50k and very down

Tinkabell25

Hi Andy, Don't worry, you're in the right place! Your mobile bill seems very high, is this contract? I would put a strict no spend order in place and see how long you can go for! when you keep a spending diary its the fear of having to write it in that keeps you going. My partner and i (plus two cats!) spend around 100-150 a month on food as we only buy what we need, not what we want to excess. With regards to the shares and bonds, do you need to keep these? If not that would get rid of at least one of your debts.I would have a real clear out of stuff and have a major ebay and car boot session to get some extra cash. Sorry if all this seems a bit harsh but not sure what else to suggest! Tink xx

andy40

Ok, here is take 2.
Rent is 600 including bills,.
Mobile is 40 for the 2 of us.
Groceries is 200 for the 2 of us, that could be a little generous!
Travel is for 2 monthly travel cards. I will be cycling more when the
weather is decent so that should go down.
Any other expenses that come up I will just have to deal with.

Roll on Gordon Browns tax cuts!

Andy


Monthly Income Details
Monthly income after tax................ 2352
Partners monthly income after tax....... 0
Benefits................................ 0
Other income............................ 0
Total monthly income.................... 2352

Monthly Expense Details
Mortgage................................ 0
Secured loan repayments................. 0
Rent.................................... 600
Management charge (leasehold property).. 0
Council tax............................. 0
Electricity............................. 0
Gas..................................... 0
Oil..................................... 0
Water rates............................. 0
Telephone (land line)................... 0
Mobile phone............................ 40
TV Licence.............................. 0
Satellite/Cable TV...................... 0
Internet Services....................... 0
Groceries etc. ......................... 200
Clothing................................ 0
Petrol/diesel........................... 0
Road tax................................ 0
Car Insurance........................... 0
Car maintenance (including MOT)......... 0
Car parking............................. 0
Other travel............................ 200
Childcare/nursery....................... 0
Other child related expenses............ 0
Medical (prescriptions, dentist etc).... 0
Pet insurance/vet bills................. 0
Buildings insurance..................... 0
Contents insurance...................... 0
Life assurance ......................... 0
Other insurance......................... 0
Presents (birthday, christmas etc)...... 0
Haircuts................................ 10
Entertainment........................... 0
Holiday................................. 0
Emergency fund.......................... 0
Total monthly expenses.................. 1050

Assets
Cash.................................... 500
House value (Gross)..................... 0
Shares and bonds........................ 500
Car(s).................................. 500
Other assets............................ 0
Total Assets............................ 1500

No Secured Debt

Unsecured Debts
Description....................Debt......Monthly...APR
Natwest Loan...................25711.....373.......0
Egg Loan.......................8000......282.......0
MBNA...........................9518......43........4.9
Sainsburys.....................1568......36........6.7
CapitalOne.....................1245......38........5.6
Amex...........................425.......11........7.9
Natwest........................662.......23........7.9
Barclaycard....................4687......107.......10.32
Virgin.........................3796......87.36.....18
Smile..........................7923......155.......12.23
Divident.......................1134......14........18
MSDW...........................165.......5.........18.3

dancingfairy

Is your partner not entitled to any benefits at all? don't forget that if your partner did decide to move -you would only be paying for 1 lot of food (120 ish) , 1 mobile (20 ish) and 1 travel card so things financially would improve a lot for you. I would hate for you to make a decision on your relationship based on the finances - also you mentioned bankruptcy - well your expenses could change dramatically so I really wouldn't do anything drastic like that until things are a bit more settled for you.
Can your partner not find work for Christmas or anything? anything at all would help you right now? I know how hard it is though to find a job.
Is there anything else you can sell to raise some money?
Another thing does your partner need a monthly travel card when not working? or would it be cheaper just to pay on an as and when basis?
df

andy40

Thanks for your reply.
I did think I would be finacially better off if I was on my own ... but I made a commmitment (we are in a civil partnership) and I will stick with it.
He (Jopge) has decided to stay, at least for the moment, who knows what the future will bring.
Jorge is Colombian and is not entitled to benefits, but he has payed tax and NI while working, so there might be something (Job seekers allowance?), I will look into it again.
He has been looking of an Xmas job, but with not much luck, not being a Britsh\EU citizen seems to count against him, and his Colombian and Spanish friends agree.
We will keep looking, even if it is handing out flyers.
I do plan to sell all the stuff I wasted my money on over the years, I just wish I had bought more valuables stuff!
he needs a travel card at the moment, he is out looking, jobs and flats. When we move we will look again at the card. Buses would be cheaper, but are not always practical.
Andy

RAS

Hi

My guess is that in the current economic climate and with the new rules unless your partner is on a student visa, his chances of getting a visa that permits him to work are slight?

Andy - what is your credit record like? Can you get any 0% or very low % balance transfers?

have you spoken to any of the debt charities http://www.moneysavingexpert.com/loans/debt-help-plan#help?

4littleone

Hello Andy,

re the food bil - google a lady called Gill Holcombe, she has written a fantastic book on how to feed your family on next to nothing. It has menu plans and shopping lists in it.
I feed two adults and 2 kids plus a cat on £180 per month.
Get rid of the mobile and do pay as you go.
If you got your food bill down to around £100 per month and saved on the mobile plus the travel card when you move then you would have enough savings monthly to get rid of that £99 deficit and have extra to throw at your debts.
Ebay everything that is not nailed down or do a car boot and use all the proceeds to pay off a card.

Looking at your assets i would definitely use them to pay off a couple of the cards. I can't recommend the snowballing link that has been posted on this thread enough. It makes a huge difference to your finances once you start.

Have you talked to any of your card providers to ask if they will give you a 0% balance transfer as an existing customer? If you did this and moved a couple of the more expensive cards you have to 0% then you could pay them off much quicker.
There is an article on here somewhere.

Re your partner, i think it is difficult to find work at the moment but hopefully with christmas coming up he could find even a temporary job in a local cafe/shop etc. Best of luck.

You've had your light bulb moment and that's always a bit :eek: but you sound so committed to this i'm sure you will get sorted quite quickly.
You have a good wage and once you have paid off a couple of those cards you will be able to overpay quite a bit to bring your debt free date down.

Take care and keep smiling. x x

4littleone

Assets
Cash.................................... 500
House value (Gross)..................... 0
Shares and bonds........................ 500
Car(s).................................. 500
Other assets............................ 0
Total Assets............................ 1500

No Secured Debt

Unsecured Debts
Description....................Debt......Monthly...APR
Natwest Loan...................25711.....373.......0
Egg Loan.......................8000......282.......0
MBNA...........................9518......43........4.9
Sainsburys.....................1568......36........6.7
CapitalOne.....................1245......38........5.6 ask for a 0% transfer on this one (they do do this for exisiting customers)
Amex...........................425.......11........7.9 pay off this one with cash asset
Natwest........................662.......23........7.9 pay a lump off this one with cash asset
Barclaycard....................4687......107.......10.32
Virgin.........................3796......87.36.....18 see if you could put this on Capital one at 0%
Smile..........................7923......155.......12.23 might be able to move this to a 0% card
Divident.......................1134......14........18 Also see if this could be moved to 0%
MSDW...........................165.......5.........18.3 pay off this one with cash asset

just some ideas for you. :beer:

andy40

hi Ras, thanks for your comment.
Our civil partnership (Im British) gives my partner a 2 year visa here with no work restrictions. After 2 years he can apply for indefinite leave to remain, only 11 months to go!
My payment record is good, but with 10 credit cards and 2 loans who is going to give me another card! I have applied for a few in the past couple of years but with no luck. I would imagine that it would be even more difficult now.
Andy

andy40

Thanks 4littleOne, I will look out this lady.
I guess I will have to squeeze the pips more re mobile, travel and food.
Re the mobile, Im ona £30pm contract, and I have joined in a mobile review panel and get £19pm for it,. so Im paying £11pm for lots of minutes and texts, so I think Im on a good deal at the moment.
I will research talking to my creditors and see if that can help.
Andy

andy40

4littleOne,
You suggested paying off a couple of the smaller amount (Amex, Natwest & MSDW) with my cash\savings. I have read I should always pay off the debt with the hightest apr, which is the Virgin. It would be nice to get rid of a few of the smaller cards but is that the best way?
Andy