Need to get a grip

pud1

My wife and i have just purchased our 1st home so i decided it would be a good idea to get a grip on my finances and this is how they stand
Capital one Credit card £3,166.74 @ 3.94% £272.90 per month in total
£996.82 @ 13.21% included in above repayment
£4,839.18 @ 19.89% included in above repayment
Egg Credit Card £3,863.93 @ 15.9% £208.72 per month
Egg Loan £9,209.79 @ 7.70% ends 1.5.10 £72.34 per month
LloydsTsb Credit Card £2,200.31 @ 0% Til April 06 then 11.9% £44 p.m
Total Credit £24,276.77
Monthly Outlay £597.96
Monthly income £1250
I could do with some advice/plan of action as to how to cut my monthly outgoings if possible keeping my lenders down to only 1 if possible.

in*the*red_6

Hi Pud1

I think you will need to post a bit more detail for people to give you the best advice.

For example, questions I can think of are:

How far down the road of the house purchase are you?
What will your mortgage payments and bills be?
Are you putting down a deposit?

What is your household income?
What else do you currently spend money on?
Have you been overspending (hence the debt?).

ITR

bank_of_slate

Have you been 'promised' a mortgage by anyone yet?
...Linda xx

pud1

our total combined income is around £1800
the mortgage is £441 per month paid for by my wife
petrol to work £40 per month
weekly shopping around £60 per month @ asda
broadband £15.99 per month with tiscali but am chaning over to talk talk
talktalk phone bill £26 but varies
council tax £60 per month
clothing for our 19 month old daughter varies
my wife smoke which costs around £50 per month
i applied for a loan from direct line but got knocked back. do i keep on trying for a loan say with the AA or do i approach my creditors and explain to them my situation. if so how do i go about it??

CLAPTON

you need to post a full Statement of Affairs showing all your spending. it needs to include absolutely everything you spend each month...start a spending diary to see exactly where the money goes (OH as well)....do you buy lunches/snacks at work, do you go, take aways, haircuts, absolutely everything: also work out everything you are likely to spend over the next 12 months, gas, electrcity, water...do you have a car (need insurance, car tax, mot costs etc), are you expecting to spend anything on the house, redecorate, house insurance, add something for clothes etc etc
if you and the OH share money then it may be best to post a combined SoA.

pud1

i'll start that today hopefully as you say it'll give me an idea as to where all my money goes.i'll post it on here when i've got a months info on it.before that though do you think it a good idea for my wife and i to have a joint account rather than seperate ones.i'm with Lloydstsb and have been with them for about 20 years or should we go with my wifes bank which is Abbey?

CLAPTON

you dont say if your wife has significant debts but in any case i wouldn't change your banking arrangements at the moment unless you are about to default on any of your debts (which i assume you are not and a joint account wouldnot be a good idea in that case).
the first and most important thing is to work out where your money is being spent.

sanfrancisco

See here...

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