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Debt free in 3 years...? here's hoping for me and my boy
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If the HP is for the car then yes it has to go as it costs you £500 per month. Presumably you don't use it for work if you only use £40 diesel a month and pay £203 for a travel card?I’m a Forum Ambassador and I support the Forum Team on the Debt free Wannabe, Budgeting and Banking and Savings and Investment boards. If you need any help on these boards, do let me know. Please note that Ambassadors are not moderators. Any posts you spot in breach of the Forum Rules should be reported via the report button, or by emailing forumteam@moneysavingexpert.com. All views are my own and not the official line of MoneySavingExpert.
The 365 Day 1p Challenge 2025 #1 £667.95/£162.90
Save £12k in 2025 #1 £12000/£70000 -
HopefulHumphrey wrote: »
Statement of Affairs & Personal Balance Sheet
Summary
Monthly Budget Summary Amount(£)
Total monthly income 2,868.43
Monthly expenses (incl. HP & secured loans) 2,999.16
Available for debt repayments -130.73
UNsecured debt repayments 166
Amount short for making debt repayments -296.73
Personal Balance Sheet Summary Amount(£)
Total Assets (things you own) 0
Total Secured & HP Debt -12,900
Total Unsecured Debt -8,608.9
Net Assets -21,508.9
Household Information
Number of adults in household 1
Number of children in household 1
Number of cars owned 0
Income, Expense, Debt & Asset Details
Income Amount(£)
Monthly income after tax 2155.43
Partners monthly income 0
Benefits 413
Other income 300
Total monthly income 2868.43
Expenses Amount(£)
Mortgage 0
Secured/HP loan payments 370.3you've already mentioned this
Rent 808
Management charge (leasehold property) 0
Council tax 148.55 are you getting single person discount? Also make sure you're paying over 12 months not 10
Electricity 32
Gas 19
Oil 0
Water Rates 0
Telephone (land line) 0
Mobile phone 10
TV Licence 29.4
Satellite/Cable TV 57is this something you can cancel?
Internet services 0
Groceries etc. 200
Clothing 20
Petrol/diesel 40
Road tax 2.5
Car Insurance 65.21
Car maintenance (including MOT) 20.9
Car Parking 10
Other travel 203
Childcare/nursery 843.3
Other child related expenses 10
Medical (prescriptions, dentists, opticians etc.) 0
Pet Insurance/Vet bills 30
Buildings Insurance 0
Contents Insurance 0
Life Assurance 0
Other Insurance 0
Presents (birthday, christmas etc.) 40
Haircuts 0
Entertainment 40
Holiday 0
Emergency Fund 0
Total monthly expenses 2999.16
Secured & HP Debt Description Debt(£) Monthly(£) APR(%)
Mortgage 0 (0)
Hire Purchase (HP) Debt 331.3pm (12000)
Hire Purchase 39 (900)
Secured & HP Debt totals 12900
Unsecured Debt Description Debt(£) Monthly(£) APR(%)
Vanquis 1pm (3145.34)
Capital One 30pm (2308.75)
Wonga 20pm (325.4)
very 43pm (1300)
next 20 pm (450)
Sunny 20pm (331.2)
Quick Quid 15pm (598.4)
Barclay Card 17pm (149.81)
Unsecured Debt totals 8608.9
Asset Description
Cash 0
House Value (Gross) 0
Shares and bonds 0
Car(s) 0
Other assets (e.g. endowments, jewellery etc) 0
Total Assets 0
please see my comments in red - good luck and well done for addressing your debt so positively0 -
As a quick win....if the car isn't necessary and you're spending on a travel card, can you declared the car off the road - cancel tax and insurance, and send a SORN - Until you return it in Feb?0
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also, can groceries by reduced at all, even slightlly? I know how dear formula is but anything would help xx0
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You've counted your car payment twice.
Secured/HP loan payments 370.3
Hire Purchase (HP) Debt 331.3pm (12000)
Hire Purchase 39 (900)0 -
OK let's take a look - comments in redHopefulHumphrey wrote: »
Statement of Affairs & Personal Balance Sheet
Summary
Monthly Budget Summary Amount(£)
Total monthly income 2,868.43
Monthly expenses (incl. HP & secured loans) 2,999.16
Available for debt repayments -130.73
UNsecured debt repayments 166
Amount short for making debt repayments -296.73
Personal Balance Sheet Summary Amount(£)
Total Assets (things you own) 0
Total Secured & HP Debt -12,900
Total Unsecured Debt -8,608.9
Net Assets -21,508.9
Household Information
Number of adults in household 1
Number of children in household 1
Number of cars owned 0
Income, Expense, Debt & Asset Details
Income Amount(£)
Monthly income after tax 2155.43
Partners monthly income 0
Benefits 413
Other income 300
Total monthly income 2868.43
Expenses Amount(£)
Mortgage 0
Secured/HP loan payments 370.3
Rent 808
Management charge (leasehold property) 0
Council tax 148.55 Make sure you have single person discount applied to this and see about paying it spread over 12 months rather than the standard 10 - it makes budgeting far easier when things are tight.
Electricity 32
Gas 19
Oil 0
Water Rates 0 You're in Scotland I take it?
Telephone (land line) 0
Mobile phone 10
TV Licence 29.4 Why so much? Are you inside your first 6 months paying this? If so when does it drop to the standard amount?
Satellite/Cable TV 57 See if you can negotiate this down at all - you may be able to if you're willing to agree to an extended contract
Internet services 0
Groceries etc. 200You can definitely knock £50 a month off this - perhaps more.
Clothing 20 Take this down to absolute essentials only for the time being.
Petrol/diesel 40
Road tax 2.5 Do you pay this by monthly DD? If so you're being charged a premium. Set money aside and pay annually to avoid this
Car Insurance 65.21
Car maintenance (including MOT) 20.9 Do you actually save this monthly?
You're not showing any cash assets.
Car Parking 10 can you get rid of this? Park a bit further away and walk.,
for example?
Other travel 203
Childcare/nursery 843.3 Do you uise childcare vouchers/get any other help with this that you're entitled to?
Other child related expenses 10
Medical (prescriptions, dentists, opticians etc.) 0
Pet Insurance/Vet bills 30
Buildings Insurance 0
Contents Insurance 0 SORT THIS OUT NOW - it's such a false economy not to have it.
Life Assurance 0
Other Insurance 0
Presents (birthday, christmas etc.) 40 You need to cut this right back. Small but carefully thought out presents for your own child, token gifts for other (very) close family members or agree to not exchange gifts at all, ideally.
Haircuts 0 Never? Not for you or the little one?
Entertainment 40
Holiday 0
Emergency Fund 0 You need to try to get something here as soon as you reasonably can.
Total monthly expenses 2999.16
Secured & HP Debt Description Debt(£) Monthly(£) APR(%)
Mortgage 0 (0)
Hire Purchase (HP) Debt 331.3pm (12000)
Hire Purchase 39 (900)
Secured & HP Debt totals 12900
Unsecured Debt Description Debt(£) Monthly(£) APR(%)
Vanquis 1pm (3145.34)
Capital One 30pm (2308.75)
Wonga 20pm (325.4)
very 43pm (1300)
next 20 pm (450)
Sunny 20pm (331.2)
Quick Quid 15pm (598.4)
Barclay Card 17pm (149.81)
Unsecured Debt totals 8608.9
Asset Description
Cash 0
House Value (Gross) 0
Shares and bonds 0
Car(s) 0
Other assets (e.g. endowments, jewellery etc) 0
Total Assets 0
You HAVE to find a way of stepping away from the Payday loan trap. Your rent is high - this doesn't help particularly when combined with childcare costs - as you know yourself your ends just aren't meeting at the moment.
Big chunky costs:
The car you know about - is there ANYTHING you can do to cut this? can your travelcard be used instead of the car? As someone has said SORN'ing it could be an option but that relies on you having somewhere to park it up AND it won't save you a massive amount - that HP is the killer, currently.
Rent: Any option to move back with family short term? Or find somewhere cheaper to rent that won't increase your other costs massively?
Travel: is it possible to use the car for more of your journey to work to reduce costs? We had to take the view some years back that it simply wasn't viable for MrEH to continue to use the train right from our home station - he now drives into London and uses the tube, cutting 2/3rds off his public transport costs.
Childcare: Is there any way of reducing this at all? Family members who can help perhaps?
As things stand, your debt repayments are almost irrelevant as you don't have money to pay them. My suggestion would be to set all your payments to loans, cards etc to £1 and then talk to one of the free debt charities for advice.🎉 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 = £112,000.00
Balance as at 31/08/24 = £105,400.00 Balance as at 31/12/24 = £102,500.00
£100k barrier broken 1/4/25SOA CALCULATOR (for DFW newbies): SOA Calculatorshe/her0 -
Im sorry if im covering old groung but could you keep a spending diary? A few monthd of writinh down every penny might show up an opportunity to save xx0
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Firstly, as with many others I just wanted to say well done for taking control and for doing what you can to resolve the situation. You've had some good advice from others in relation to your SoA and possible ways of cutting back and so forth - but have you considered contacting one of the 'free' debt management companies (StepChange or Payplan) as EssexHebridean has suggested.
You've set yourself a (3 year) debt-free challenge - which is great, but only if its affordable. You don't have much spare cash until you can clear the HP loan and it looks like you struggle to pay even the minimum amounts to the unsecured debts. You definitely need to build up an emergency fund - especially with a little one to care for. If you go online and use the StepChange debt remedy tool, you'll be able to get a reference and you can use that in your dealings with creditors - explain your situation, tell them your working with SC (even if you are not) to come up with a repayment plan and pay token payments if you wish. Do this for a couple of months only (longer if your okay with the possibility of creditors defaulting you), build an emergency fund equal to what you would have been paying them and then set up an affordable repayment plan.0 -
Hello All
Thank you SOOOO much for your feedback.
So, since the SoA I have done some serious thinking. I have made the decision to move back into my mum's spare room with my son (well I am going to ask her tonight).
It's not ideal and its not the best environment, but I just see no other option and I am starting to have sleepless and tearful nights and I need to be the best version of me for my son.
I can't lie, the word "failiure" is looming high and mighty over my head, and the word "looser" is following my every step.
In answer to some of your questions:- I live in London; so my rent is actually low for my postcode (a government reduced rent scheme). My council tax already has the single person exemption on it.
- I work in central London, so do not have the option to drive to work (congestion charge and high parking fees)
- I have not cut my hair since September 2016! Luckily, I have hair that can survive such terrible care.
- It eats away at me daily that I do not have an emergency fund or any sort of insurance; phone, contents or otherwise
The cons of moving home:- I would still pay for my BT bill until April 2018 - unless I can convince my mum to swop her Virgin set up (which is a rolling contract) for my BT package and then I can share the bill
- I would not want to move my little boy's child care until July, so would have a bigger journey of a morning
- I will have a lot of left over furniture! But I have already started lists of what I can sell, what I can bring to my mum etc. I may get storage - still a hell of a lot cheaper than RENT!
Thank you again for all of your positivity and advice.
HopefulHumphrey0 -
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