That feeling again

andys15

At the height of my debt, I was roughly £48000 in debt. I sold the house and brought it down to £33000. This was manageable debt. Then I ended up back at the £50000. This was about 2 years go. I then got a promotion at work which doubled my pay, and my wife got a job with a decent salary. After the promotion we really threw everything at the debt and was paying back a loan of £25000 over 2 years. Credit cards were getting hefty lumps thrown at them too.
Then the house we were renting was put up for sale. We ended up buying it this Jun. I had no deposit so I borrowed money from my dad, and also gran. My dad also borrowed me money to pay of all my debt. Great so far. BUT I feel I could join the slippery slope again if I am not careful. My wife is great, but I have really got to reign her in. She has credit cards, but at the moment I have to really come downn on her not to spend on them. So far she has resisted. Her argument being she earns a good wage, my argument being I dont want to get into more debt. Since we got the house, we ave had blinds fitted and a new settee, its all on interest free, but I really dont want to start going there again.
It was always agreed that we would pay my Gran back next year, so I will probably have to get a loan out for that. We have not had a holiday for 7 years, so we are going away soon. Most of that has been paid and I am adamant that none of it whatsoever will be paid by credit. That is where all my spare cash is going untill we get back.
I have read some harrowing stories on here, and whilst I am not doing bad at the moment, I can feel it happening again. This month is the first that I am overdrawn since my promotion, and the credit card we live on for the month, has for the first time since Jan not been paid of in full. from experiance I feel it is the start of something I want to stop.
Here is my SOA.
Statement of Affairs and Personal Balance Sheet

Monthly Income Details
Monthly income after tax................ 3150
Partners monthly income after tax....... 1500
Benefits................................ 125
Other income............................ 0
Total monthly income.................... 4775

Monthly Expense Details
Mortgage................................ 1284.29
Secured loan repayments................. 0
Rent.................................... 0
Management charge (leasehold property).. 0
Council tax............................. 133
Electricity............................. 40
Gas..................................... 30
Oil..................................... 0
Water rates............................. 32.8
Telephone (land line)................... 17
Mobile phone............................ 55
TV Licence.............................. 12.51
Satellite/Cable TV...................... 49
Internet Services....................... 18
Groceries etc. ......................... 600
Clothing................................ 0
Petrol/diesel........................... 80
Road tax................................ 15
Car Insurance........................... 21
Car maintenance (including MOT)......... 20
Car parking............................. 0
Other travel............................ 0
Childcare/nursery....................... 65
Other child related expenses............ 0
Medical (prescriptions, dentist etc).... 0
Pet insurance/vet bills................. 0
Buildings insurance..................... 30
Contents insurance...................... 30
Life assurance ......................... 0
Other insurance......................... 0
Presents (birthday, christmas etc)...... 50
Haircuts................................ 20
Entertainment........................... 20
Holiday................................. 100
Emergency fund.......................... 0
Total monthly expenses.................. 2722.6

Assets
Cash.................................... 0
House value (Gross)..................... 0
Shares and bonds........................ 0
Car(s).................................. 1500
Other assets............................ 0
Total Assets............................ 1500

Secured Debts
Description....................Debt......Monthly...APR
Mortgage...................... 0........(1284.29)..0
Total secured debts........... 0.........-.........-

Unsecured Debts
Description....................Debt......Monthly...APR
dad............................35000.....1000......0
gran...........................10000.....0.........0
virgin cc......................900.......0.........0
furniture world................2100......60........0
hillarys blind.................1600......120.......0
Total unsecured debts..........49600.....1180......-

Monthly Budget Summary
Total monthly income.................... 4,775
Expenses (including secured debts)....... 2,722.6
Available for debt repayments........... 2,052.4
Monthly UNsecured debt repayments....... 1,180
Surplus(deficit if negative)............ 872.4

Personal Balance Sheet Summary
Total assets (things you own)........... 1,500
Total Secured debt...................... -0
Total Unsecured debt.................... -49,600
Net Assets.............................. -48,100

Created using the SOA calculator at www.makesenseofcards.com.
Reproduced on Moneysavingexpert with permission.

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of cars included in the SOA or anything else that may be useful.

lucielle

How many in your family? I feed 6 for £336 per month, so can you trim some off the groceries?
|L

mrcow

A start would be to cut your grocery bill in half and give £333 to your Gran each month towards your debt. By Chirstmas, you will already have paid a grand off to her.

You and your wife cannot afford credit cards - financially or discipline wise. You don't earn good enough salaries to be able to afford what you are spending and you've demonstrated a clear track record of being unable to maintain a simple budget. It's basic maths. You can't spend £1600 on blinds when you owe your own grandmother £10000! :eek: It's absolutely hideous. Your wife is living in cloud cuckoo land if she thinks her salary is good enough to spend money she doesn't have on credit cards.

You need to cancel your credit cards and now. Anything less than 100% understanding this and you are never ever going to resolve your spending woes.

andys15

4 of us. This includes everything not just food.

mrcow

andys15 wrote: »

4 of us. This includes everything not just food.

There are 5 of us and I spend £240 per month on everything including food.

**Amy**

To be fair you have over £800 "left over" each month. Can you not cut up the credit cards, and live off the £800?

Take the temptation of the credit away? I think that might be the way forward?

And if your wife thinks she is on good money, then why does she need the credit card to pay for things? That doesnt make sense to me.

There are areas (like groceries, internet, sky etc.) that you can trim down on as well.

andys15

mrcow wrote: »

. You can't spend £1600 on blinds when you owe your own grandmother £10000! :eek: It's absolutely hideous.

This is a fair comment and no excuse really except to say. It is one of those buy now pay in a year. as soon as we are back from hols we will be budgeting for that to be paid of. gran will be paid every penny back by Mar as agreed. It is a rob peter to pay paul scenario, and without her help we could have not got the house. I will have to get a loan to pay her. which I would then pay back in 2 years.
My debt has mainly surfaced becausee i changed career whilst I had a mortgage etc, on first changing career my pay went to next to nothing whilst training.

Dithering_Dad

Out of interest, what is the difference (if any) in the costs between when you used to rent the house and now you've bought it?

andys15

Dithering_Dad wrote: »

Out of interest, what is the difference (if any) in the costs between when you used to rent the house and now you've bought it?

£400 extra. We have moved about 7 times over the last 7 years. I really didnt want to move again when the house was put up for sale. In fact it is near to £500 more.
I didn't really want to buy when I did, but sometimes there are other considerations apart from financial. Number 1 being uprooting the kids et again. I am glad we bought the house we did as the ones we were originally looked at would have really scumpered us. In less than 3 years my Dad will be paid back, and that is when my fixed deal runs out, so hopefully, even though I will probably be in negative equity, the grand I give my dad, will cover the increase in mortgage payments

Dithering_Dad

I understand what you mean, but with the cost of rents dropping you'd have been much better off staying renting and tackling your debt than buying a property just as it's about to lose at least 30% of its value. Plus mortgage interest rates are about to go up again.

I have to be honest here and say that I don't see this ending well.

andys15

Dithering_Dad wrote: »

I understand what you mean, but with the cost of rents dropping you'd have been much better off staying renting and tackling your debt than buying a property just as it's about to lose at least 30% of its value. Plus mortgage interest rates are about to go up again.

I have to be honest here and say that I don't see this ending well.

cheers.

how do you see it ending?