1st SOA, treat gently

continualdiamond · 5 April 2007 at 12:36PM

Monthly incomings:

My salary - £900 (roughly, sometimes more sometimes less)

Partners salary - £866 (somtimes more,depends on bonus)

Total - £1766

Monthly outgoings:

Mortgage - £435
Home ins - £9.27
Water rates - £30
Council tax - £102
Gas/Electric - £47
Tv licence - £11
Virgin - £50 (includes tv,internet,phone) can't cancel this, 12mths sub
Food - £200 (feeds 2 people, 4 cats, 1 dog)
Car insurance - £52.75
Petrol - £86.60

Total: £1023.62

Debts:

My loan - £8158.29 (10.9%) £216.15

Joint overdraft - £3000, current interest to pay this mth £24 (EAR 11.8%)

Double glazed windows loan - £1500 (24.4%) £30

DFS sofa - £1600 (0% not starting paying till Aug) £60

Oven - £700 (on parnters mums argos card, interest free till march 08)

Partners cc1 - £6000 (14.9% at limit) £150 - £190

Partners cc2 - £750 (19.9% at limit) £20 - £30

Total - £500.15 (with £150 and £20 put onto cc)

Monthly extra can't account for - £242.23

As stated in 'solution's thread, neither of us get approved for 0% credit cards, our credit reports are fine, done the 30 day free trial, all info is correct, nothing damaging on them.

Considering loan to consolidate debts, only unsecured loans, wouldn't dream of a secured loan.

immoral_angeluk · 5 April 2007 at 12:42PM

What about car tax/mot, nights out, work lunches, hair cuts etc etc.
AS I said in your other thread your first port of call should be the CCCS or Payplan for advice as they'll be able to advise whether a DMP or IVA would be an option for you.

nadnad · 5 April 2007 at 12:42PM

can either of you get further work? part time jobs in the evening?
you're short about £250 a month thats less than £65 per week - if both of you got a job for a couple of evenings a week that would make this shortfall up easily.
i'm assuming you have no savings?

chevalier · 5 April 2007 at 12:49PM

With the Virgin thing, whilst you may not be able to cancel it you can ask to be down graded to the basic package. Might save a bit.
chev

continualdiamond · 5 April 2007 at 12:49PM

Im short £250 a mth???? Where???

By my cal i have £242.23 a mth extra, well i should, but can't account for what it is spent on.

Don't put money away at this stage for car tax/mot, one thing where starting end of this mth.

Nights out - don't exist

Work lunches - we take packed lunch from hm

Hair cuts - partner never cuts hair, mine, once in a blue moon

Working extra would be difficult.

Myself - work in a school, do 3 jobs

1. 25 hrs a week
2. 5 hrs a week
3. 10 hours a week

Im at work from 8:30am - 5pm

Option definately to find school holiday work in like a child care or after school club setting.

Partner works long hours, is a service driver, should work 8hrs a today, but if wants bonus needs to complete all jobs on sheets. Ex today started at 5am but just rang to say wont be home till 3pm. Does not get paid overtime, only bonus depending on units per drop.

tesuhoha · 5 April 2007 at 1:11PM

Are you short because the account was overdrawn at the beginning of the month or something?

CLAPTON · 5 April 2007 at 1:14PM

some suggestions

to track down that missing 200 :

a. start a spending diary and write down everything that you buy ..
maybe some socialising, newspaper/magazines, any hobbies, any optical/medical/dental etc

b. try to think about all the annual or irregular spending , perhaps look back over the last year
examples might be (but only you can determine) ... car tax, servicing, MOT, RAC/AA, any xmas expenses or presents buying, any weekends away or holidays, clothes (must be some over the whole year), any DIY or spending on the house or furnishing ..basically think about everything

c. for the annual/irregular spending work out how much you will spend over the next 12 months, divide by 12 and add a line to your budget AND start saving this amount each month so when you need the money you will have it saved up and wont need to borrow on credit cards.

d. think about simply stop spending on credit cards or store cards until you have paid them off.

e. with the money you have, use the snowball technique to repay the debts...basically pay only the minimum on each debt except the one with the highest APR .. on that one, pay as much as possible until its paid off then start on the one with the next highest APR. This way you clear the debts the fastest and pay the least interest.

nadnad · 5 April 2007 at 1:40PM

sorry read wrong - thought you said you had £242.33 short that you couldnt get hold of apologies.
so thats £55 ish a week you dont know where its goin. so you never buy clothes? never get the odd takeway? never buy a book or a magazine? and are you sure your partner doesnt either? thats £27.50 each a week - and that probably really easy to get through if you dont write everything down. things like the odd pint? or bottle of coke from the shop? snacks from a shop? dvd rentals? bithday presents, cards. i could go on - but Im sure if you keep every receipt for one month and write everything down you spend then you'll find the missing money.

continualdiamond · 5 April 2007 at 1:51PM

Thanks for the tips, will definately do the spending diary.

That £242.33 that i can't account for, i can in certain ways, its take aways and DIY im just unsure how much is going on what, so i will invest in a cheap book to start jotting it all down.

Thanks once again

Bestthingsinlifearefree · 5 April 2007 at 2:02PM

consolidation is not the way forward. Borrowing money to pay off debt is not usually the solution. You want to pay back not borrow.

On your income you shoud be ok but over spending sofa / double glazing etc has over stretched you. You need to do a spending diary.

Those interest rates are horrendous.

Basically you need to STOP SPENDING (and increase your income)

I wish you well.

Best,

EagerLearner · 5 April 2007 at 2:40PM

continualdiamond wrote: »

so i will invest in a cheap book to start jotting it all down.

Thanks once again

Get some scrap A4 paper (maybe junk mail you have had in that has a blank page on the back), then cut each sheet into 4 bits, then staple together and use the blank sides to keep notes of your daily spending... ta-daaa - free spending diary! Start as you mean to go on

:T It's all the little stuff that adds up. Particularly when you look at your bank statement and see all the cash withdrawals you make in a month and you go 'now what did I spend all that on???' The spending diary will help remember!

1st SOA, treat gently

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