Overdraft is stressing me out! Please help

[katie4_16]

I currently have an overdraft of £2500 which is always maxed out every month. I have no savings or credit card debts, just the overdraft. interest is £30 p/m. I am accounting for every penny spent, but i am left with around £200 to last the month, which has to pay for food etc.

Any advice you have will be greatly appreciated. I have looked at loans, credit cards to pay off this debt, but they all seem to have such high rates of interest that inevitably would put me more into debt.

I dont really see a second job being of any good, as i would have no time to myself as i already work full time, although the extra money would come in handy, its just not plausable! i have stressed and stressed over this, and spoken with family members and friends.

My sister has been a great help, i did have an overdraft limit of £3000 but she convinced me to reduce it to £2500, so i now i have to watch what i spend, and she was the one who came up with the plan to write down everything that im spending each month, but still i cant seem to get out of it.

It's not getting any worse each month which is a good thing, but its not getting any better either which worries me. Please help me if you can, thank you.

[atomicrc11]

If it isn't getting worse, than that means you need to cut back on something or generate more income until you have the line of credit paid off. Don't eat out, stick to ramen, cut out all going out and entertainment until you have it paid off. If you're spending all your money every month and not saving it is bound to just happen again. Do you live alone? Find a roommate to cut the cost of rent.

If you would like more help please post details of your income and all your expenses.

[maat55]

Change your mentality. Look at paying this off and building an EF as a major want.

Boo hoo, you should want the second job. It is not a lifetime thing. Cut your budget to the bone, that includes cigarettes, cell, eating out(lunches and dinners) etc.

Get serious, payoff the debt, build an EF.

[swaymonae]

Overdraft? From a bank? Did you call to get it reduced???

Do you really mean overdraft? The charge that the bank poses on your account if you overdraw? confused...

[DebbieL]

To the poster directly above - overdraft is a protection that you have put on your bank account. I have an overdraft of $400 on my chequing account just in case there is ever an error made and I'm short. I don't use it, but if necessary the bank will clear up to $400 extra that isn't in my account. I would then pay a small fee if that happened, but at least I wouldn't have NSF.

[glock35ipsc]

Originally Posted by katie4_16

I dont really see a second job being of any good, as i would have no time to myself as i already work full time, although the extra money would come in handy, its just not plausable! i have stressed and stressed over this, and spoken with family members and friends.

Well there's your problem right there!

Do a budget, starting will your basic necessities - food, rent, utilities, etc. Every pound in should have a name. Cut out the unnecessary spending. Use any extra money found to pay it down. If there is not enough extra to do so, work extra hours or get a part time job and quit whining about it. It only needs to last long enough to get it paid off, and then to build up and emergency fund. Then, get rid of the overdraft protection and start living within your means.

If you do a new budget each month, there should be no excuse for overdrawing your account.

[myrdale]

Long term the 2nd job is probably not the answer. But for the short term it might really give you a good jump start on things if you could stick it out for a couple of months. I'm shotting from the hip here and saying £2500 is roughly $3500. You should be able to clear that in 3, maybe 4 months just working part time on the side, or atleast make a sizable dent into it.

In conjunction to working more, concentrate on spending less. Can you bag your lunch a couple days of the week, if not every day. Consider removing cloths from your budget for a couple of months. If you really want to get seroius, cancel the cable TV. With summer coming, try to run the AC less, and keep the windows open more. Make shopping list and limit yourself to one run to the store a week for food (This is where I fail, I do fine so long as I only make one trip, two or three and they really start to add up).

[RefinanceRight]

Pretty simple.... Do not over draft. I mean really knowing the amount of money you have and how much you have spent is very basic stuff here.

[Tree0164]

How about posting your budget? We might be able to see if we can help you cut down expenses.
It is all about living within your means