How do you use your overdraft?

[blueskai]

For those that have one of course.

Do you live in your overdraft? Or just use it for emergencies?

What's the best way of gradually reducing it?

xo

 

[Bekah78]

I have one but it's only there for emergencies now. I used to live in it but got my finances under control. I found setting up a spreadsheet to monitor my spending really helped. It's amazing how £10 here, £5 there all adds up. My regularly updating the spreadsheet I was reminded of where I was up to. This can easily be done in a notebook if not confident using spreadsheets.

 

[emyandpotato]

I have lived off of it for the past five years. Or rather, I've lived off the last £300 of it month to month. I am paying it off in two weeks though by selling my wedding dress.

It's a student overdraft and interest free. I probably wouldn't have gotten an overdraft with interest unless it was an absolute emergency.

 

[smileyfaces]

I live in mine.

Funnily enough I had a letter this morning saying they are gonna start charging me 1.50 for every day im in my overdraft so needless to say I will be paying it off asap.

 

[morri]

We only use it when we are skint. (like when we had unexpected high expenses.) Which is rarely.

 

[Lauraxamy]

I don't have one, not sure I'd trust myself with one

 

[lhancock90]

I'm paying off my student overdraft, i was a complete idiot when i first met it.

 

[AP]

I don't and refuse to have one

 

[catty]

I had a £950 overdraft and I was always in it. I have now taken out a loan and used some of it to pay it off.in the 3 years it will take to pay off the loan I would have paid £900 in overdraft chargess!!!

 

[FirstBean]

I don't have one wouldn't trust myself with it.

 

[XcupcakeX]

I have a £1000 student overdraft but only go into it occasionally! It's interest free for a year after I graduate, so interest free for another three years.

 

[xcharx]

Mines £1500, im currently stuck in it! At the mo ive paid 200 off it so im 1300 in it. I get charged around £15 a month to be in it
i had to go into it when i changed jobs & the gap between decent pay, so mines sort of an emergency thing!
cant stand being stuck in it but it is handy to have

 

[CormacksGirl]

I've got one for emergencies! I've been in it by £10 on two occasion's! X

 

[topsy]

I haven't got one. xxx

 

[Pearls18]

I lived in it in my student days, nasty trap, it was interest free but I left uni -£2000 in it. Thankfully I paid it off before interest set in. DH and I both have them but only because we haven't removed them, we haven't used them in years, I refuse to pay interest. We don't need to borrow money anymore as we have savings, but we have a credit card we use (for the perks!) and pay it off end of the month, if we needed extra money we would use that but pay it off that month. If we needed it for longer than a month I wouldn't borrow money, refuse to pay interest, except student loans of course!

 

[Vesta]

I've got one but don't use it. I haven't touched it in years.

The bank gave me it as a student, but I didn't actually use it until I graduated. Then I was in it for years! I paid it off when I went on maternity leave.

 

[Bittersweet]

I have a £250 student one, I lived in it until recently but never again.

 

[calm]

I'm really not aware if we have one or not as we have never used it. I'm a bit nervous about things like that to be honest

 

[hayz_baby]

Mine is used as a go between from salary going in and rent going out and the tax credits going in.
To pay off your od u need to spend x amount less one month and stick to that till eventually u use the od less and less. I struggle this way and instead I would open a new account.. Move everything to that account and set up a standing order to pay x amount in each month. This is how I would do it anyway.
I always think it's worth having at least a £10-20 od which would act like a buffer just in case.

 

[blueskai]

I live in mine.

Funnily enough I had a letter this morning saying they are gonna start charging me 1.50 for every day im in my overdraft so needless to say I will be paying it off asap.

This is why I asked! We got the same letter, and I'm worrying about it now.

Thanks for your replies girls

I joined OHs account when we got married, and he's always had quite a big overdraft since he was a student, and has always lived in it too. Over the years I've tried and tried to get him to lower it but he's so stuck in his ways, and if we stay in it it's now gonna cost us anywhere between £23-£45 a month, which is about £20 more than the interest we're paying now!

I always feel really embarrassed when I go in the bank and ask for a balance because we are always in our overdraft, and it's almost like the money we're using isn't even ours? it's not even like we can move banks because we're just stuck in this massive overdraft.

I'd just love to get rid of it, gradually of course, but it'll be hard because things are so tight at the moment.

xo