Help! This is my first post and I need debt advice

Ms_Fryin'pan

Hi,

I have never posted anything on this site before and I am quite nervous. I am asking anyone out ther for some advice. I have added my SOA here so you can see the state of play at the moment. Basically, I have a lot of debts. I have not added any icons as I am not even used to emailing so I hope I get the hang of it and I hope you don't think I'm being unfriendly.

I am a single parent. I live in my own home and this was valued at 127.000 in march this year (it will be worth less now of course!. I have a woolwich tracker mortgage and my debt was originally 75000 its now around 72000. I was unable to put the APR for mt Argos card as the loan is on buy now pay later and I have to pay £200 by February 2008 or I will be charged around 27.9%!! I also do not know the annual APR for my Alliance and Leicester card on my statement I have a monthly rate (I bet you are now getting the idea that I do not have much of a clue when it comes to bills/debts..apart from running them up!).

I also have an overdraft of £1500 with the Alliance and Leicester and each time I get paid I practically start at nothing. For example, I get paid on the 15th of each month and my account at the moment stands at -£1480!! Oh, I also have an HSBC plus account and I have my benefits paid into that around £115 per month and I currently have nearly used my overdraft of £500 up (its about -£480).

The only saving grace for me is that I have purchased all my Xmas pressies (I usually buy stuff throughout the year). I also will get at least £500 in back pay on 15th December for my pay rise that was due April 2008 (this is a conservative estimate). I'm also quite good at cooking cheap home-made meals.

Sorry for the long and rambling email but I have read some of your comments in the forums and it gives me hope.

Please help,

Ms Fryin'pan

Statement of Affairs and Personal Balance Sheet
Monthly Income Details
Monthly income after tax................ 1464.35
Partners monthly income after tax....... 0
Benefits................................ 120
Other income............................ 115
Total monthly income.................... 1699.35
Monthly Expense Details
Mortgage................................ 475.36
Secured loan repayments................. 0
Rent.................................... 0
Management charge (leasehold property).. 0
Council tax............................. 69
Electricity............................. 39
Gas..................................... 39
Oil..................................... 0
Water rates............................. 32.05
Telephone (land line)................... 59
Mobile phone............................ 0
TV Licence.............................. 11.95
Satellite/Cable TV...................... 0
Internet Services....................... 0
Groceries etc. ......................... 250
Clothing................................ 10
Petrol/diesel........................... 80
Road tax................................ 16.5
Car Insurance........................... 49.59
Car maintenance (including MOT)......... 8
Car parking............................. 0
Other travel............................ 0
Childcare/nursery....................... 0
Other child related expenses............ 140
Medical (prescriptions, dentist etc).... 13.5
Pet insurance/vet bills................. 10
Buildings insurance..................... 31.91
Contents insurance...................... 0
Life assurance ......................... 21.24
Other insurance......................... 14.44
Presents (birthday, christmas etc)...... 40
Haircuts................................ 5
Entertainment........................... 60
Holiday................................. 25
Emergency fund.......................... 0
Total monthly expenses.................. 1500.54

Assets
Cash.................................... 0
House value (Gross)..................... 120
Shares and bonds........................ 0
Car(s).................................. 1000
Other assets............................ 0
Total Assets............................ 1120

Secured Debts
Description....................Debt......Monthly...APR
Mortgage...................... 75.......(475.36)...5.19
Total secured debts........... 75........-.........-
Unsecured Debts
Description....................Debt......Monthly...APR
personal loan..................2500......58.18.....14.9
personal loan..................1080......26.11.....16.9
MBNA card......................2849.42...25........6.9
Argos strore card..............703.......4.78......0
HSBC cred card.................131.54....5.........19.9
Barclay card...................3767.91...84........6.9
Alliance & Leicester...........420.2.....25........0
Total unsecured debts..........11452.07..228.07....-

Monthly Budget Summary
Total monthly income.................... 1,699.35
Expenses (including secured debts)...... 1,500.54
Available for debt repayments........... 198.81
Monthly UNsecured debt repayments....... 228.07
Surplus(deficit if negative)............ -29.26
Personal Balance Sheet Summary
Total assets (things you own)........... 1,120
Total Secured debt...................... -75
Total Unsecured debt.................... -11,452.07
Net Assets.............................. -10,407.07
Created using the SOA calculator at www.makesenseofcards.com.
Reproduced on Moneysavingexpert with permission.

Penny2myName

I'm not great at this, but if you can use your back pay to clear the Alliance & Leicester £420.20 and remainder on your HSBC CC £131.54 you should be able to almost neutralise your deficit. Then it would just be a case of reigning in on groceries. After that its a case of letting the experts help you out. Main thing to me is getting rid of that deficit, which is quite low compared to some, so you can do it I promise.

beanielou

Great that you have made your first post!
Your grocceries seem quite high.
What are the other child related expenses?
Keep posting.

dancingfairy

Hi and welcome :hello:
I have put a few comments below for you:
Mortgage................................ 475.36
Secured loan repayments................. 0
Rent.................................... 0
Management charge (leasehold property).. 0
Council tax............................. 69
Electricity............................. 39
Gas..................................... 39
Oil..................................... 0
Water rates............................. 32.05
Telephone (land line)................... 59
Mobile phone............................ 0
TV Licence.............................. 11.95
Satellite/Cable TV...................... 0
Internet Services....................... 0
Groceries etc. ......................... 250 how many are you cooking for? If you like cooking etc head over to MOneySavingOldstyle for loads of hints and tips on how to make your food go further.
Clothing................................ 10
Petrol/diesel........................... 80
Road tax................................ 16.5
Car Insurance........................... 49.59
Car maintenance (including MOT)......... 8
Car parking............................. 0
Other travel............................ 0
Childcare/nursery....................... 0
Other child related expenses............ 140 what's this for?
Medical (prescriptions, dentist etc).... 13.5 might a season ticket for prescriptions work out better for you - it's called a prescription prepayment certificate.
Pet insurance/vet bills................. 10
Buildings insurance..................... 31.91 this seems quite high to me - have you shopped around? does this cover contents as well?
Contents insurance...................... 0
Life assurance ......................... 21.24
Other insurance......................... 14.44 what's this for?
Presents (birthday, christmas etc)...... 40 can you cut this a little?
Haircuts................................ 5
Entertainment........................... 60 can you cut this? let us know what you like doing and we can maybe suggest some cheaper ways of doing this eg cinema on 2 for 1 orange wednesday , having people around for a dvd night/pizza night rather than going out/games afternoons with the kid(s)? etc
Holiday................................. 25 can you cut this down?
Emergency fund.......................... 0
Total monthly expenses.................. 1500.54

At the moment your budget is showing you are just under 30 a month short of balancing which is pretty close. If you make a few cutbacks you should be able to balance yourself at the very least.
Is there any way of earning any extra money at all ebay/car boots/ mystery shopping/an evening job/internet surveys etc?
I would also try keeping a spending diary to see if there is any money that you are spending without realising it so you can get an accurate picture of where everything is going.
Good luck with it all.
df

Rammstein1

Hello and welcome
I don't have any advice to give as there are people on here that are MUCH more knowledgeable than i ever will be
Just thought id say good luck and you can do it
You have come to the best place

Rammy

mum2one

Ms_Fryin'pan wrote: »

Hi,

I have never posted anything on this site before and I am quite nervous. I am asking anyone out ther for some advice. I have added my SOA here so you can see the state of play at the moment. Basically, I have a lot of debts. I have not added any icons as I am not even used to emailing so I hope I get the hang of it and I hope you don't think I'm being unfriendly.

I am a single parent. I live in my own home and this was valued at 127.000 in march this year (it will be worth less now of course!. I have a woolwich tracker mortgage and my debt was originally 75000 its now around 72000. I was unable to put the APR for mt Argos card as the loan is on buy now pay later and I have to pay £200 by February 2008 or I will be charged around 27.9%!! I also do not know the annual APR for my Alliance and Leicester card on my statement I have a monthly rate (I bet you are now getting the idea that I do not have much of a clue when it comes to bills/debts..apart from running them up!).

I also have an overdraft of £1500 with the Alliance and Leicester and each time I get paid I practically start at nothing. For example, I get paid on the 15th of each month and my account at the moment stands at -£1480!! Oh, I also have an HSBC plus account and I have my benefits paid into that around £115 per month and I currently have nearly used my overdraft of £500 up (its about -£480).

The only saving grace for me is that I have purchased all my Xmas pressies (I usually buy stuff throughout the year). I also will get at least £500 in back pay on 15th December for my pay rise that was due April 2008 (this is a conservative estimate). I'm also quite good at cooking cheap home-made meals.

Sorry for the long and rambling email but I have read some of your comments in the forums and it gives me hope.

Please help,

Ms Fryin'pan

Statement of Affairs and Personal Balance Sheet
Monthly Income Details
Monthly income after tax................ 1464.35
Partners monthly income after tax....... 0
Benefits................................ 120
Other income............................ 115
Total monthly income.................... 1699.35
Monthly Expense Details
Mortgage................................ 475.36
Secured loan repayments................. 0
Rent.................................... 0
Management charge (leasehold property).. 0
Council tax............................. 69 - can you get that over 12 months, make the budgeting easier
Electricity............................. 39 - simple things, dont leave on standby, turn lights off, lower heating by a degree if you can
Gas..................................... 39
Oil..................................... 0
Water rates............................. 32.05
Telephone (land line)................... 59 - does that include calls and internet, consider using 1899 for calls,
Mobile phone............................ 0
TV Licence.............................. 11.95
Satellite/Cable TV...................... 0
Internet Services....................... 0
Groceries etc. ......................... 250
Clothing................................ 10
Petrol/diesel........................... 80
Road tax................................ 16.5
Car Insurance........................... 49.59 - are you a new driver, need to shop around, and look at cashback sites, my last big switch I went from £440 a yr to £220.
Car maintenance (including MOT)......... 8
Car parking............................. 0
Other travel............................ 0
Childcare/nursery....................... 0
Other child related expenses............ 140 - without being nosey, could you breakdown these and see if any part can be tweeked
Medical (prescriptions, dentist etc).... 13.5 - if you need a lot of prescriptions, could u purchase a prepayment card
Pet insurance/vet bills................. 10
Buildings insurance..................... 31.91 - very high, shop around the AA come in pretty reasonable.
Contents insurance...................... 0
Life assurance ......................... 21.24
Other insurance......................... 14.44
Presents (birthday, christmas etc)...... 40 - tweek these figures, pop in on money neutral thread,
Haircuts................................ 5
Entertainment........................... 60
Holiday................................. 25
Emergency fund.......................... 0
Total monthly expenses.................. 1500.54

Assets
Cash.................................... 0
House value (Gross)..................... 120
Shares and bonds........................ 0
Car(s).................................. 1000
Other assets............................ 0
Total Assets............................ 1120

Secured Debts
Description....................Debt......Monthly...APR
Mortgage...................... 75.......(475.36)...5.19
Total secured debts........... 75........-.........-
Unsecured Debts
Description....................Debt......Monthly...APR
personal loan..................2500......58.18.....14.9
personal loan..................1080......26.11.....16.9
MBNA card......................2849.42...25........6.9
Argos strore card..............703.......4.78......0
HSBC cred card.................131.54....5.........19.9
Barclay card...................3767.91...84........6.9
Alliance & Leicester...........420.2.....25........0
Total unsecured debts..........11452.07..228.07....-

Monthly Budget Summary
Total monthly income.................... 1,699.35
Expenses (including secured debts)...... 1,500.54
Available for debt repayments........... 198.81
Monthly UNsecured debt repayments....... 228.07
Surplus(deficit if negative)............ -29.26
Personal Balance Sheet Summary
Total assets (things you own)........... 1,120
Total Secured debt...................... -75
Total Unsecured debt.................... -11,452.07
Net Assets.............................. -10,407.07
Created using the SOA calculator at www.makesenseofcards.com.
Reproduced on Moneysavingexpert with permission.

Overall your SOA isnt that bad, I've popped a few comments in blue, hope they help.

Can you get the apr for your od and alliance card and do the snowball, you say for instance I have £250 to spend on debts, these are the min payments and it works out the figures, will find the link.

Do you do Quidco or Mutual Points, they come in very useful for xmas etc. xx

supersavershal

Your car insurance seems a bit high, is there a reason for this?
Are you getting single person discount on your council tax?
Have you looked on the OS threads to help cut your grocery bills.?

crazyhazy

Ms_Fryin'pan wrote: »

Hi,

I have never posted anything on this site before and I am quite nervous. I am asking anyone out ther for some advice. I have added my SOA here so you can see the state of play at the moment. Basically, I have a lot of debts. I have not added any icons as I am not even used to emailing so I hope I get the hang of it and I hope you don't think I'm being unfriendly.

I am a single parent. I live in my own home and this was valued at 127.000 in march this year (it will be worth less now of course!. I have a woolwich tracker mortgage and my debt was originally 75000 its now around 72000. I was unable to put the APR for mt Argos card as the loan is on buy now pay later and I have to pay £200 by February 2008 or I will be charged around 27.9%!! I also do not know the annual APR for my Alliance and Leicester card on my statement I have a monthly rate (I bet you are now getting the idea that I do not have much of a clue when it comes to bills/debts..apart from running them up!).

I also have an overdraft of £1500 with the Alliance and Leicester and each time I get paid I practically start at nothing. For example, I get paid on the 15th of each month and my account at the moment stands at -£1480!! Oh, I also have an HSBC plus account and I have my benefits paid into that around £115 per month and I currently have nearly used my overdraft of £500 up (its about -£480).

The only saving grace for me is that I have purchased all my Xmas pressies (I usually buy stuff throughout the year). I also will get at least £500 in back pay on 15th December for my pay rise that was due April 2008 (this is a conservative estimate). I'm also quite good at cooking cheap home-made meals.

Sorry for the long and rambling email but I have read some of your comments in the forums and it gives me hope.

Please help,

Ms Fryin'pan

Statement of Affairs and Personal Balance Sheet
Monthly Income Details
Monthly income after tax................ 1464.35
Partners monthly income after tax....... 0
Benefits................................ 120
Other income............................ 115
Total monthly income.................... 1699.35
Monthly Expense Details
Mortgage................................ 475.36
Secured loan repayments................. 0
Rent.................................... 0
Management charge (leasehold property).. 0
Council tax............................. 69
Electricity............................. 39
Gas..................................... 39
Oil..................................... 0
Water rates............................. 32.05
Telephone (land line)................... 59 this seems high, can you check to see if you can lower it, we're with talktalk and get all calls and free bb for £22pm
Mobile phone............................ 0
TV Licence.............................. 11.95
Satellite/Cable TV...................... 0
Internet Services....................... 0
Groceries etc. ......................... 250 how many is this for, check the old style board for meal planning etc to reduce it
Clothing................................ 10
Petrol/diesel........................... 80
Road tax................................ 16.5
Car Insurance........................... 49.59 this seems high, have you checked this is the best deal you can get?
Car maintenance (including MOT)......... 8
Car parking............................. 0
Other travel............................ 0
Childcare/nursery....................... 0
Other child related expenses............ 140 what's this for?
Medical (prescriptions, dentist etc).... 13.5 a prepayment prescription thing is £17 for 4 months, have you looked into this? most childrens medicines you can get for free by registering at the chemist
Pet insurance/vet bills................. 10
Buildings insurance..................... 31.91 again seems high, does it include contents?
Contents insurance...................... 0
Life assurance ......................... 21.24
Other insurance......................... 14.44 what's this for?
Presents (birthday, christmas etc)...... 40
Haircuts................................ 5
Entertainment........................... 60 could you reduce this even for a few months?
Holiday................................. 25 again could you stop this for a couple of months?
Emergency fund.......................... 0
Total monthly expenses.................. 1500.54

Assets
Cash.................................... 0
House value (Gross)..................... 120
Shares and bonds........................ 0
Car(s).................................. 1000
Other assets............................ 0
Total Assets............................ 1120

Secured Debts
Description....................Debt......Monthly...APR
Mortgage...................... 75.......(475.36)...5.19
Total secured debts........... 75........-.........-
Unsecured Debts
Description....................Debt......Monthly...APR
personal loan..................2500......58.18.....14.9
personal loan..................1080......26.11.....16.9
MBNA card......................2849.42...25........6.9
Argos strore card..............703.......4.78......0
HSBC cred card.................131.54....5.........19.9
Barclay card...................3767.91...84........6.9
Alliance & Leicester...........420.2.....25........0
Total unsecured debts..........11452.07..228.07....-

Monthly Budget Summary
Total monthly income.................... 1,699.35
Expenses (including secured debts)...... 1,500.54
Available for debt repayments........... 198.81
Monthly UNsecured debt repayments....... 228.07
Surplus(deficit if negative)............ -29.26
Personal Balance Sheet Summary
Total assets (things you own)........... 1,120
Total Secured debt...................... -75
Total Unsecured debt.................... -11,452.07
Net Assets.............................. -10,407.07
Created using the SOA calculator at www.makesenseofcards.com.
Reproduced on Moneysavingexpert with permission.

Have put a few questions and ideas where I could think of things, am pretty new to this debt reducing lark myself, but hope it helps.

Ms_Fryin'pan

Hi,

sorry but I was called away from the computer soon afetr I posted my entry. I calculated groceries by adding up all of my withdrawals from the cash point this month and I guess a lot of that is not all spent on groceries. Some on alcohol and othet stuff. I guess I need to keep a diary of what I buy so that I am clearer as to where my money is going.

Childcare costs amount to £1.40 per day bus fare and £10 per week dinner money at school. My son has drum lessons at £12 per week and the extra is a bit of spending money.

My car insurance is high cos I had an accident last year and had to claim. I used the comparison sites and this the best quote. I also have to have my car insured fully comp for business use.

My House insurance is now not due until October 2009 so I dont think I camn swap before then.

I am also shocked to have realised that my SOA is incorrect and I have a loan for 5000 for a car which I pay £142.50 for per month with creation finance. I also pay HSBC £12 per month for the pleasure of having their plus account that I do not need but need to clear the £500 overdraft off first before I can close it.

It seems I am in more debt than I thought!

Ms Fryin'pan.

Ms_Fryin'pan

Hi,

Sorry I answered too hastily and did not answer all your questions. My telephone bill includes braodband and I'm with BT.

medical bills are for dental treatment and I have a check up and deep clean every 3 months and this costs £40 instead of the usual £15 because aparently a 'deep' clean is an extra treatment.

'Other' insurance is for unemployment insurance.

I am happy to stop holiday savings and also cut back on Christmas.

thankyou for your kind patience with me and for taking the time to respond.

mum2one

If its any help, this is a link to the thread, for money neutral and organised for xmas, you might get some ideas

http://forums.moneysavingexpert.com/showthread.html?t=1329933&goto=newpost