Debt Free Wannabe- Newbie Diary

tilly2484

Hello everyone:j . I have looked at a few threads and this site is great.

Well I'm coming upto 25 and want to sort out my finances. Mainly because in the next couple of years i want to start my own home business and to do that i want to be financially stable and debt free.

I have done a statement of affairs below and any pointers/help/advice people could give would be great.:o

A few notes:

1. It states i have 2 cars. 1 i have been trying to sell since August. Had 2 people look today but this has been very slow and i have even been dropping the proce, was at £3500 and now currently at £1000.

2. My cahoot loan is a flexible one and up until a few months ago it was 6.9% but now jumped to 17.9%- trying to get a lower rate loan for this and the car finance.

3.The car finance is down at £6104 however with the APR the total repayable will end up at £11451- hence trying to get a lower rate loan for this and the cahoot.

4. I am doing a massive ebay/amazon selling spree at the moment and we have plenty sorted ready for when the carboot season starts.

5. I am currently on £35k a year

6. All the house type costs are for my half as me and my partner pay 800 a month each into our joint account which includes all the house type payments, food shopping etc

7. Have been spending about 60-70 a week on shopping but i'm going to reduce this to £50 (this is for 2 of us)

8. We took our spare change pot to tesco last night and came out with £90

Any comments/tips greatly appreciated.

Statement of Affairs and Personal Balance Sheet
Household Information
Number of adults in household........... 2
Number of children in household.........
Number of cars owned.................... [2]
Monthly Income Details[/b]
Monthly income after tax................ 1995
Partners monthly income after tax....... 0
Benefits................................ 0
Other income............................ 0
Total monthly income.................... 1995
Monthly Expense Details
Mortgage................................ 0
Secured loan repayments................. 0
Hire Purchase (HP) repayments........... 0
Rent.................................... 350
Management charge (leasehold property).. 0
Council tax............................. 60
Electricity............................. 30
Gas..................................... 30
Oil..................................... 0
Water rates............................. 20
Telephone (land line)................... 21
Mobile phone............................ 45
TV Licence.............................. 0
Satellite/Cable TV...................... 30
Internet Services....................... 0
Groceries etc. ......................... 150
Clothing................................ 50
Petrol/diesel........................... 300
Road tax................................ 15
Car Insurance........................... 48
Car maintenance (including MOT)......... 25
Car parking............................. 10
Other travel............................ 0
Childcare/nursery....................... 0
Other child related expenses............ 0
Medical (prescriptions, dentist etc).... 5
Pet insurance/vet bills................. 20
Buildings insurance..................... 10
Contents insurance...................... 0
Life assurance ......................... 0
Other insurance......................... 0
Presents (birthday, christmas etc)...... 50
Haircuts................................ 10
Entertainment........................... 50
Holiday................................. 0
Emergency fund.......................... 0
Total monthly expenses.................. 1329

Assets
Cash.................................... 0
House value (Gross)..................... 0
Shares and bonds........................ 0
Car(s).................................. 6000
Other assets............................ 0
Total Assets............................ 6000

No Secured nor Hire Purchase Debts
Unsecured Debts
Description....................Debt......Monthly...APR
Car ...........................6104......200.......26.2
Cahoot Loan....................9000......220.......NaN
First Direct Loan..............5400......178.......NaN
Total unsecured debts..........20504.....598.......-

Monthly Budget Summary
Total monthly income.................... 1,995
Expenses (including HP & secured debts). 1,329
Available for debt repayments........... 666
Monthly UNsecured debt repayments....... 598
Amount left after debt repayments....... 68
Personal Balance Sheet Summary
Total assets (things you own)........... 6,000
Total HP & Secured debt................. -0
Total Unsecured debt.................... -20,504
Net Assets.............................. -14,504
Created using the SOA calculator at www.makesenseofcards.com.
Reproduced on Moneysavingexpert with permission, using IE browser.

tilly2484

Smiley test:

RAS

tilly2484 wrote: »

Statement of Affairs and Personal Balance Sheet
Household Information
Number of adults in household........... 2
Number of children in household.........
Number of cars owned.................... [2]
Monthly Income Details[/b]
Monthly income after tax................ 1995
Partners monthly income after tax....... 0
Benefits................................ 0
Other income............................ 0
Total monthly income.................... 1995
Monthly Expense Details
Mortgage................................ 0
Secured loan repayments................. 0
Hire Purchase (HP) repayments........... 0
Rent.................................... 350
Management charge (leasehold property).. 0
Council tax............................. 60
Electricity............................. 30
Gas..................................... 30
Oil..................................... 0
Water rates............................. 20
Telephone (land line)................... 21 - this is high if it is a half share
Mobile phone............................ 45 - and this is massive
TV Licence.............................. 0
Satellite/Cable TV...................... 30 - ditch it.
Internet Services....................... 0
Groceries etc. ......................... 150
Clothing................................ 50 - you simply do not need this. For a while go for kniockers and shoes if you do not have ANYTHING else to wear.
Petrol/diesel........................... 300 - this is very high - how much mileage do you do? Can you recalim any of it?
Road tax................................ 15
Car Insurance........................... 48 - also high for your age. Any point?
Car maintenance (including MOT)......... 25
Car parking............................. 10
Other travel............................ 0
Childcare/nursery....................... 0
Other child related expenses............ 0
Medical (prescriptions, dentist etc).... 5
Pet insurance/vet bills................. 20
Buildings insurance..................... 10
Contents insurance...................... 0
Life assurance ......................... 0
Other insurance......................... 0
Presents (birthday, christmas etc)...... 50
Haircuts................................ 10
Entertainment........................... 50 - cut this back and stay at home.
Holiday................................. 0
Emergency fund.......................... 0
Total monthly expenses.................. 1329

Assets
Cash.................................... 0
House value (Gross)..................... 0
Shares and bonds........................ 0
Car(s).................................. 6000
Other assets............................ 0
Total Assets............................ 6000

No Secured nor Hire Purchase Debts
Unsecured Debts
Description....................Debt......Monthly...APR
Car ...........................6104......200.......26.2
Cahoot Loan....................9000......220.......NaN
First Direct Loan..............5400......178.......NaN
Total unsecured debts..........20504.....598.......-

Monthly Budget Summary
Total monthly income.................... 1,995
Expenses (including HP & secured debts). 1,329
Available for debt repayments........... 666
Monthly UNsecured debt repayments....... 598
Amount left after debt repayments....... 68
Personal Balance Sheet Summary
Total assets (things you own)........... 6,000
Total HP & Secured debt................. -0
Total Unsecured debt.................... -20,504
Net Assets.............................. -14,504
Created using the SOA calculator at www.makesenseofcards.com.
Reproduced on Moneysavingexpert with permission, using IE browser.

Is your OH on side as without him, you cannot reduce much of the joint spending.

Any early redemption penalties on the loans?

Sukatoko

Pay the max interest off first and the most you can. How can you get paid £35k a year and need to borrow £6k at 26% Apr? Sell old stuff on ebay/amazon to raise what cash you can. Entertain in a bit more. Swap DVD's with friends etc. Spend time with people rather than money on?

TismE_3

:T Welcome Tilly.

Just want to say Hello!

Looking at your SOA, what do you think you could cut back on now your seeing it in black and white?

Tisme x

tilly2484

Thanks for comments so far, so helpful. A few notes/responses:

1. Mobile- going to cut this down for sure
2. Landline- this includes our internet too
3. Car insurance- didn't think £48 was too bad for 24 yr old 2 years no claims- it's a ford focus. I'll def check if i can get this cheaper.
4.Entertainment- will cut down, already having nights in- cooked valentines meal and cooking anniversary meal this weekend instead of out. Also me and OH stopped smoking Nov 30th 08 so big saving there.
5. Commment about my salary- only started on £35k July 08, was previously on £22k. This with debts and previous spending means i am where i am really.
6. Mileage- i have a 1 hour commute each way 5 days a week. Looking for another job though and will hopefully be closer.

Would not take sky away form OH, have already said no to 2009/10 to season tickets and it's his passion. He would prob pay for it himself anyway if i said no- theres a thought!!

Already cut down my shopping bill this week. Usually £60-70 but have got it to just under £40- doing the go down a brand thing. Have also put some stuff on ebay.

Are there any little things i can do- seen things like energy saving bulbs, wash at 30% etc- is there a little list anywhere?

What are early redemption penalties? is it a fee if i pay off early. What i'd like to know is can i pay extra off on loans, i have a fixed amount that comes out each month but if i had extra cash one month for example?

Thanks so much so far for the comments, any help is greatly appreciated.

As for OH he is fully on side, better with money than me so he's pleased i'm focused on this. He is also looking at what household bills we can cut down. i regualry get shouted out for leaving on lights, using tumble dryer etc! Know i'll listen though! lol

debrag

you say you each pay £800 a month to household bills so thats £1600 total

you mention your food bills are for 2 people

are you sure the household cost are just what your paying and not the full amount? these are high if just you

tilly2484

Yes we both pay 800 a month into our joint account, this covers:
Rent
House insurance
vetbils/insurance
phone/internet
Sky
Food
gas
electric
water
council tax
pet stuff- bedding etc for rabbit, food for 2 cats and rabbit

To be honest we have rounded these up because we like to have some left over for emergencies, e.g we had to get a new washing machine last month

Fire_Fox

Still seems huge, your rent is only £700 of that £1600??

There's no list of how to cut back, tho a lot of idea come up via the challenge threads. Best thing is to list all outgoings as you have done and then work at them one at a time, starting with the most expensive.

So right up there is your travel costs by the look of it - cheaper loan, sell the other car on eBay or to a dealer, cheaper insurance (switch via a cashback site), can you car share part of the way, can you use the car less often (e.g. walk to shops), get Clubcard points on your petrol, use a cheaper filling station, etc.

Get OH to pay for Sky if you aren't bothered - will he still be at £60 a month?! - I pay for all of our net connection and Mr. Fire Fox for all takeaways, the rest of the bills we share 50/50. Groceries, gifts and clothing budgets are all high and take no effort to reduce with immediate effect. Energy, water, internet, contents insurance, mobile phone all could be much cheaper - there is a £6 broadband deal on at the moment but it finishes very soon. Otherwise tell Sky you are leaving them and get a better package deal that way.

tealady

Hi Try not using the tumble drier, it can rack up your electricity bill. Mother nature will dry your clothes for you.
If you do a lot of miles check out https://www.petrolprices.com for the cheapest fuel in your area.
I agree with your OH re switching things off. I have friends who thought they were fairly good till they were given one of those monitor thingys which shows how much electricity they are using, it has helped them cut back dramatically.

debrag

tilly2484 wrote: »

Yes we both pay 800 a month into our joint account, this covers:
Rent
House insurance
vetbils/insurance
phone/internet
Sky
Food
gas
electric
water
council tax
pet stuff- bedding etc for rabbit, food for 2 cats and rabbit

To be honest we have rounded these up because we like to have some left over for emergencies, e.g we had to get a new washing machine last month

so:

Council tax............................. 60 x2
Electricity............................. 30 x2
Gas..................................... 30 x2
Water rates............................. 20 x2
Telephone (land line)................... 21 x2
Satellite/Cable TV...................... 30 x2
Groceries etc. ......................... 150 x2
Pet insurance/vet bills................. 20 x 2
Buildings insurance..................... 10 x 2

all very high