New here - advice needed please (with SOA)

FakePlasticTrees

Hi there

I'm new to this forum but have lurked for a while and know how helpful it is and how great the people are.

Basically my situation is that I'm in a huge amount of debt (mainly due to a gambling problem for which I have been clean for a year after getting the right kind of help). My situation was so bad that I was going to apply for an IVA or a DMP but in the last month I got a payrise and promotion at work which means that things are more managable but I need to know where to go from here. My SOA (all figures monthly)

Income
Income - 2219

Outgoings

Rent 300
Food 100
Social 150
Council Tax 67
Travel 30
Laundary 9
Electricity 10
TV Licence 12
Opticians 11 (contact lenses)
Misc 50 (clothes etc)
Hair 8
Phone charges 20

Total = 767

Debt repayments

Egg Loan 308.95 (Total = 13570 Settlement = Sept 2013)
Hsbc Loan 306.66 (Total = 10119 Settlment = Aug 2011)
Honours Student Loan 101.72 (Total = c 5k, Settlement = ? Need to check)

Hsbc credit card 135 (Total = 5500 APR = 0%)
Natwest credit card 57 (Total = 2550 APR >25%)
Halifax credit card 95 (Total = 4300 APR >25%)

Amex credit card 60 (Total = 2400 APR 5.9% lob but extra purchases at higher rate)
Barclays credit card 20 (Total = 1000 APR 5.9% lob but extra purchases at higher rate)
Mint credit card 65 (Total = 2950 APR 5.9% lob but extra purchases at higher rates)

Total monthly debt repayment = 1149.33 (47388.63 owed in total :eek: )
Surplus (Income - outgoings + debts) = 302.67

I take it I can't apply for an IVA or a DMP with a surplus of income - outgoings? Is that correct? My main beef are the two credit cards charging over 25% APR - the Natwest minimum payment is just £5 more than the interest. And loading on purchases on low rate life of balance cards is not the best I admit but want to do things better now.

Any suggestions as to how I can come debt free? I tried a consolidation loan last year and applying for another credit card with low lob earlier this year and was rejected in both. Will my salary increase (over 25%) make a difference?

Any advice will be greatly received as I really want to make a start. Thanks very much. :T

elsie52

Hi,

My advice would be to contact a DMP...i.e Payplan.... We have been with them for 9 months and we have a surplus of income... We are currently paying £1680 per month towards our debts..... Well done for taking this first step, go on give them a call, what do you have to lose....nothing and everything to gain. Good luck.

FakePlasticTrees

Thanks elsie - I take it that I would pay the minimum payments until then and see if they have other suggestions.

Edited my first post as I forgot about phone charges.

Jesthar

Hi Trees, and welcome! (love the name!)

You seem to have a healthy monthly surplus, so I suggest you check out snowballing - the art of making minimum replayments on all your debts overpaying as much as you can on your highest APR debt until it is cleared, then the next highest and so on. There's a hand calculator here:

http://www.whatsthecost.com/snowball.aspx

I think I'd also recommend doing a more in depth SoA - yours is good, but there are some areas where it would be good if the expenses were separated out a bit more. We tend to use the SoA calculator here:

http://www.makesenseofcards.com/soacalc.html

Hope that helps,

~Jes

Gemmzie

No water bills? Are you sure £10 is all you spend on electric?

FakePlasticTrees

Jesthar wrote: »

Hi Trees, and welcome! (love the name!)

Thanks Jes - named after one of my favourite songs ever.

You seem to have a healthy monthly surplus, so I suggest you check out snowballing - the art of making minimum replayments on all your debts overpaying as much as you can on your highest APR debt until it is cleared, then the next highest and so on. There's a hand calculator here:

http://www.whatsthecost.com/snowball.aspx

Thanks for that! It looks ace.

Will do that - might take a while to get the exact figures. My main issue is that I have different APRs on the same cards (ie for example if the amex one is probably £2000 at 5.9% and £400 at 14.9% ) - I don't know if the snowball calculator can do those scenarios as I wouldn't have the choice of paying off the high interest proportion on the same card before the lower interest proportion. I guess I could use a weighted average which would work out at 7.4% for that card (and of course would have to reupdate this each month).

I think I'd also recommend doing a more in depth SoA - yours is good, but there are some areas where it would be good if the expenses were separated out a bit more. We tend to use the SoA calculator here:

http://www.makesenseofcards.com/soacalc.html

Hope that helps,

~Jes

Thanks for that as well. Will get on to it in a couple of days. I know I could cut back at things like social but not too much as I do need a bit of fun.

FakePlasticTrees

Gemmzie wrote: »

No water bills? Are you sure £10 is all you spend on electric?

I'm pretty lucky that most of the bills are covered by the landlady - I live in a bedsit and it still uses coin operated meters for pound coins. Normally 1 - 2 a week is enough. Sounds very old fashioned but it's comfortable, clean and in working order.