Finally got my SOA sorted- help please!!

gilly41

Hi
Right here is my Income and Expenditure- hope someone can tell me where I am going wrong- according to this we are left with a little each month but I never see it!!!
Hope it all makes sense- it has taken me 2 hours to sort out and there are still a few bills/papers i cant find so i have had to guess(put in brackets if i have estimated anything)

Hubbies monthly salary - taken over year and divided by 12 as he gets various bonuses and overtime

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£1587.22
My monthly salary---taken over year and divided as I do sometimes get overtime

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£262.20
TOTAL INCOME PER MONTH IS £1849.42

OUTGOINGS----MONTHLY

Mortgage

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£414.21(TIED IN FOR 3 YEARS - FINISHES JAN 2007 WHEN I WILL LOOK FOR A BETTER DEAL)

Sons Contents insurance

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£1.58(yeah I know he should be paying his own- hes away at Uni and I reckon if his stuff gets pinched who will he turn
to - so i took it out!!)

HOME & Contents insurance

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£12.64

Council Tax

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£100 for the next 2 months and then it will go down slightly. PAID £200 THIS MONTH AS HADNT PAID LAST MONTH

Water Rates

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£68.07 this month and next month and then it goes down to approx(cant find last years bill) £25 per month- again i am catching up here!!!

Gas

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£38(changing to London Online in Feb- just waiting for the change to go through and then goes down to £28

Electricitly

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£13(just changed to London Online)

Home Phone

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£8.50 standard(evenings and weekends free) plus daytime calls charged at normal rate so average bill is £12.00

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Internet---£9.99

2 x PAYG Phones-

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both top up £10 per month and get 300 free text per month----both on O2

Mortgage protection for unemployment

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£9.80

TV Lic

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£10.95

TOTAL OF HOME BILLS

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£710.24
_________________________________________________________________________Life insurance policy

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£42.20(this includes a savings plan so i dont want to cancel as it runs out in 2015 and then i will take out a cheaper one)

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both our lives

Pet Insurance

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£10.24 to cover 7 year old dog- we have had a big claim on this last year so really do need to keep it as it has paid for itself

Boiler service/breakdown cover with British gas

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£14.37(again darent cancel as worry it will break down and no spare cash to pay repairs)

TOTAL OF INSURANCE BILLS

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£66.81
____________________________________________________________________
Food per calendar month

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£200---this includes all cleaning products and dog food.

Eating out

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£21.65(lunch in tescos a couple of times a month and maybe one McDonalds!)

Snacks out(sandwiches/tea)

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£12.99

TOTAL EATS PER MONTH

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£234.64
________________________________________________________________________
Car maintenance

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£21.65(this includes service, mot, plus anything needing doing)

Car insurance

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£26.55(changing that in 2 weeks time - reduction of 7.00 per month)

Car Tax

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£10.00

Petrol

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£43.30

TOTAL TRANSPORT COST

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£101.50(hubby needs a car for work as he works shifts)
_________________________________________________________________
CAR LOAN REPAYMENT

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£138.08(FINISHES JUNE 2007

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18 MORE PAYMENTS TO GO- BALANCE OWING IS £2485.44)

AA personal loan

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£123.33 for 9 months - actual monthly figure is £73.33 but we are £450 in arrears so paying it back over 9 months and then the figure goes back to £73.33.
Finishes Sept 2008---APPROX BALANCE OWING IS £2847.32(33 months left)

KAYS CATALOGUE

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£75.61 owing before Feb 10th
2 payments of £144.67 owing ---one end Feb---one end March
TOTAL OUTSTANDING IS £364.95
THEY HAVE ASKED FOR THE ABOVE AS THE ACCOUNT IS IN ARREARS- I HAVE JUST PAID £69.07 this week and she then requested the above as it has been referred to debt recovery.

TOTAL DEBT REPAYMENT PER MONTH

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£406.08
____________________________________________________________________
Trips to Theatre

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£5.80

Days out going to see Son/Daughter at Unis

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£10.00

NTL PACKAGE(JUST HAD ALL NTL PACKAGES REDUCED)

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£16.00

Lottery

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£17.32

TOTAL EXTRAS

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£49.12

________________________________________________________________
CLOTHING PER MONTH

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£50.00
___________________________________________________________________
UNIVERSITY FEES FOR SON

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£14.75(now taken on step parents income --dont pay any for daughter as hers was taken in to account prior to the new law

___________________________________________________________________
Haircuts

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£10.00

Prescriptions

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£6.50

TOTAL ODDS AND SODDS £16.50
_________________________________________________________________

TOTAL EXPENDITURE IS £1649.64

BUT I ALSO HAVE A CREDIT CARD WITH CAPITAL ONE WHICH I HAVE CUT UP BUT OWE £834.23 ON.
I FAILED TO PAY THE LAST COUPLE OF MINIMUM PAYMENTS(I know!!!) and now the minimum balance stands at £313.94.
I dont know what to do about it as i have no spare cash this month(although according to this i should have!!) and each month they are adding approx £50 on with late fees and now overpayment and interest charges!!!
I feel that i am in a complete mess with this card and I hope some one can help. I know i should set up a DD for the minimum payment but i just cant afford the minimum payment this month.

I would love to change the loan to one with a lower rate but I cant get credit now(my own stupid fault!!).
Also this does not take in to account anything going wrong(ie washing machine to replace) as we have no savings. Plus Birthdays/Christmas/Holidays are not accounted for - this is obviously why i am where i am today as i just take out of the months salaries for these!!

THANK YOU EVERYONE FOR LOOKING AT THIS- I AM WORN OUT TYPING IT SO I BET YOU ARE READING IT!!!

I will be very grateful for any help. We just never seem to have any spare cash as I just seem to rob Peter to pay Paul!!!


xx

southernscouser

:eek:

I'm gonna get a drink and some popcorn beofre I start to read this! Could be here a while! :rotfl:

OK, now the obvious things are to make sure you are getting the best deals on all your outgoings (insurances, utilities etc).

If you want to know where the rest of the money is going start a spending diary. Note down every penny you spend and on what!

For example I can tell you that last month I spent £10.96 on toiletries and £16 on hair cuts!

cornerclose

Hi, had a quick look through and it seems to me you've gone a long way to sorting out some of the bills but just have to wait a couple of months for things to kick in. With that in mind, do you really need to spend anything on clothes immediately? Is the lottery really necessary (you won't win!), and could you give up the takeaways, snacks out and theatre for a month or so just to save a little extra?
I know it's hard - I live on my own (which makes this sort of thing easier as its only me), but I lived on a diet of bread, tinned tomatoes, rice and home grown potatoes for a fortnight just to afford something I really wanted.

gilly41

Hi
Thank you both for the replies. I am really concerned about my credit card- not sure what path to go down?
I know it is a lot for everyone to read but thanks for taking the time. I am taking note of everyones comments.
xx

cornerclose

I agree the credit card is a tricky one and it will cost you a packet in fees if you don't keep up with the minimums. this si probably a daft question, but you don't mention an overdraft. If you had that option you could shift the minimum off the credit card into the bank to avoid penalties.
Have you consulted Citizen's Advice?

in*the*red_6

Hi Gilly

Looks like you've done a good job on the budget and getting most things to the cheapest rates possible - well done. The main thing that strikes me is that if your children are of university age surely you have the potential to earn more than you currently do? No offence intended here but to hammer your debts, you can only spend less (which you are already addressing) or earn more!

ITR

TAZ

i have a similar problem with capital one having gone over my limit and missing minimum payment, the first 2 times this happened i rang them to tell them that i was struggling and they set up a payment scheme thing were i sent £ each month after 2 months they stop the charges.

unfortunalty i failed to meet the payment for a 3rd time so now all i do is once a week i send a payment online of at least £10 some weeks i send more and slowly i have reduced the over payment, they ring me on a regular basis but i just keep telling them they will get that much and now after 2 months they have stopped the over limit fees going on because i am paying the minimum payment (they said by doing this for 2 months i am showing a willingness to pay)
i used to dread the capital one phone calls and try to sreen my phone but it really is better to talk to them.

i hope that helps

gilly41

Hi
I dont have an overdraft facility with our bank account- just a basic account and they wont offer us one as we have a bad credit score!
I have definately thought about working more hours- this may sound daft but I was a SAHM for so long that it took me all my time(confidence wise!) to get this part time job. I would love to work more hours but really not sure where to start!
I have looked at a few jobs but most want you to work full time to cover holidays/sickness etc which in view of my OH hours/shifts I really dont want to do.

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though I realise that I may have to if I want to get rid of the debts!!
I did get an application form for a local call centre then thought would i have the confidence to do it!!It sounded so complicated!
The fact that I chose to stay at home with the kids felt right at the time but I wish now i had gone back to work on a part time basis!
xx

black-saturn

Heres so pointers as to what I would cut down or give up:

Car - I know you said your hubby needs it for shift work but could you not cut down to a mini if theres only him using it? Are you sure you really need it? Theres no way your hubby could get a lift to work with someone else?

Eating Out - £21.65 - You could cut this down,

Snacks Out - £12.99 - You could cut this down,

Theatre Trips - £5.80,

Lottery - £17.32 - Thats fantasy, this is reality,

Clothing - £50 - make do with what you have or shop around in charity shops and on ebay,

Hair cuts - £10 - Go longer without a haircut and check out your local hairdressing college to see if they want a model then you will get it for free.

Also go all round your house collecting up things like dvds you never watch, videos you never watch, cds you never listen to, books you never read, clothes you never wear and sell them all on ebay. You will be amazed at how much you will make. Do a search around your home every couple of months and always sell everything you dont need anymore.

tango

hi gilly 41, from your posts your credit card is what is giving you the most stress at the moment!! :mad: i have been in this situation before , and the only way to feel a little bit better, is to ring capital one,explain your situation, tell them you want this sorted out, offer them only what you can afford, and set up a DD, ignoring it ,and it will only become a bigger headache for you :eek: .
hope this helps take care :A

cornerclose

If you want part time work, why not try local shops? We have several in our area, particularly paper shops, video rental places and so on who seem to permanently have part time vacancies. Also have a look on local notice boards in supermarkets etc and in free local papers as they sometimes have part time jobs advertised.