Self employed, loads of debt - help

tjak

I need advice as my income varies from £1000 a month to £5000. I know this sounds a lot, but I have debts of £30k, a mortgage of £187k and my husband is a student. We also have a toddler, so have a live in au pair (cheapest form of full time childcare).
My problem is that because my income varies so much, this month is an impossibility because I am not expecting more money until January and I am already at my limit. I had also decided not to use my cards at all, and to focus on repaying them instead. I had been managing to pay £1000 pm, but don;t know what to do now. Help!!

Bestthingsinlifearefree

Hi !

Could your husband get a part time job (most students have part time jobs).

You say your monthly income fluctuates between 1-5K pcm.

Maybe calculate the total you earned in the last 12 months divide by 12 and then this will give you a roughly monthly guide to your "average" monthly income and help you budget / plan.

Then post all your monthly out goings here in detail ie a statement of affairs SOA and members can then see if your monthly out goings are more than your monthly incomings etc etc and take it on from there /advise you accordingly.

southernscouser

Hi,

Have a look at the thread below then post back here with all the info we need.

http://forums.moneysavingexpert.com/showthread.html?t=107280

---lee---

tjak wrote:

We also have a toddler, so have a live in au pair (cheapest form of full time childcare).

Does the uni (or whatever) not provide any form of childcare?

ms_london

If you post a list of your outgoings each month, we will see if we can save you any money without you realising it.

Your salary ranging between £1,000 and £5,000 a month is quite a difference. If its more often than not, closer to the £1,000 end, then you need to know that you can afford your outgoings with this money coming in.

As another poster said, could your OH not get a part time job? If you have full time childcare, this should allow him time to get another job (rather than relying on him for childcare, and vice versa)..

I dont think you need to worry about the mortgage being a debt, most people have them and thats part of life. It would be handy though if you could write down who you do owe money to, your monthly repayment & also the APR..

Dont despair, there are a lot of people in the same situation, and this time of year, and moreso January, definately highlights it!!

tjak

I work on a commission only basis, hence the variation.

My husband is very dyslexic, so needs more time than most to get through coursework. This means a part time job is out of the question.
We have an aupair who works Mon to Fri 9-5, for £80pw pocket money plus bed and board.

Outgoings are:
Cahoot -£350.00
College fees -£161.87
Mortgage -£719.67
Mobiles H3G -£29.34
Southern Water -£44.17
Council Tax -£152.00
PetPlan -£23.15, cheapest dog insurance due to his age and health
Council tax Arrears -£91.00
A&L credit card -£92.00
Childrens Mutual -£50.00 trust fund
Optimax -£90.00 (laser treatment, 5 payments left)
Gas&Electricity -£131.00
TV License -£10.49
Phone Insurance -£5.99
NTL -£68.44 (phone, cable TV and broadband)
Car Insurance -£24.65
Amex -£200.00
Healthcare -£110.00
N Union -£49.75 Life and critical illness
N Union -£60.75 for both of us
Prudential -£31.43 house insurance

-£2,495.70

Debts
15/11/2005 Amex Credit £175.00 8.90%
31/10/2005 Mint £1,683.69 13.90%
31/10/2005 Virgin £5,823.28 0%
31/10/2005 Cahoot £14,967.00 6.90%
31/10/2005 A&L Card £6,192.00 14.90%
Total £28,665.97

Weekly costs about £65-70 for food for four of us, plus £80 au pair
Maybe another £50-60 petrol etc.

Thanks for advice so far

tjak

---lee--- wrote:

Does the uni (or whatever) not provide any form of childcare?

We did look into this, but because I can earn more than their threshold, it was more expensive than the au pair option.

---lee---

Just a few comments for consideration - plenty of others will be along...

Mobiles H3G -£29.34 - ditch if possible or use only for emergency
Southern Water -£44.17 - seems a bit expensive. may be worth considering a meter if your not already on one
Childrens Mutual -£50.00 trust fund - can this be stopped until debt is paid? also the money in it could be used to repay debt.
Gas&Electricity -£131.00 - this is very expensive, does it include arears? have you shopped around (uswitch.com) to find the best deal
Phone Insurance -£5.99 - ditch
NTL -£68.44 (phone, cable TV and broadband) - reduce to cheapest phone and broadband package (assume internet is required for course work)
Healthcare -£110.00 ditch

Move all cc debt to 0% cc's.

tjak

Mobile is on a contract, but can be reduced after 3 more months to lower tariff. We use it for all UK calls as we get so many inclusive minutes.
Healthcare - my mother has Multiple Sclerosis, which always colours my views on this, but we are coming round to the need to cancel it.
Take your point on the Trust Fund
NTL - cable TV is only luxury for OH football, will try to renegotiate that one

Gas /Elec is a budget plan, was about £80 and then went up
Water has always been quite high, it is a 3 bed house with 4 of us living in it, so I presumed a meter would be more.

Thanks for ideas.

tjak

I tried to move to another 0% but was declined, so presume my credit rating (although I have no missed or late payments) is just overextended.

deemy2004

Your husband needs to pull his weight - tell him to get a part time job.