Krispy Kreme: Oh so good!

Wednesday 3rd December, 2008 - £7,158.16 in debt…

I should probably have thought about my budget in a bit more detail before I came to London. I have no idea how much I’ve spent so far, but it’s not good news.

The problem, if you can call it that, is that I have so few outgoings at the moment. With paying only a minimal rent to my parents, and no bills, I’ve got a bit of money to splash around, and I should be transferring all of it to my Barclaycard. But why would I do that when there are overpriced takeaway cups of coffee to buy? And when there are branches of Krispy Kreme in London?

And the problem with going to a party at which there are free drinks is that you completely forget that there are other things to buy: a travelcard, dinner, munchies on the way back, etc, etc.

I’m coming home tomorrow or Friday, so there must be very few opportunities left for me to spend money. Surely. Anyway, I’ll let you know how it goes - I’m off out for the evening. Oh Christ.

  A break away in the Big City for Olivia!

Sunday 30th November, 2008 - £7,158.16 in debt…

From Monday to Thursday of this week, I’ll be living it up in our beautiful capital city, if it’s possible to ’live it up’ on a budget.

No, I’m not going on a Christmas shopping trip to Oxford Street - I’m not insane. But I’ve always loved London, even after having lived there for three years, and I miss it. On a three-day trip, I can fit in all my favourite places without having to spend too much, and I’m going to a Christmas party on Tuesday night, at which there will be free booze. So effectively, I’m saving money by going. Yes I am.

So, how can I cut my costs?

London accommodation

Well, I’m staying with a friend for two nights and in central London for one night, so I’m only paying £40 in total for accommodation. Good start, Olivia.

If I hadn’t done this, I could have taken advantage of Lastminute’s ‘top secret hotels’ deal: You choose your hotel room based on location and price, and only discover the name of the hotel once you’ve booked. In this way, the hotel gets rid of any last-minute spare rooms without annoying the customers who’ve paid full price, and you get a cheap room at a classy 4 or 5-star hotel.

Cheap London theatre

On the Wednesday night, there’s a good chance I’ll take in a West End show, like a proper middle-aged tourist. At this late stage, I fear having to settle for Holby City - The Musical or similar, but there are plenty of ways to get hold of cheap last-minute tickets. These include www.theatremonkey.com and the trusty Leicester Square ‘tkts‘ booth.

There’s also a deal run by the Association of Train Operating Companies, whereby you can get two tickets for the price of one if you travel to the theatre by train. And it’s not just theatre tickets - it’s London attractions generally, so that includes boat trips, museums, exhibitions, tours, zoos, you name it. The world is my oyster.

Dining out

Hmmm, what else will I be spending money on? Ah yes, food. I’ll arrive in London on Monday evening, so I can go to the local pub and sample its no-doubt-extensive vegetarian menu. But what about Tuesday and Wednesday evenings, when I’ll be in Covent Garden and “Theatreland” respectively?

Well, there’s a good Time Out guide to eating on a budget in London. Lastminute also does a good feature where you can search London restaurant deals by price. Another great resource is Toptable, where you can search for “cheap and cheerful” restaurants, read price guides and reviews, and book yourself a table online. Marvellous.

So, these are the secret weapons in my armoury for a cheap but interesting few days in my favourite city. Any tips and tricks before I set off…?

Saturday 29th November, 2008 - £7,158.16 in debt…

Well, it’s nearly the end of the month so that’s another £250 to the Barclaycard people and I’m poised on the edge of my seat to find out whether my regular standing orders will take my total below the £7k mark before Christmas. But obviously I don’t want to plough too much onto the cards at the moment, as I’ve still got present-buying to worry about, along with a three-day trip to London (more on that tomorrow).

And, speaking of present-buying, the pre-Christmas sales have now kicked off in earnest, with all the major high-street shops taking full advantage of the cut in VAT.

For instance, there’s up to 60% off Christmas gifts at Argos, and if you order on the website you get free delivery on orders over £50 until Tuesday (just enter code AFD10 at the checkout). You also get a free gift voucher with the same deal (orders over £50, ends on Tuesday).

There’s also up to 50% off everything at The Pier, until December 24th or while stocks last. Since this blog is all about saving money, I wouldn’t normally recommend a shop so pointlessly expensive, but have you seen these pink and blue glass car-shaped Christmas tree decorations? If they’re not worth £2.80, I don’t know what is.

 Olivia Buck says ‘Hi’

Monday 1st May, 2008 – £9,499.45 in debt…

Let me introduce myself: I’ve just turned 28, I’ve been in debt for ten years, and now I’m desperate to pay it off. How did I get myself into this dungheap of a mess of a quagmire?

I’ve always been rubbish with money, and now I’m rubbish with debt. Being in the red was fine at uni - like so many students, I got used to spending money that wasn’t mine. After I graduated, I lived with my parents for two years and paid most of it off, but then I moved to London.

I’ll tell you this for nothing: Living in London is expensive. That’s the first of many shiny nuggets of wisdom you’re going to get from this blog, and I hope you appreciate it. It’s not like I was eating diamond-encrusted swans for breakfast, but an Ikea spree here and there soon adds up.

Over the last year or so, I’ve had the feeling I should be getting out of my debt-hole. My credit rating has gone past ‘high risk’ and into ‘extreme’ territory – only adrenaline junkies and the mafia would lend to me now - but mainly I want to cut up my credit cards because being in debt feels horrible.

So far, I’ve made the following efforts:

• Although I’m self-employed, I’ve got a second job as a part-time secretary. It’s almost unbearable, but it pays the rent.

• My biggest debt was on my Barclaycard at nearly 30% APR, so I’ve transferred half the balance to a Tesco card on an interest-free deal.

• After doing that, I cancelled my Barclaycard and set up a standing order to make regular payments. When I explained why I was doing this, the Barclaycard people were kind enough to drop my Standard APR by a couple of percent.

Even after that, I’ve still got credit card bills of £200 a month and those payments are covering little more than interest. I also have an overdraft limit of £3,000, which I was always straying past before I got the temping job (bad news at the time, but I might be able to claim back some bank charges – more on that later…).

So, here’s the bottom line: How much I owe.

Barclays overdraft: £3,000 (I’m always at the limit by the end of the month)

Barclaycard: £2,977.46 at 27.9% APR

Capital One card: £999.00 at 24% APR

Tesco card: £2,399.00 at 12% APR

NatWest card: £123.99 at 13% APR

That’s a total debt of £9,499.45 (plus interest), which I plan to eliminate completely by my 30th birthday at the end of April 2010. I then plan to fit Jupiter into a blender and become the first woman to unicycle across the Atlantic.

My first job is to pay off that pesky little NatWest card as quickly as possible. I currently pay off that card at £10 a month so, once it’s taken care of, I can add £10 onto my monthly Barclaycard payment.

I’m open to suggestions, so please help me out!

 I’ve got 24 months to get solvent and apart from Ebaying all my belongings and working overtime, I need to know: 

1. Can I make more money?
2. How can I save money so I can increase my card payments without feeling the pinch?
3. What have you done to pay off your debts?
4. What works and what doesn’t?

 Over the coming weeks I’ll be trying out any suggestions I’m given (apart from illegal ones) and regularly reporting back.