Hi voigtstr

I am in exactly the same position!

While i am enjoying the kickstart program i am a little frustrated by slaving away in my job to pay of consumer debt.

Here is the approach that i have taken:

– allocated a portion of our income to paying the bills and some “pocket money” for entertainment etc. Do this by averaging bills over last 2 yrs and add 10%.

– use the remainder to pay minimum on all debts and pay the rest off the highest interest rate debt. when 1st one is paid off then go to the next highest.

– the challenge for us is to channel this “repayment money” into an investment “fund” to use to save for the deposit of the first IP once all the consumer debt is gone.

we are approx half way and the feeling when we chopped up 2 credit cards in the last month has been fantastic! (we are chopping them up so that we cant go backwards again and to increase the amount that we can borrow)

Personally i think that it is a change in attitude of the person that is crucial. Just last night I had the first great discussion with my partner about how we are going to afford a purchase of $8k and instead of the tempting “interest free” deal we now have a savings plan to pay cash later in the year – this is a big step for our financial future and hopefully a sign of good things to come ….

Good luck getting debt free – perhaps i can race you [biggrin]

I am also interested in any suggestions to get the deposit for 1st IP quicker.

Cheers
Ben

Dr X.

Great work on the reno! 4 weeks is amazing!

regarding the broadband:
– the first thing to do is to check that the house can actually get a broadband connection – check that the exchange is enabled and then check your phone line. if you are new to broadband i can give further details.

– sorry no personal experience but i think it would appeal to students if broadband was included in the rent (ie up the rent to cover). And ADSL2+ particularly as it is much faster – Adam currently have the best roll out for ADSL 2 in the adelaide area with very good pricing too. (http://www.adam.com.au/)

– here is a very helpful website http://bc.whirlpool.net.au/ and the whirlpool forum is a very good resource.

– word of warning though – setup costs can be high unless they offer a discount for a 2+yr contract. and connection time can be lengthy (most quote 2 weeks but i have been waiting since early dec to get connected )

I also suggest contacting the local Uni/school/tafe and you may be able to advertise electronically and/or on noticeboards

Good luck [biggrin]

(recommendations are imho)

Heres one that i based mine on

http://www.fido.gov.au/fido/fido.nsf/byheadline/FIDO%27s+Budget+Planner?openDocument

Word of warning that when i did this about 6mths ago the fields to convert between week/fortnight/month were a little problematic.

I also found that the tables and methods in Anita Bells book to be very helpful

http://www.dymocks.com.au/contentdynamic/full_details.asp?isbn=1740510909

Also just noticed that she may have an electronic version for download here:

http://www.anitabell.com/freebies.htm

HTH

Cheers
Ben

PS the FIDO website has some very useful info if your are trying to take control of your personal finances