RTE's money program with Alvin Hobbs continues this week

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Guest
I mean Eddie Hobbs.

[broken link removed]

I see RTE are giving the show much exposure on their homepage - www.rte.ie

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re programme 2

I thought this programme was much better. I liked the couple.

At the beginning we were informed that the debts amounted to 44% of the income, this somehow became 47% later. But hey ... 3% is no big deal! Only ... €1000 pa odd.

Marion :hat
 
SMTM

I loved the show. it was over three months so the % of income might have to do with either a change of rates or a change of income. No mattter it wasn't material, and the show was very uplifting. Good on ye.
 
last night's show

Thought last night's show was better than the first as the idea of consolidating loans would prove useful for many in the same boat.

As an aside, one can only imagine the argument after filming when the husband found out the full extent of the debt...considering he hardly spent anything on himself...
 
SMTM

Great show. I laughed through it even though it was very serious. Lots of talent on display. I'm becoming an Eddie fan.
 
Re: SMTM

It was great - the show is climbing up the creability rankings. Here You have an ordinary couple with crippling debts.

gets the thumbs up from me!
 
Re: SMTM

Good show last night.

I wasnt sure whether he freed up €7700 in extra spending money for them (if so that should have gone towards repaying the load more quickly),

Or whether they were over-spending by €7700 per year and by consolodating they just got back to a break even point.

They reduced the debt by about €1000 in 3 months which means they're paying in the vicinity of €300 to €400 per month, but €7700 is €640 per month, so if this is additional cash flow as Eddie kept describing it then it's madness not to try to clear the loan in a much shorter time.

Nice to see they covered the issue of borrowing a little more than you need. Most of the Consolodation Loan Ads include the tag line "why not borrow a little more for a holiday, home improvements etc?"

I suspect if it had been Alvin He'd have been much harder on them for taking that extra cash.

Good show though. Might have been better to open with this one. There might be even better to come!

-Rd
 
Re: SMTM

Agree with all. Great show. Had to laugh at the attitude the wife showed to cutting up the credit card.
"Its like cutting up 2,500 euro"
I think EH's suspicions of the next offer of a credit card thru' the post will be taken up by her. It also brings home the disgraceful credit been handed out by the likes of CitiFinancial. A loan of 17k on interest of 16% . Surely this loan should have been refused in the first place. The only reason for not refusing may have been that it was the first loan and they may have mis-stated the purpose.
 
Re: SMTM

One thing I didn't quite understand.

They had debts of €33000, and they consolodated that
into one CU loan. But there was no mention of whether or
not the CU required savings. I can't imagine a CU loaning €30,000 without at least a couple of thousand on deposit.

-Rd
 
SMTM

They used the Health Services Credit Union, but I guess you're right about the scale. I suspect that they didn't have a bob saved otherwise Eddie Hobbs would have used it to reduce the debt, and it would have been mentioned. Hobbs probably engaged in a little arm twisting at the Credit Union, but whatever the case the CU did come out well from the show. Good stuff, and no shirt sticking out!
 
What about Lisa

I thought it was a great show - this family could become a soap opera.

What was the story with their daughter Lisa? She was 16 and had just left school. She didn't seem to be earning anything or contributing anything. In fact she was asking her Ma for €20 or €50 all the time.

They had €33000 worth of loans. By moving to the Credit Union, they reduced the rate by around 9%. 9% of 33000 is around €3000. So they saved €3000 a year, and not €7700. The €7700 was in repayments. That means that it will take them a lot longer to pay off their loans. Now that I think of it, is this what daltonr means?


Lisa
 
Re: What about Lisa

Lisa,

Before Eddie Rode in in His Toyota Jeep (not the most economical vehicle btw) they were paying just under €17,000.
(47% of €36000).

The CU Loan has repayments just over €9000 per year which meant a saving of €7700 on the amount being spent servicing the debt.

Eddie plays fast and loose with figures sometimes which is one criticism I'd have. He mentioned 43%, 47%, he mentioned €7,700 savings p/a. Last episode there was the Gross/Net confusion.

It's not clear whether the money they saved in repayments was money they could afford to keep and save, or whether they needed to cut the debt repayments just to break even. €7,700 p/a sounds like a lot of money to be paying out over and above what they earned.

The fact that they borrowed and extra €1000 for a holiday suggests there hasn't been a Lightbulb moment yet!

The bottom line is for all the talk about Cash and Cash Only, they actually used credit to buy a holiday. They borrowed €1000 from the CU and left it sitting in the post office. Eddie should have used that as an opportunity to explain the folly of doing that.

Good show but I think he needs to dole out some tough love.

-Rd
 
good show

Enjoyed the show last night. I wonder how typical they are as a family that lets one person either the husband/wife control all the finances and they other partner not being at all clued in. Even when they were refused a mortgage he never thought of questioning their financial position then.

It should teach people that the household finances need to be a partnership and that people need to be clued into their ingoings/outgoings.

If the husband takes a more active role then I feel they will keep to the plan otherwise I feel the wife will be too tempted to go off the rails again. She doesn't seem to understand the concept of credit cards being like any other loan to be repaid!
 
SMTM

I watch Alvin Hall. SMTM beat it hands down last night. Alvin should be ringing Eddie for tips
 
Re: SMTM

fobs - it is not uncommon at all for one person to take care of the finances. Not everone has the interest or understanding to do this. In some cse one person may want to look after all of it.
 
Re: SMTM

Ninsaga - I know some people are better at money than others but feel that everyone should know their current borrowings and their net income. Leave the day-to-day financial stuff to one person is ok but both should be involved in the family budgeting and a discussion once in a while to highlight any concerns is good. If someone hasn't a clue about the family finances how do they know what they can spend? Surely the day of a person getting an allowance for housekeeping and not knowing anything else about the finances is gone (or should be!). In my opinion as what often happens is that if a partner dies then the other partner is clueless as to their financial state and have to learn the hard way. Everyone can learn simple accounting basics that expenses shouldn't exceed income!
 
Re: SMTM

Every Credit Union has a common bond - which the members must have to join it. So you must live or work in Sandymout to join the Sandymount Credit Union. You must work in the ESB to be a member of the ESB Credit Union.

The Health Services Credit Union is for those employed in the Health Services. Liz worked in a hospital.

Brendan
 
Above

What I thought was very interesting was the fact that regular bills, presumably council rent, ESB, heating and so on was being deducted by the HS CU and paid over, including their repayments for the loan. For the woman in the show that was a neat solution. Does every CU run these type of budget plans? Its a super service.
 
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