Debt free me!
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Perryface
Posts: 93 Forumite
Hello diary,
I have been reading lots of diaries tonight and thought I would give it a try. I have not planned this very well and don't have exact figures to hand but...
Our debts, are:
Mortgage £85000 (due a statement in January I think. £799 a month fixed rate for another 12 years)
Loan £10000 (car, credit cards paid off, ends sept 2018. £500 a month)
Overdraft £3300
Our debt was mainly due to me becoming disabled in 2014 and no longer being able to work conventionally, however, as part of my therapy, I paint - I have not sold a painting yet but my work is currently shown in a local gallery and also on artfinder.
My husband has recently lowered his hours at work so he can care for me more and is planning on retiring in 16 months (he is a paramedic with recurring back problems) so money is even tighter so I have spent the last few days searching mse for tips to help us financially.
We have contacted the tax man and sorted out my hubby getting part of my allowance so we are due to get back £400ish from them for the last two years.
I have also checked my tesco club card (£5.50) and nectar cards (£10.87)to see what we have in them ( which will help towards Xmas food).
We have swapped sky for virgin basic but are thinking about just going with free view, we have a package with virgin for phone, Internet and tv, so will have to look into how much we would save without the TVs, if it's pennies we might keep our little luxury!
We have just had smart meters fitted for gas and electric so are yet to see a benefit from that.
Oh, and all Xmas gifts have been bought and wrapped so we don't have any worries there (most of the stuff was bought in the January sales.
If anyone has any ideas, hints, tips on how I can generate an income sat on my bum, I would love to know!
Xxx
I have been reading lots of diaries tonight and thought I would give it a try. I have not planned this very well and don't have exact figures to hand but...
Our debts, are:
Mortgage £85000 (due a statement in January I think. £799 a month fixed rate for another 12 years)
Loan £10000 (car, credit cards paid off, ends sept 2018. £500 a month)
Overdraft £3300
Our debt was mainly due to me becoming disabled in 2014 and no longer being able to work conventionally, however, as part of my therapy, I paint - I have not sold a painting yet but my work is currently shown in a local gallery and also on artfinder.
My husband has recently lowered his hours at work so he can care for me more and is planning on retiring in 16 months (he is a paramedic with recurring back problems) so money is even tighter so I have spent the last few days searching mse for tips to help us financially.
We have contacted the tax man and sorted out my hubby getting part of my allowance so we are due to get back £400ish from them for the last two years.
I have also checked my tesco club card (£5.50) and nectar cards (£10.87)to see what we have in them ( which will help towards Xmas food).
We have swapped sky for virgin basic but are thinking about just going with free view, we have a package with virgin for phone, Internet and tv, so will have to look into how much we would save without the TVs, if it's pennies we might keep our little luxury!
We have just had smart meters fitted for gas and electric so are yet to see a benefit from that.
Oh, and all Xmas gifts have been bought and wrapped so we don't have any worries there (most of the stuff was bought in the January sales.
If anyone has any ideas, hints, tips on how I can generate an income sat on my bum, I would love to know!
Xxx
Wedding payment 1000/4600 due 21/0718
0
Comments
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Welcome to the forum, if you post a SOA someone may be able to help you identify areas that you can cut costs and save.0
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Hi, where do I get an soa from?
Wedding payment 1000/4600 due 21/07180 -
Hi Perryface, the link is http://www.stoozing.com/calculator/soa.php hopefully once complete some of the more knowledgeable ones will give some input0
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Yep, get the SOA sorted and we can take a look - I promise you it's a rare one we can't find savings on!
For the TV/Internet/Phone thing, take a look at the guide on the main MSE site for finding cheap deals - PlusNet often seem to do special offers which might work. You can also if you decide to stay put just ring and haggle - you don't have to say you're looking to leave even, I always simply say it's more money than I can justify - and that I don't want to leave, but...
🎉 MORTGAGE FREE (First time!) 30/09/2016 🎉 And now we go again…New mortgage taken 01/09/23 🏡
Balance as at 01/09/23 = £115,000.00
Balance as at 31/12/23 = £112,000.00SOA CALCULATOR (for DFW newbies): SOA Calculatorshe/her0 -
Statement of affairs - I forgot to include overdraft in this as unsecured debt please include £3300 to this list oops!
Household Information[/b]
Number of adults in household........... 2
Number of children in household......... 0
Number of cars owned.................... 2
Monthly Income Details
Monthly income after tax................ 0
Partners monthly income after tax....... 1908
Benefits................................ 656
Other income............................ 0
Total monthly income.................... 2564
Monthly Expense Details
Mortgage................................ 795.7
Secured/HP loan repayments.............. 0
Rent.................................... 0
Management charge (leasehold property).. 0
Council tax............................. 125
Electricity............................. 46 (dual fuel with see)
Gas..................................... 40 (as above)
Oil..................................... 0
Water rates............................. 42.8
Telephone (land line)................... 0 (inc in to package)
Mobile phone............................ 67 (2 phones on contract with virgin £26 each for handset and 5.09/9.67 for talk time)
TV Licence.............................. 12.86
Satellite/Cable TV...................... 49.1
Internet Services....................... 0 (included in TV package)
Groceries etc. ......................... 250
Clothing................................ 0
Petrol/diesel........................... 50 (2 cars)
Road tax................................ 25.54 (2 cars)
Car Insurance........................... 55.03 (2 cars)
Car maintenance (including MOT)......... 10
Car parking............................. 0
Other travel............................ 0
Childcare/nursery....................... 0
Other child related expenses............ 0
Medical (prescriptions, dentist etc).... 16.4 (pre-payment card and dentist)
Pet insurance/vet bills................. 17.95 (plan with vets)
Buildings insurance..................... 17.47
Contents insurance...................... 0 (combined with above)
Life assurance ......................... 76.84 (mortgage protection and life policy)
Other insurance......................... 0
Presents (birthday, christmas etc)...... 40
Haircuts................................ 7
Entertainment........................... 0
Holiday................................. 200 (retirement cruise in sept 18)
Emergency fund.......................... 0
Total monthly expenses.................. 1944.69
Assets
Cash.................................... 0
House value (Gross)..................... 115000
Shares and bonds........................ 0
Car(s).................................. 9000
Other assets............................ 0
Total Assets............................ 124000
Secured & HP Debts
Description....................Debt......Monthly...APR
Mortgage...................... 85000....(795.7)....0
Total secured & HP debts...... 85000.....-.........-
Unsecured Debts
Description....................Debt......Monthly...APR
Loan...........................10000.....506.......0
Total unsecured debts..........10000.....506.......-
Monthly Budget Summary
Total monthly income.................... 2,564
Expenses (including HP & secured debts). 1,944.69
Available for debt repayments........... 619.31
Monthly UNsecured debt repayments....... 506
Amount left after debt repayments....... 113.31
Personal Balance Sheet Summary
Total assets (things you own)........... 124,000
Total HP & Secured debt................. -85,000
Total Unsecured debt.................... -10,000
Net Assets.............................. 29,000
Wedding payment 1000/4600 due 21/07180 -
Wow, once I see my outgoing broken down like the above, I can see I could be out of the overdraft in 5 months!
How come I don't seem to have any money then!
Wedding payment 1000/4600 due 21/07180 -
Omg Essex your mortgage free! Wow I can't wait for that day!
Wedding payment 1000/4600 due 21/07180 -
My December Plan.
My hubby and I have separate bank accounts hubby is 3000 in the red and I am 300. Hubby pays all the bills from his account except: Tv license, my car tax, my car ins. Holiday fund, groceries and petrol.
So... For the remainder of December.
Petrol +£30 (for Xmas visiting)
Groceries £60 + £16 club card and nectar card (I have 14 meals in my freezer including New Years bird - we are eating at relatives for Xmas this year so free Xmas dinner!
Mum's and Fil birthday (both 3 Jan) £40
That should be it -fingers crossed.
I get paid on 9th (£218), 17th (£220) and 23rd (£218) this month so tomorrow I will withdraw £130 to pay for everything and then not touch my account until January! By which point my overdraft will be clear and we can start looking at hubbys.
Breakdown:
8/12 - 300 o/d
9/12 - £82 o/d (218 paid in)
9/12 - £212 o/d (130 out)
17/12 - £8 credit! (220 in)
23/12- £226 credit (218 in)
28/12 - £201 credit (25 car ins out)
1/1/17 - £1 credit (200 out holiday)
6/1/17 - £217 in credit
If I can get to 6 Jan without spending money, I should be out of my overdraft. Here's hoping!
Wedding payment 1000/4600 due 21/07180 -
OK - let's take a look. Comments in red.Statement of affairs - I forgot to include overdraft in this as unsecured debt please include £3300 to this list oops!
Household Information[/b]
Number of adults in household........... 2
Number of children in household......... 0
Number of cars owned.................... 2
Monthly Income Details
Monthly income after tax................ 0 Lok to boost this even in small ways - take a look at Huskyrunners thread for details of survey companies - you won;t make your fortune doing surveys but anything you can bring in will help.
Partners monthly income after tax....... 1908
Benefits................................ 656
Other income............................ 0
Total monthly income.................... 2564
Monthly Expense Details
Mortgage................................ 795.7
Secured/HP loan repayments.............. 0
Rent.................................... 0
Management charge (leasehold property).. 0
Council tax............................. 125 Is this over 10 months or 12? Splitting it over 12 can help you with budgeting
Electricity............................. 46 (dual fuel with see) You can bring this down, at a guess. Read the guides for cutting power use - as a clue, we pay less than this per month and that includes the cost of all our heating!
Gas..................................... 40 (as above)
Oil..................................... 0
Water rates............................. 42.8 Is this metered? If so it seems high, and if not, you can likely save by looking at a meter instead.
Telephone (land line)................... 0 (inc in to package)
Mobile phone............................ 67 (2 phones on contract with virgin £26 each for handset and 5.09/9.67 for talk time) when is the contract up? You can make savings here!
TV Licence.............................. 12.86 Sure? Standard monthly for this is £12.12 - I know it's picky!
Satellite/Cable TV...................... 49.1 You're going to look at this already aren't you
Internet Services....................... 0 (included in TV package)
Groceries etc. ......................... 250 You can bring this down a bit at least. Are you able to cook from scratch? Lidl & Aldi are always worth a try, as is Martin's downshift challenge on anything branded
Clothing................................ 0 Never Nothing at all? Not even new knickers from time to time?!
Petrol/diesel........................... 50 (2 cars)
Road tax................................ 25.54 (2 cars) Are you actually paying this by monthly DD?
Car Insurance........................... 55.03 (2 cars) Being paid by monthly DD?
Car maintenance (including MOT)......... 10 Not enough, Not even close. Sorry!
Car parking............................. 0
Other travel............................ 0
Childcare/nursery....................... 0
Other child related expenses............ 0
Medical (prescriptions, dentist etc).... 16.4 (pre-payment card and dentist)
Pet insurance/vet bills................. 17.95 (plan with vets)
Buildings insurance..................... 17.47
Contents insurance...................... 0 (combined with above)
Life assurance ......................... 76.84 (mortgage protection and life policy)
Other insurance......................... 0 If you're paying over 4k on a holiday you MUST put travel insurance in place immediately. If you have it packaged with a bank account then great, but with your disability just double check it definitely covers
Presents (birthday, christmas etc)...... 40
Haircuts................................ 7
Entertainment........................... 0 Never? Not even the occasion cup of coffee and sticky bun when you're out?
Holiday................................. 200 (retirement cruise in sept 18) Are you paying this off against the holiday cost on a monthly basis?
Emergency fund.......................... 0 Tsk. Sort this - priority!
Total monthly expenses.................. 1944.69
Assets
Cash.................................... 0
House value (Gross)..................... 115000
Shares and bonds........................ 0
Car(s).................................. 9000
Other assets............................ 0
Total Assets............................ 124000
Secured & HP Debts
Description....................Debt......Monthly...APR
Mortgage...................... 85000....(795.7)....0
Total secured & HP debts...... 85000.....-.........-
Unsecured Debts
Description....................Debt......Monthly...APR
Loan...........................10000.....506.......0
Overdraft......................3300.....??........??
Total unsecured debts..........13300.....506.......-
Monthly Budget Summary
Total monthly income.................... 2,564
Expenses (including HP & secured debts). 1,944.69
Available for debt repayments........... 619.31
Monthly UNsecured debt repayments....... 506
Amount left after debt repayments....... 113.31 Do you physically have this amount left over each month?
Personal Balance Sheet Summary
Total assets (things you own)........... 124,000
Total HP & Secured debt................. -85,000
Total Unsecured debt.................... -10,000
Net Assets.............................. 29,000
None so bad - there are savings you can make there for sure, some easily, and some with a bit of effort. Also even a small increase in anything you can earn via surveys etc will make a difference.
Thanks for the comments on the mortgage-freeness by the way - very chuffed indeed to have finally got there!
🎉 MORTGAGE FREE (First time!) 30/09/2016 🎉 And now we go again…New mortgage taken 01/09/23 🏡
Balance as at 01/09/23 = £115,000.00
Balance as at 31/12/23 = £112,000.00SOA CALCULATOR (for DFW newbies): SOA Calculatorshe/her0 -
Thank you so much for taking the time to do this for me x
Monthly income after tax................ 0 Lok to boost this even in small ways - take a look at Huskyrunners thread for details of survey companies - you won;t make your fortune doing surveys but anything you can bring in will help.
I am going to go through my house/garage/loft and see what I can sell. Still trying to sell my artwork (I live in hope!)
Council tax............................. 125 Is this over 10 months or 12? Splitting it over 12 can help you with budgeting
This is over 12 months
Electricity............................. 46 (dual fuel with sse) You can bring this down, at a guess. Read the guides for cutting power use - as a clue, we pay less than this per month and that includes the cost of all our heating!
Gas..................................... 40 (as above)
Sse has just installed smart meters for gas and electricity, can I still swap providers without incurring a charge?
Water rates............................. 42.8 Is this metered? If so it seems high, and if not, you can likely save by looking at a meter instead.
This isn't metered so will look into this
Mobile phone............................ 67 (2 phones on contract with virgin £26 each for handset and 5.09/9.67 for talk time) when is the contract up? You can make savings here!
Contracts have another 12 months left to run
TV Licence.............................. 12.86 Sure? Standard monthly for this is £12.12 - I know it's picky!
Oops got mixed up with my car tax I think!
Satellite/Cable TV...................... 49.1 You're going to look at this already aren't you
Yep, tv, phone and Internet package.
Groceries etc. ......................... 250 You can bring this down a bit at least. Are you able to cook from scratch? Lidl & Aldi are always worth a try, as is Martin's downshift challenge on anything branded
We shop at Aldi mainly, the tesco club card and nectar cards are from ages ago.
Clothing................................ 0 Never Nothing at all? Not even new knickers from time to time?!
We don't plan on buying any clothes for ourselves for at least 12 months (I have more knickers than I need to be fair!) there are no family weddings, work dos etc that we need to buy new for. We have plenty to see us through.
Road tax................................ 25.54 (2 cars) Are you actually paying this by monthly DD?
Yes both of us pay by dd
Car Insurance........................... 55.03 (2 cars) Being paid by monthly DD?
Yes both dd
Car maintenance (including MOT)......... 10 Not enough, Not even close. Sorry!
My hubby's car has free servicing for the next 12 months and my car barely gets used anyway. Thinking about selling it as my disability stops me from using it too much.
Other insurance......................... 0 If you're paying over 4k on a holiday you MUST put travel insurance in place immediately. If you have it packaged with a bank account then great, but with your disability just double check it definitely covers
Will do, thanks for reminding me!
Entertainment........................... 0 Never? Not even the occasion cup of coffee and sticky bun when you're out?
I don't go out much honestly, we visit the in laws twice a week and i walk the dog when I can - that's it really. I suppose I should budget £10 a month just in case?
Holiday................................. 200 (retirement cruise in sept 18) Are you paying this off against the holiday cost on a monthly basis?
No, I am transferring it to an old savings account to be able to pay it off in April 2018 £3200 for cruise and then money for excursions. I have £400 in savings already for this.
Emergency fund.......................... 0 Tsk. Sort this - priority!
I know! Argggh
Unsecured Debts
Description....................Debt......Monthly.. .APR
Loan...........................10000.....506...... .0
Overdraft......................3300.....??........ ??
Total unsecured debts..........13300.....506.......-
I don't know how much per month we can pay off hubbys o/d as he is doing some odd overtime shifts (since dropping his hours) hopefully £200 a month with overtime dosh, but it's an unknown at.
Amount left after debt repayments....... 113.31 Do you physically have this amount left over each month?
Not as far as I can tell, but it is difficult to gauge when I get paid three times a month. But now I know I should have I can try to commit to at least £100 of it going toward the overdraft.
Wedding payment 1000/4600 due 21/07180
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