Debt Out of Control

sjharrington1 · 28 July 2015 at 2:44PM

Hi

I hope you can help I feel like my life is falling apart. It is a long story and I hope you can help.

I have never been very good with money and have always lived each day rather than planning and saving. It sorted of settled down a bit when I got married as my husband helped to be more focused and actually took control however our marriage broke down and I was left to my own devices. I am therefore in around about £20,000 in debt however I am not actually sure as I am not paying anyone and have just thrown all the bills that have come to my new property in the bin and can't make head nor tail of my credit report plus have am paying council tax and water arrears from last year and can't afford to pay council tax for this year. My rent arrears are £550 a month plus you may have seen from an earlier post that I owe £2000 in car parking fines!!!

I have done an SOA report but I don't think it is right as I never have any money left over at the end of the month. I am a compulsive spender and will just take £10 out here and there and never have anything to show for it. I am probably in way too deep now but thought I would get some assistance.

Number of adults in household........... 1
Number of children in household......... 1
Number of cars owned.................... 0

Monthly Income Details[/b]
Monthly income after tax................ 1723
Partners monthly income after tax....... 0
Benefits................................ 828
Other income............................ 242
Total monthly income.................... 2793

Monthly Expense Details
Mortgage................................ 0
Secured/HP loan repayments.............. 198
Rent.................................... 1300
Management charge (leasehold property).. 0
Council tax............................. 175
Electricity............................. 40
Gas..................................... 40
Oil..................................... 0
Water rates............................. 68
Telephone (land line)................... 15
Mobile phone............................ 80
TV Licence.............................. 12
Satellite/Cable TV...................... 15
Internet Services....................... 15
Groceries etc. ......................... 200
Clothing................................ 20
Petrol/diesel........................... 40
Road tax................................ 11.37
Car Insurance........................... 50
Car maintenance (including MOT)......... 0
Car parking............................. 0
Other travel............................ 20
Childcare/nursery....................... 240
Other child related expenses............ 23
Medical (prescriptions, dentist etc).... 0
Pet insurance/vet bills................. 0
Buildings insurance..................... 0
Contents insurance...................... 7.7
Life assurance ......................... 0
Other insurance......................... 0
Presents (birthday, christmas etc)...... 0
Haircuts................................ 0
Entertainment........................... 60
Holiday................................. 0
Emergency fund.......................... 0
Total monthly expenses.................. 2630.07

Assets
Cash.................................... 0
House value (Gross)..................... 0
Shares and bonds........................ 0
Car(s).................................. 0
Other assets............................ 0
Total Assets............................ 0

Secured & HP Debts
Description....................Debt......Monthly...APR
Mortgage...................... 0........(0)........0
Hire Purchase (HP) debt ...... 4000.....(198)......0
Total secured & HP debts...... 4000......-.........-

Unsecured Debts
Description....................Debt......Monthly...APR
Total unsecured debts..........0.........0.........-

Monthly Budget Summary
Total monthly income.................... 2,793
Expenses (including HP & secured debts). 2,630.07
Available for debt repayments........... 162.93
Monthly UNsecured debt repayments....... 0
Amount left after debt repayments....... 162.93

Personal Balance Sheet Summary
Total assets (things you own)........... 0
Total HP & Secured debt................. -4,000
Total Unsecured debt.................... -0
Net Assets.............................. -4,000

rockm87 · 28 July 2015 at 2:53PM

Hi and welcome

well done for putting together a sOA, but as you said it isnt accurate. really look at your statements and receipts and see if you can make this more accurate. Keep a little notebook with you, or use your phone to document every penny you spend! believe me seeing it in black and white really shows you where your money goes.

Is there anyway you can move?If youre struggling to pay rent you may need to downsize (even if it is temporary) or could you temporarily stay with a relative? BEFORE you just say 'hell no', please consider it is only temporary, and once you get this mess sorted you will be alot better off.

You need to try and make sense of what debts you have and where, other wise your SOA is pretty useless.

come on, be strong, you can do this!!!

sjharrington1 · 28 July 2015 at 3:08PM

Hi

I will be moving next year with my partner but for the moment there is no way I can move I don't have the deposit and unfortunately there is no where I can go at the moment. My parents have offered for me to move in May when my tenancy ends for a couple of months just so I can get my deposit back from my landlord and try and clear some debt but I have a 4 year old so they don't want him for too long. Will keep an accurate record of what I spend for the rest of the month and see where I am at. Not sure what to do with the Baliffs though that are knocking on my door at the moment.

Thanks

Digging_2 · 28 July 2015 at 3:39PM

Hey there!
This forum is friendly and although I have a lot of debt, these last few weeks of me lurking around has put my mind at ease and know that I cant get through this with my new 'virtual' friend's support. You are not alone and have made the first step by recognising that you have debt.:T Next step is to look for exact figures of what you owe and who to. It's daunting, but until you know, you can't make a plan. I guessed mine was about £20,000... it was over £34,000. But I feel better knowing now and can deal with it (slowly).

You say you have debt totalling approx £20,000. Your SOA only shows £4000 HP debt. I assume the rest is on the council tax arrears, parking fines and water arrears? is that correct? Maybe you could break these debts down a bit more for us and tell us how much you owe for each and what you have agreed to pay extra. I'm assuming your SOA rent figure includes the £550 arrears figure? And how much of the Council tax figure of £175 is the arrears? Does your water figure include the water arrears?

Hopefully with this information, we can all support you and help with a plan of action.

cakeforbrains · 28 July 2015 at 4:47PM

Well done for taking the first step.

As the others have said you really need to write a list of all the unsecured debt you have, including arrears. It may feel painful at first, but just try to disassociate yourself from the figures, like they are just abstract. Your main focus is getting an accurate picture right now.

If you don't still have any bills then get on the phone, log into any online accounts you have, and look on your free Noddle credit report, which you should be able to see straight away.

Once you have all those figures we can help you with a plan. Council tax arrears will be one of your first focuses, though, as not paying this is a criminal offence so you really need to get a plan sorted and agreed.

rockm87 · 28 July 2015 at 4:58PM

Can you sell anything? If you're downsizing you may need to get rid of stuff anyway?

clint_S · 28 July 2015 at 5:12PM

The immediate things are:

Number of adults in household........... 1
Number of children in household......... 1
Number of cars owned.................... 0

Monthly Income Details[/b]
Monthly income after tax................ 1723
Partners monthly income after tax....... 0
Benefits................................ 828
Other income............................ 242
Total monthly income.................... 2793

Monthly Expense Details
Mortgage................................ 0
Secured/HP loan repayments.............. 198
Rent.................................... 1300 Not sure of your area but this is could be dropped.
Management charge (leasehold property).. 0
Council tax............................. 175
Electricity............................. 40
Gas..................................... 40
Oil..................................... 0
Water rates............................. 68
Telephone (land line)................... 15
Mobile phone............................ 80 - Very high for only you, see if you can move to a pay as you go or a lower contract.
TV Licence.............................. 12
Satellite/Cable TV...................... 15 - Don't need cancel
Internet Services....................... 15
Groceries etc. ......................... 200
Clothing................................ 20
Petrol/diesel........................... 40
Road tax................................ 11.37
Car Insurance........................... 50
Car maintenance (including MOT)......... 0 - None?
Car parking............................. 0 - What about those parking fines?
Other travel............................ 20
Childcare/nursery....................... 240
Other child related expenses............ 23
Medical (prescriptions, dentist etc).... 0
Pet insurance/vet bills................. 0
Buildings insurance..................... 0
Contents insurance...................... 7.7
Life assurance ......................... 0
Other insurance......................... 0
Presents (birthday, christmas etc)...... 0
Haircuts................................ 0
Entertainment........................... 60 - Can cut this down, or even remove it until you've cleared your debts
Holiday................................. 0
Emergency fund.......................... 0 - Need something in here
Total monthly expenses.................. 2630.07

Assets
Cash.................................... 0
House value (Gross)..................... 0
Shares and bonds........................ 0
Car(s).................................. 0 - No Car?
Other assets............................ 0
Total Assets............................ 0

Secured & HP Debts
Description....................Debt......Monthly.. .APR
Mortgage...................... 0........(0)........0
Hire Purchase (HP) debt ...... 4000.....(198)......0
Total secured & HP debts...... 4000......-.........-

Unsecured Debts
Description....................Debt......Monthly.. .APR
Total unsecured debts..........0.........0.........-

Monthly Budget Summary
Total monthly income.................... 2,793
Expenses (including HP & secured debts). 2,630.07
Available for debt repayments........... 162.93
Monthly UNsecured debt repayments....... 0
Amount left after debt repayments....... 162.93

Personal Balance Sheet Summary
Total assets (things you own)........... 0
Total HP & Secured debt................. -4,000
Total Unsecured debt.................... -0
Net Assets.............................. -4,000

[Deleted User] · 28 July 2015 at 7:29PM

sjharrington1 wrote: »

Number of adults in household........... 1
Number of children in household......... 1
Number of cars owned.................... 0

Monthly Income Details[/b]
Monthly income after tax................ 1723
Partners monthly income after tax....... 0
Benefits................................ 828
Other income............................ 242
Total monthly income.................... 2793

Monthly Expense Details
Mortgage................................ 0
Secured/HP loan repayments.............. 198
Rent.................................... 1300
Management charge (leasehold property).. 0
Council tax............................. 175
Electricity............................. 40
Gas..................................... 40
Oil..................................... 0
Water rates............................. 68
Telephone (land line)................... 15
Mobile phone............................ 80 - This is :eek: even if it's for two phones. Go PAYG/sim only, at ~ £10 per phone.
TV Licence.............................. 12
Satellite/Cable TV...................... 15 - Get rid and go Freeview/Freesat.
Internet Services....................... 15
Groceries etc. ......................... 200 - This is a lot for two people. Use Aldi/Lidl, and/or step down a brand.
Clothing................................ 20
Petrol/diesel........................... 40 - This isn't very much. Could you do without a car altogether?
Road tax................................ 11.37
Car Insurance........................... 50 - This is £600pa. Is there a reason it's so high?
Car maintenance (including MOT)......... 0 - Nothing ever?
Car parking............................. 0
Other travel............................ 20
Childcare/nursery....................... 240
Other child related expenses............ 23
Medical (prescriptions, dentist etc).... 0 - Never?
Pet insurance/vet bills................. 0
Buildings insurance..................... 0
Contents insurance...................... 7.7
Life assurance ......................... 0
Other insurance......................... 0
Presents (birthday, christmas etc)...... 0
Haircuts................................ 0
Entertainment........................... 60
Holiday................................. 0 - Not even days out?
Emergency fund.......................... 0 - You need something in here.

Total monthly expenses.................. 2630.07

Assets
Cash.................................... 0
House value (Gross)..................... 0
Shares and bonds........................ 0
Car(s).................................. 0 - You car is worth nothing?
Other assets............................ 0
Total Assets............................ 0

Secured & HP Debts
Description....................Debt......Monthly...APR
Mortgage...................... 0........(0)........0
Hire Purchase (HP) debt ...... 4000.....(198)......0
Total secured & HP debts...... 4000......-.........-

Unsecured Debts
Description....................Debt......Monthly...APR
Total unsecured debts..........0.........0.........-

Monthly Budget Summary
Total monthly income.................... 2,793
Expenses (including HP & secured debts). 2,630.07
Available for debt repayments........... 162.93
Monthly UNsecured debt repayments....... 0
Amount left after debt repayments....... 162.93

Personal Balance Sheet Summary
Total assets (things you own)........... 0
Total HP & Secured debt................. -4,000
Total Unsecured debt.................... -0
Net Assets.............................. -4,000

My comments/observations in red.

sjharrington1 · 28 July 2015 at 9:15PM

Just want to say a massive thank you contacted step for change today have been through my credit report and have put a token payment plan in place and helped to sort out the priority debts. Worked out I am 30,000 in debt and feel like crying but need to take the correct steps. Will definitely be hanging around and getting some tips.

Debt Out of Control

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