

Aaaaargh! Failure.

1) I’ve paid off almost nothing. Although my usual minimum credit card payments have gone through (phew!), I haven’t been able to pay off any extra and I’ve even started using the Tesco credit card again. And, because the month hasn’t gone well, I’ve slipped into old habits of not opening my card statements. Luckily, I’m doing this blog so I had to do it eventually.

2) I still haven’t got an E.ON switch date! That’s nine weeks now! Time for an angry phone call, I think.

3) Barclaycard has raised my credit limit to a stupid amount without asking me. It wouldn’t be so annoying if I wasn’t so tempted…

4) Even if I wanted to, I wouldn’t be picking up anyone’s dropped coins off the street, as it’s occurred to me that I don’t actually walk anywhere these days and there aren’t many discarded pennies inside my car. Perhaps a bit of a lifestyle-change is required next month, but can I really go without my lovely Matiz?

5) I’ve had a minor wrangle with PayPal. I hate PayPal. PayPal must die.

Buh? Don’t know yet.

1) Now I’m thinking that booking the holiday to Prague might not have been such a good idea. I’m still looking forward to it, and the return flight cost me less than £70, but I’ve still got to book the hotel and get some spending money together…

2) I’ve started entering as many competitions as I can fit into my hectic schedule but I haven’t won anything yet.

So, there you have it: It’s not even Christmas yet and I’ve already had a really awful month. I might send a question to AQA: Would it be easier for me to (a) throw myself on a grenade and survive, or (b) get back on top of my debts?

PS. AQA will be featured on the Graham Norton Show, tonight at 10pm on BBC2, but you’ll have to sit through Travis if you’re going to watch it. And Graham Norton. Sorry.

Take that PayPal!

Friday 26th September, 2008 - £7,926.83 in debt…

Yes, this is my second post of the day - that’s how angry I am. You know I said Barclaycard was my least-favourite financial institution? It’s been bumped into second place by PayPal.

According to a series of emails I received this afternoon, ten payments were made from my PayPal account to Skype (a partner of PayPal, suspiciously enough), totalling about £80. This was news to me - I hadn’t made any of the transactions myself.

About two hours later, ten refunds were credited to my account. But the refunds have been placed on temporary hold until the payments themselves clear. The money has to come out of my bank account and then be paid back in.

I emailed the PayPal complaints department explaining all this and asking why it had happened and whether I could ever trust PayPal again. I got a standard, template response explaining why my refunds were being held back.

This made my blood boil.

So, I phoned the PayPal so-called “help” line. Apparently, no one knows why the payments were authorised or who by, and the money is definitely going to come out of my account whether I like it or not. I explained that I simply can’t afford for the money to come out at this stage in the month - if it does, my rent payment won’t go through.

The PayPal employee (Julie from Resolution Services, just in case anyone’s got a spare five minutes and the ability to hack her bank account) told me that when the money comes out, and when my rent doesn’t come out, PayPal will cover my bank charges. However, if I have the nerve to go to my bank and ask them to cancel the dodgy transactions so they don’t go through in the first place, PayPal will CHARGE ME for an unpaid transaction! The same thing would happen if I cancelled my Direct Debit at this stage.

At this point, I “Hulked out”.

Julie also helpfully pointed out that, if I cancelled the Direct Debit, I wouldn’t be able to use PayPal again. I assured her that I would never use PayPal again for as long as I live.

And, what’s more (oh yes, there’s more), when I get my refunds they’ll be paid into my PayPal account. Because apparently it’s okay to take money willy-nilly straight out of my Barclays account, but paying it back in is against the rules.

The only thing I can do now is to get in touch with my letting agent and explain why the rent will be late this month, and wait for the whole thing to take its course. The PayPal agent didn’t say anything about the level of compensation I’d receive if my landlord decided to evict me for breaking the terms of my contract but, as long as I get my £8 bank charge back, that’s apparently all that matters.

Deep breaths. Go to your happy place, Olivia.

I can understand that sometimes PayPal can’t prevent dodgy transactions from going through, and it’s to their credit that they noticed quickly and put the refund procedure in place on the same day. However, the customer service I’ve received has been horrendous. Via both email and phone, PayPal’s agents have answered the questions they’re expecting to hear and not the ones I’ve actually asked. And, if I can prevent the unauthorised transactions from going through by talking to my bank, what gives PayPal the right to impose a charge of their own?

Apparently I can complain to the Financial Ombudsman, and I will be doing that, but I can’t imagine it doing any good after the event.

This has got to be the worst thing about being in debt. When something like this happens, the only thing I can do is let it happen. Or borrow cash from my family, inconveniencing them and embarrassing me. I’ve never felt so completely at the mercy of a financial company. What if each of those transactions had been £100..?

 Just block it!!!

Tuesday 23rd September, 2008 - £7,926.83 in debt…

Barclaycard has got to be my least favourite financial corporation now.

I’ve had my card for over five years and, during that time, I’ve exceeded my limit and missed the odd payment. The Barclaycard people know that I’m not great with money, and they’ve had to write me a couple of nasty letters. But, as with any long-term relationship, they’ve learned to love me for my faults.

Over the last four months, I’ve phoned them twice to tell them I’m paying off my debts and to ask for various favours. The first time, I asked for a decrease in my APR and a block on my card. They said they’d do both of these things, but in practice they did neither. The second time I spoke to them, they again said they’d block my card, but then they sent out a shiny new one.

Obviously they weren’t going to be any help in my quest to repay my debts, but I wasn’t expecting an increase to my credit limit. An INCREASE! To £4,000! I hadn’t asked for it - the letter just arrived out of the blue.

Now, I’m not unreasonable. I know that Barclaycard has to make money, and I understand how the system works. I’m not one of those people who’s going to start blaming the banks for my uncontrollable spending urges. However, I’ve been led to believe that the credit card issuers in the UK have some kind of obligation to be responsible lenders.

And increasing the credit limit of a customer they know is a high risk, and who they know is strugglng to repay her debts, just before Christmas…? That doesn’t seem very responsible to me.

  What a cutie!

Tuesday 5th August, 2008 - £8,228.83 in debt…

Another week, another bit of pay trickling into my bank account, another £150 onto my Barclaycard… but I’m starting to flag a bit.

I think all this work is starting to catch up with me. Nine to five, plus evenings, weekends, working through my lunchbreak, and all for what? Money I can’t even spend! Money that goes straight to the bloody Barclaycard headquarters where, no doubt, it gets spent on all the things I want for myself - a holiday, tickets to Wimbledon 2009 (£102 for the men’s final!), a Peugeot 207 CC, a kitten, you name it. I bet Barclaycard headquarters is over-run with kittens. GRRRRR. 

I’m working all the hours I can, not seeing any money for myself at the end of it, and fantasising about being punched unconscious just to get some sleep. This must be what it’s like having children.

 Being ill can prove costly

Wednesday 30th July, 2008 - £8,428.07 in debt…

I got chills - they’re multiplyin’. And I’m losing control…

I’m also suffering from nausea, stomach cramps and fever, and this is my second day of sick leave this week. I’m trying to do bits of freelance work while I’m at home, but apparently I should be resting up and demanding soup.

Even if I’m back at work tomorrow, that’s still a fair bit of money down the drain. Luckily, my temping job only pays £7 an hour, but it’s all helping in the fight against the Barclaycard.

So, how can I make sure I’m well enough to go to the office in 19 hours’ time? Is soup the answer?

 Celebrate good times, come on!

Saturday 26th July, 2008 - £8,428.07 in debt…

Oh yeah! I’m amazing! Look at what I’ve just done - look at the debt counter! LOOK AT IT!

Yes, I’ve been working very hard - like some kind of idiot - for the past 18 days, and finally I’m seeing some money arrive in my bank account. That’s £350 straight onto the Barclaycard, and hopefully more to come next week.

I even got £118.50 from GfK for mystery shopping - a whole £3.50 more than I expected! And they say it’s not a proper job!

 Bournemouth - The Promised Land

Tuesday 22nd July, 2008 - £8,810.98 in debt…

I recently asked around on some forums about services that make it easier to get out of debt, and was bombarded with links to Whatsthecost.com, which apparently is what all the cool people are using. I just went there for the first time, and I feel like I’ve arrived late to a party. A really nerdy party where the guests soberly calculate what order they should pay their credit card bills in, but a party nonetheless.

Just to recap, I have debts on:

1. Barclaycard
2. Capital One card
3. Tesco credit card
4. Barclays overdraft.

I’m paying off the Barclaycard first as it’s got the highest APR, and I’m paying a set amount on each of the others by standing order (£50 on Capital One, £75 on Tesco). I’ve been aiming to pay off £400 a month, but that’s not always possible.

Apparently, I’ve been doing it a bit wrong, but not too wrong. According to the snowball calculator on What’s The Cost, I should be setting up Direct Debits for the minimum on everything but the Barclaycard, and paying off £470 a month in total if I’m going to meet my deadline of the end of April 2010.

The best thing about the snowball calculator doo-dah is that it’s given me some fascinating facts to spur me on. For instance, if I pay everything off in my given time, in the right order, I’ll pay a total of £996 in interest. Horrified gasp. But, if I were just paying everything willy-nilly without (ahem) “snowballing”, I’d lose an additional £650.

The site has even done a good job of justifying my first act as a debt-payer-off: Getting rid of the comparatively cheap NatWest card debt first. “Sometimes, emotionally [rather than financially], it makes sense to pay off the smaller debts first. This can be a great incentive when starting to deal with your debt.”

The calculator is easy to use if you’ve got your debt information in front of you - interest rates, minimum payments, balances and interest-free periods. You’ll also have to tell it how much you can afford to pay back in total per month. By tweaking this, you can find out how much you need to pay to meet your debt-free deadline. 

The results page tells you exactly how much to pay off month by month on each debt. Supposedly, you can then login to save your results and come back to them, but this facility wasn’t working for me. Never mind though - I just saved the webpage instead.

The site is full of similar debt calculators and gadgets, and I can see it being really useful over the next 21-and-a-bit months. Now I’ve just got to encourage my friends to join me for a debt reduction party.

In other news…

Yes, I did sell my soul to the Mail on Sunday for £1.50, but it was worth it. I also got a bit carried away this weekend and fell off the wagon, budget-wise, when I booked two concert tickets. But, at least when I’m starting to chew my own knees off with boredom in November, having spent almost nothing for five months, I’ll be able to cheer myself up by seeing McFly in Bournemouth. Simple pleasures.

 Off to Accessorize…AARRGHH

Thursday 17th July, 2008 - £8,810.98 in debt…

I’m feeling optimistic about my debt today. I just had a look at my bank account online and thought “I could afford to stick about £40 on my Barclaycard”, so I did.

I’d usually keep it in my account for emergencies, but then I’d spend it on emergency new ear-rings or an emergency Subway, so what’s the point? And why bother having online banking if you’re not going to use it to make impulse Barclaycard payments at 10.30 in the evening?

And there’s more to come. The temping job has been upped to five days a week on a play-it-by-ear basis (my incredible boss has said I can choose not to come in if I’m snowed under with freelancing). And the next five weeks of evenings are fully booked. At this rate, I should be able to make up for last month’s shortfall. Hopefully…

At this point, I’ve got to take care not to fall into one or both of two massive debt bear-traps. I have to avoid:

(a) spending my new money on silly things just because I’ve worked hard for it, and

(b) paying off a few hundred quid and stopping there because I’m back on track - I’m not usually this busy, so anything I can pay now will help when things get quieter.

Now, if I could just rig up something that will give me a small electric shock whenever I think about buying new ear-rings, that would be perfect.

  Women being cock-a-hoop

Friday 30th May, 2008 - £8,920.19 in debt…

Look at that up there! That amount of debt! Under the £9,000 mark – WOO! I am literally cock-a –hoop. Yes, literally.

And I’m so proud of myself too. When my tax rebate arrived in my bank account yesterday, my first thought wasn’t “shoes!” or “Milkybars!” or anything deranged at all – it was “Now I can pay that amount off my Barclaycard – I can’t wait!” and I did it straight away.

This is a huge turnaround for me - a couple of months ago, I’d have gone out shopping with that money, but my attitude to money has completely changed and I’ll tell you why.

Originally I thought that writing this blog would be a good way to get tips and ideas about paying off my debt. And that’s exactly what has happened – thanks very much for all the help, by the way – but it’s had another, unexpected benefit…

Because I’m keeping track of my debt and writing about it, I’m constantly thinking about money. And I mean constantly: thinking about how I can save a couple of quid on a cinema ticket, how I can make a couple of quid on Ebay, and how I can roll around in piles of cash once I’ve paid my cards off because every penny I make will be MINE and I can goddamn do what I want with it. So there.

Yes, the rumours are true: paying off even a little bit of your debt is one of the best feelings in the world. Getting rid of my NatWest card was just the start of it, and making that payment today felt just as good as poking a Barclaycard staff member in the eye with a stick.

So, I’m one month into my debt-paying-off experiment and my debt has decreased by a grand total of £579.26. I’m not saying this is going to happen every month, but it’s a good start as far as I’m concerned. Please leave your messages of awed congratulations and worship below.

 14 points….get in!

Tuesday 27th May, 2008 - £9,341.19 in debt…

HOORAY!!! My first big stroke of luck since starting this pathetic journey towards becoming a normal, debt-free citizen: a flipping-well tax rebate. Thank you, God.

This is my third year of having to fill out a tax return, and I can’t say it’s ever been a pleasurable experience. In fact, my idea of hell is having to fill out endless tax returns in a roomful of pigeons, while Basshunter plays on a continual loop inside my brain.

Fortunately, I’m being given a rebate of £421 without even having to get flapped at by manic birds. I suspect this is to do with having a temping job and paying basic rate tax for a while. Whatever the reason, I’m happy. Once the money comes through, I’ll be transferring every single penny onto the Barclaycard.

However, if that money is to be put to good use and not just swallowed up by life generally, I’m going to have to get another job.

My visits to temping agencies last week were, well, uninspiring. Two of them asked me to look at their websites for available jobs (so what is this office here for, exactly?). Three others asked me to fill out some tax return-style paperwork and perform a series of demeaning tests, but still didn’t produce a part-time job at the end of it. This week, I might have to start asking for full-time work.

Yes, full-time. I’m only baulking at this because I still do freelance work on the side, which will occasionally take up another 35 hours of my week. Taking on a full-time temping job will give me the lovely, comforting security blanket of a weekly paycheque, but at the price of my evenings and weekends. Ah well – it’s not like I do anything with them anyway.

Although… I could have a bloody good weekend with that £421, couldn’t I?

In other news:

My debt has gone down by £20.36 as I’ve just received my Capital One credit card bill. The interest-free period on that card has just run out, so I’ve removed it from my wallet and stashed it upstairs, never to be spent again. Ha.

Still no luck with the online surveys – I keep getting emails saying “guaranteed £2.50 for completing this survey! Whoop whoop!”, but then being told that I don’t meet the criteria. It’s like being told I can enter Eurovision, writing and rehearsing an amazing song, and then finding out that I’m representing the UK.