I'm about to loose all I have

[piggypooh]

Ok, I never said that new cars were a good investment, but her are some figures for comparson.

 

Here are my cars I have owned and the cost to me, since 1997

 

(1) Rover Metro (3 years old when purchased) £155 per month HP

£250 Per year Insurance

£100 per year road tax

£30 per week Petrol

servicing - £280 after 1st year for suspension fault

£150 after year 2

£200 after year 3

£400 for complete exhasut system

 

 

(2) Renault Clio(2 years old when bought) £150 per month HP

£300 Insurcance PA

£100 tax

£35 per week Petrol

servicing £700 after year 1

£200 year 2

£250 year 3

£100 tyre replacment

£340 Exhaust repair

(3) Seat Ibiza 6 month old when purchased

£155 per month hp

£300 Insurance pa

£30 per week Petrol (more economy than clio)

£100 tax pa

servcing year 1 -zero

year 2 - zero

year 3 - zero

 

As you can see from these figures, cars that are 3 years or older certainly have large repair bills. Of course, my seat will need repair bills after its 3 years but for now, they cost me nothing. These figures omit any insurance claims because they are Accidents that don't come under day to day running

 

incidentally, my friend used to drive a 1996 Ford and his insurance premium was £280 per anum. not THAT much difference to my seat.

[piggypooh]

thanks for advice so far

[annie24]

I don't how you will do it or where, you will HAVE to cut some major corners to come back out on top. You need to sit down with your budget, figure out where every cent goes. Why can't you bike to work? I have a friend that works 15 miles away from work and she bikes to and from work every single day. (And no, she does not live in a nice climate. It is cold and snowy half the year.) not only does she save money, but she stays in shape. Bike costs and maintence are far less than a new car, and even an old car.

 

You will have to take drastic measures to pay off your debt. I watched a lot of shows on TV about this issue. where they have real people who are in real debt, and a credit counselor comes to their house, takes control of their finances and gets them back on track. and if they agree to all the stipulations the counselor makes, they get a gift of $5000. Maybe you can find your way on such a show?

[piggypooh]

You move into a smaller apartment close to where you work. Living close to where you work is the single biggest time and money saver known to mankind.

 

I assume you won't want to follow the above advice and make those hard decsions.

 

To be honest, that's something I looked into, both in terms of buying and renting, but when I check the property section it comes up with "no properties found" for the price range. I could keep checking and checking until something DOES come up, but that's not going to bring in an immediate second income.

[piggypooh]

Well, I have some good news.

 

I just got a message from somebody who may be interested in renting my spare room. That will bring in an extra £250 per month so fingers crossed that its a long term prospect !

 

At least their 1st months rent will pay my insurance excess. Life, indeed, can be full of irony.

[piggypooh]

Why can't you bike to work? I have a friend that works 15 miles away from work and she bikes to and from work every single day. (And no, she does not live in a nice climate. It is cold and snowy half the year.) not only does she save money, but she stays in shape. Bike costs and maintence are far less than a new car, and even an old car.

 

Been looking into cycling to work and a student of mine reckons it would take me an hour to cover the distance but he refuses to cycle on that road because of the large number of bends, twists and speeding vehicles (some pupils have been killed or hospitalised due to accidents on that road), not an exuse just a fact and maybe the reason why I NEVER see others cycling on that road.

 

I still have to weigh up the pros and cons of extended journey time and my own physical fitness levels. (cycling 28 miles, 6 days week on hilly country roads will be quite physically demanding, the journey home has over a mile of steep incline as the road rises out of the valley where my school is !!! should give my legs a good workout !!!

[annie24]

Something that other people do is just cycle to the nearest bus stop, and from there take the bus. I don't know if the busses in you area are equipped with bike racks on the front, but it is common in the US.

 

It takes my friend nearly an hour to ride in also. Are there back roads/bike trails in your area?

[piggypooh]

Something that other people do is just cycle to the nearest bus stop, and from there take the bus. I don't know if the busses in you area are equipped with bike racks on the front, but it is common in the US.

 

It takes my friend nearly an hour to ride in also. Are there back roads/bike trails in your area?

 

Not seen any busses with bike racks on them as people tend to choose one form of transport or the other. There are some designated cycle routes in UK but my journey to work is mainly what is known as B roads which are also the only access roads to that area. This is why they are used by cars, lorries, tractors and not solely for cyclists. It would be a great cycle route in summer i'd immagine.

[lonely_me]

Could you keep your car and drive to the bus stop? Bigger cities here in the US have "Park and Ride" areas where you can park your car and switch to public transportation. You'd still have the bulk of your car expenses, but at least you won't be paying for gas.

[piggypooh]

Again, sounds good in theory but there is no free parking at the bus stop and all the parking areas are 2 hours maximum stay.

 

We have park and rides in Scotland, but the closest one is to service edinburgh traffic and my place of work is in opposite direction, away back and beyond !

[piggypooh]

Well, I have a progress update and also need some advice.

 

Downgraded my car and should pick it up next week, this will save me £40 per month

 

I transferred my mortgage to a lower rate and will save £90 per month

 

However

 

For every penny saved, there is a pound lost.

 

Following advice from this formum, I rented out my spare room and all was going well but now my lodeger is TWO MONTHS behind in her rent cos SHE has financial problems.

 

She transfered a check of £100 into my bank but got the ACCOUNT NUMBER wrong.

 

She keeps promising me £50 here and there but never coughs up.

 

I accept and am TAKING ACTION for my own financial mess, but WHY WHY WHY do I have to KEEP SUFFERING for another person's mess ??????

 

I'm doing all I can to save money and cut costs, but my Lodger's probelms are just adding to mine and that ISN'T my fault.

 

I have £500 in my account and £700 of bills due these next two weeks. IF I was getting her rent money, Id be home and dry, the REASON I RENTED THE ROOM OUT in the 1st place.

Why is life kicking me in the teeth when I have enough issues to deal with ?