Downgrade your car to become debt-free?
Discussion
I personally have no issue with debt (no I am not the previous labour government) - however, I think what you're saying OP is that you have old, penalty interest baring debt from credit cards etc?
This, as many have rightly pointed out, is not the kind of debt you want. Get out of it and take the bath now whilst you still can. I suspect some of the excess cash will come in handy with your new family member on the way.
Although - to add another question into the frame, are you happy driving around with your own flesh and blood in a 306 versus a newer/safer Focus?
I think I'd still do what I can to wipe out any credit card debt though.
This, as many have rightly pointed out, is not the kind of debt you want. Get out of it and take the bath now whilst you still can. I suspect some of the excess cash will come in handy with your new family member on the way.
Although - to add another question into the frame, are you happy driving around with your own flesh and blood in a 306 versus a newer/safer Focus?
I think I'd still do what I can to wipe out any credit card debt though.
The 306 is pretty safe, I'd say no less safe than a Focus (not that I work for Ncap). I had a pretty big accident in one and I'm still here.
The problem is, on top of having no disposable income for things like nursery decorations, toys and clothes for the newborn, I'm working as hard as I can in a full time job which is fairly secure then driving home in a car which depresses me.
On the flipside there's a fear that being reunited with a 306 might be a nightmare. It might not be how I remember it and it could end up costing me more and then I'll feel even more down in the dumps!
I dunno. Take some nice pictures of the Focus and sling and advert up this weekend and see what happens I guess.
The problem is, on top of having no disposable income for things like nursery decorations, toys and clothes for the newborn, I'm working as hard as I can in a full time job which is fairly secure then driving home in a car which depresses me.
On the flipside there's a fear that being reunited with a 306 might be a nightmare. It might not be how I remember it and it could end up costing me more and then I'll feel even more down in the dumps!
I dunno. Take some nice pictures of the Focus and sling and advert up this weekend and see what happens I guess.
OK, so we need to find you a nice, safe, reliable commuter for under a bag - set up a new thread asking for links:
10yr old Mondeo - you'd get it for £600
http://www.pistonheads.com/sales/3785821.htm
Failing that, get a Civic.
http://www.pistonheads.com/sales/3971548.htm
10yr old Mondeo - you'd get it for £600
http://www.pistonheads.com/sales/3785821.htm
Failing that, get a Civic.
http://www.pistonheads.com/sales/3971548.htm
C.A.R. said:
As it stands, here today, right now, I have no money on me whatsoever and that which is in my account is all spoken for. If something went wrong now I'd be phoning around my family asking for financial help. That's what scares me.
Then I would say (going a bit against the grain) sell the car, pay off SOME of the debt, and have some money in an account for a rainy day.Jasandjules said:
Then I would say (going a bit against the grain) sell the car, pay off SOME of the debt, and have some money in an account for a rainy day.
+1 Sounds like you've made your mistakes in the past too with cash OP but that you've learned your less the hard way, so as long as your trust yourself not to waste the cash I'd do this
Thing is though, the overdraft on my main account should be more than sufficient for the 'rainy day fund' should I need it. I can then build up the money in my savings account with the money that I would usually put towards credit card payments.
We're trying to 'buffer' the initial cost of baby by including things like packs of nappies in our weekly shop now, so we have built up some 'supplies' haha.
Will get some good pictures of the Focus tonight and set about putting an advert together methinks.
We're trying to 'buffer' the initial cost of baby by including things like packs of nappies in our weekly shop now, so we have built up some 'supplies' haha.
Will get some good pictures of the Focus tonight and set about putting an advert together methinks.
Get your debt paid off. IT sounds like you’ll never get your head above water with your credit card and just covering the minimum payment is like flushing tenners down the bog. You’re exactly the kind of customer credit car providers love those who can cover the min payment but not to pay off the balance.
Still having this over your head with a baby on the way points that it will only get worse. Credit cards are good in some circumstances (points etc) but takes discipline. Then never get credit or store card again!!
I’m ‘only’ 28 and when I think about my mother had 3 kids and no car to help and seemed to manage fine, funny how people can make do when you have to…..
Still having this over your head with a baby on the way points that it will only get worse. Credit cards are good in some circumstances (points etc) but takes discipline. Then never get credit or store card again!!
I’m ‘only’ 28 and when I think about my mother had 3 kids and no car to help and seemed to manage fine, funny how people can make do when you have to…..
Ditch the bird and buy a TVR! 
In all seriousness there's 2 possibilities if you swap the car.
1: Sell the Focus, buy a sub £1000 Volvo 850, Saab 95, insert bangernomics family friendly car here. Pay off debts, have a few months saving up. You now have no debts, a solid car, and some cash.
Or
2: Sell the Focus, buy a cheap 306. Pay off debts, week later, car s
ts itself. No debt, no car, get the bus, few months saving, fix car.
If you keep the Focus you'll end up paying a st load more money back in the long run (valuable money if times are hard) and if your not enjoying it whats the point? If your debts were on something worthwhile I'd argue to keep it!
Of course the PH scenario would be to sell Focus, spend £500 on MX5 and £500 on 728i
Job Jobbed
In all seriousness there's 2 possibilities if you swap the car.
1: Sell the Focus, buy a sub £1000 Volvo 850, Saab 95, insert bangernomics family friendly car here. Pay off debts, have a few months saving up. You now have no debts, a solid car, and some cash.
Or
2: Sell the Focus, buy a cheap 306. Pay off debts, week later, car s
ts itself. No debt, no car, get the bus, few months saving, fix car.If you keep the Focus you'll end up paying a s
t load more money back in the long run (valuable money if times are hard) and if your not enjoying it whats the point? If your debts were on something worthwhile I'd argue to keep it!Of course the PH scenario would be to sell Focus, spend £500 on MX5 and £500 on 728i
- Edit to add, why not sell the car, slum it on public transport until the baby comes, save as much as possible then buy a £300 Ford Ka with Tax/MOT and run till it implodes!?
Job Jobbed
Edited by em177 on Tuesday 17th July 16:15
Do what most have said, clear the debt. You can always get a bling car later when you've got the cash. Child comes first for now.
As has been said by il Sole. Get ride of stuff you don't need e.g.
Sky TV, waste of money as sitting on the sofa is boring. Watching sport is not doing sport (£50 a month)
Get rid of iphone, waste of time unless you runnning a business from it (£50 a month)
Cancel gym, just do press ups, pull ups, sit ups and sports for free (£50 a month)
Haircuts, just clip it yourself (£15 a month)
PS3, sell it (£100)
Does sound like tough times for you, best thing will be when your wife goes back to work after the kid, two incomes better than one!
As has been said by il Sole. Get ride of stuff you don't need e.g.
Sky TV, waste of money as sitting on the sofa is boring. Watching sport is not doing sport (£50 a month)
Get rid of iphone, waste of time unless you runnning a business from it (£50 a month)
Cancel gym, just do press ups, pull ups, sit ups and sports for free (£50 a month)
Haircuts, just clip it yourself (£15 a month)
PS3, sell it (£100)
Does sound like tough times for you, best thing will be when your wife goes back to work after the kid, two incomes better than one!
dkturbo said:
Do what most have said, clear the debt. You can always get a bling car later when you've got the cash. Child comes first for now.
As has been said by il Sole. Get ride of stuff you don't need e.g.
Sky TV, waste of money as sitting on the sofa is boring. Watching sport is not doing sport (£50 a month)
Get rid of iphone, waste of time unless you runnning a business from it (£50 a month)
Cancel gym, just do press ups, pull ups, sit ups and sports for free (£50 a month)
Haircuts, just clip it yourself (£15 a month)
PS3, sell it (£100)
Does sound like tough times for you, best thing will be when your wife goes back to work after the kid, two incomes better than one!
If you're paying £50 a month for tv, you're a mug.As has been said by il Sole. Get ride of stuff you don't need e.g.
Sky TV, waste of money as sitting on the sofa is boring. Watching sport is not doing sport (£50 a month)
Get rid of iphone, waste of time unless you runnning a business from it (£50 a month)
Cancel gym, just do press ups, pull ups, sit ups and sports for free (£50 a month)
Haircuts, just clip it yourself (£15 a month)
PS3, sell it (£100)
Does sound like tough times for you, best thing will be when your wife goes back to work after the kid, two incomes better than one!
If you're paying £50 a month for a gym, you're a mug.
If you're paying £50 a month for a phone, you're a mug.
If you're paying £15 a month for haircuts, you have incredibly fast growing hair.
If you own a PS3, definitely sell it
This is not a serious post.
C.A.R. said:
Someone raised a good point - an old car will invariably need more money spending on it...
In my experience, bit of an old wives tale.As I mentioned earlier, you need to know what to look for. A hot hatch owned by an enthusiastic loon for 5 years will be more of a money pit then a mid range luxury saloon own by grandad for the past 20 years.
Rule of thumb I use is buy German (personal preference but Jap is also a good bet) and steer clear of the base models as the folks willing to drive the cheapest are normally the types to scrimp on the servicing and maintenance. Some of the most reliable cars I've owned have been the oldest and have been expensive cars in their prime.
Also remember the cheaper you buy the more disposable it can become. If you buy a £200 banger and it dies after 6 months you've not exactly lost a fortune have you.
I'd personally forget a 306, the youngest one will be nearly 12 years old now. They are/were good cars, but will feel horribly dated compared to your car now, sloppy gear change, poor brakes, lots of body roll, stiff clutch etc. Why not just downgrade to an older petrol Focus or Mondeo for about £1500? Plenty of sub 100k models for that money.
I think you'd be disappointed if you went back to a 306, don't forget they are nearly a 20 year old design. I speak as a previous owner of one! I too have a soft spot for them as it was my first car!
I think you'd be disappointed if you went back to a 306, don't forget they are nearly a 20 year old design. I speak as a previous owner of one! I too have a soft spot for them as it was my first car!
It's all been said about the car. If things are that tight, swap it for something cheaper and free up some cash. Don't get a three door car though, this is all about being boring and sensible. Ask any parent and they'll tell you to get a five door.
You also don't need to clear all of your debt to make a big difference, especially with the credit card where a big one-off payment will mean you're not only making smaller payments each month but also accruing less interest along the way.
OK, sorry about this PH.
[mumsnet]
Everybody says babies are expensive but that's only because some people seem to treat it as a competition to have the best specced child. It's possible to tick all the 'good parent' boxes without going mad. At supermarkets you can buy packs of baby clothes, like 3 for baby-grows for £6. They're just as good as anything else (apart from socks, where Baby Gap ones are the only ones to stay on). The only thing I wouldn't scrimp on is shoes but for you that's a year away anyway. The NCT arrange massive jumble sales. It's not glamourous but all the stuff is between two and five years old because that's how long it lasts. Buy secondhand toys, they lose interest quickly anyway. Expensive toys are a waste - my two-year-old can have just as much fun with an empty kitchen roll tube as her (annoying) flashing, noisy toys. Don't buy into gadgets either, there are many baby-related ones and they're all crap. You can't buy secondhand nappies but we've been buying Pampers for two years and have just discovered that the ones at Aldi are honestly just as good. They're half the cost so that's £5 or £10 a week saved right there.
[/mumsnet]
Redbull, 335d (mapped), Ambiwlans, MX5 and no, it wouldn't take off. OK, forum balance restored. Carry on.
You also don't need to clear all of your debt to make a big difference, especially with the credit card where a big one-off payment will mean you're not only making smaller payments each month but also accruing less interest along the way.
OK, sorry about this PH.
[mumsnet]
Everybody says babies are expensive but that's only because some people seem to treat it as a competition to have the best specced child. It's possible to tick all the 'good parent' boxes without going mad. At supermarkets you can buy packs of baby clothes, like 3 for baby-grows for £6. They're just as good as anything else (apart from socks, where Baby Gap ones are the only ones to stay on). The only thing I wouldn't scrimp on is shoes but for you that's a year away anyway. The NCT arrange massive jumble sales. It's not glamourous but all the stuff is between two and five years old because that's how long it lasts. Buy secondhand toys, they lose interest quickly anyway. Expensive toys are a waste - my two-year-old can have just as much fun with an empty kitchen roll tube as her (annoying) flashing, noisy toys. Don't buy into gadgets either, there are many baby-related ones and they're all crap. You can't buy secondhand nappies but we've been buying Pampers for two years and have just discovered that the ones at Aldi are honestly just as good. They're half the cost so that's £5 or £10 a week saved right there.
[/mumsnet]
Redbull, 335d (mapped), Ambiwlans, MX5 and no, it wouldn't take off. OK, forum balance restored. Carry on.
Well,
Mentioned my 'masterplan' to the mrs this evening after dinner and she promptly bit my head off. Perhaps she's just being hormonal...
Anyway, she says that it's too late to be going changing cars now what with baby due in 14 weeks and questioned why I felt the need to change cars so frequently. Is it because she isn't a driver maybe, that she doesn't geddit?
The Focus is soul-destroying. To top it off it's metallic grey. Grey FFS!
I have a mind to putting the car up for sale this weekend regardless and seeing what response it gets. I can live without a car for a short while - my boss can give me a lift into work should I need it.
Going over to the other idea, what's the longest "interest free" credit you can obtain? My bank offered one for 12 months, but this would introduce a new monthly bill of £80 odd. That's the difference between eating and starving for a week every month.
I need a beer.
Mentioned my 'masterplan' to the mrs this evening after dinner and she promptly bit my head off. Perhaps she's just being hormonal...
Anyway, she says that it's too late to be going changing cars now what with baby due in 14 weeks and questioned why I felt the need to change cars so frequently. Is it because she isn't a driver maybe, that she doesn't geddit?
The Focus is soul-destroying. To top it off it's metallic grey. Grey FFS!
I have a mind to putting the car up for sale this weekend regardless and seeing what response it gets. I can live without a car for a short while - my boss can give me a lift into work should I need it.
Going over to the other idea, what's the longest "interest free" credit you can obtain? My bank offered one for 12 months, but this would introduce a new monthly bill of £80 odd. That's the difference between eating and starving for a week every month.
I need a beer.
C.A.R. said:
Well,
Mentioned my 'masterplan' to the mrs this evening after dinner and she promptly bit my head off. Perhaps she's just being hormonal...
Anyway, she says that it's too late to be going changing cars now what with baby due in 14 weeks and questioned why I felt the need to change cars so frequently. Is it because she isn't a driver maybe, that she doesn't geddit?
The Focus is soul-destroying. To top it off it's metallic grey. Grey FFS!
I have a mind to putting the car up for sale this weekend regardless and seeing what response it gets. I can live without a car for a short while - my boss can give me a lift into work should I need it.
Going over to the other idea, what's the longest "interest free" credit you can obtain? My bank offered one for 12 months, but this would introduce a new monthly bill of £80 odd. That's the difference between eating and starving for a week every month.
I need a beer.
haha, yes your mrs is being hormonal. I went out on the morning our second daughter was born to buy a new car. of course I didn't know she was going to be born in the aternoon, but given the mrs was 7 days overdue she wasn't impressed!. good car though Mentioned my 'masterplan' to the mrs this evening after dinner and she promptly bit my head off. Perhaps she's just being hormonal...
Anyway, she says that it's too late to be going changing cars now what with baby due in 14 weeks and questioned why I felt the need to change cars so frequently. Is it because she isn't a driver maybe, that she doesn't geddit?
The Focus is soul-destroying. To top it off it's metallic grey. Grey FFS!
I have a mind to putting the car up for sale this weekend regardless and seeing what response it gets. I can live without a car for a short while - my boss can give me a lift into work should I need it.
Going over to the other idea, what's the longest "interest free" credit you can obtain? My bank offered one for 12 months, but this would introduce a new monthly bill of £80 odd. That's the difference between eating and starving for a week every month.
I need a beer.
try again with her about downgrading the car. maybe sell it as buying a car with a bigger boot, and better child safety rating?!?
Your debt is not huge. I haven't read your posts very carefully, but is this a debt over your overdraft? If so, then get it onto an interest free credit card until you can sort yourself out, however you do it. 12 months is standard.
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