Where are we going wrong?

sandhawk2701

I have been a reader of this forum for a number of months now, reading a lot of posts of other people with money problems. Over the weekend I decided to stop burying my head in the sand and get this sorted out once and for all.

A bit about the situation...
Back in October last year Hubby's work was a little on the quiet side so they were standing him (and others)down 1 day a week but paying him £50 to do so, which wasn't too bad to start with but then it was 2 days a week. We cut back on things like going out, takeaways, food shopping so we could still cover the bills.
By mid November OH was only working 2 or 3 days if he was lucky and 'the stand down' money had stopped. We plodded on using what savings we had to help pay off some bills.

In December OH slipped a disc and couldn't work at all all he was getting was £80 ssp a week.
He went to get treatment from a Chripopractor which we paid for on a credit card, it was the only way to pay for it.

In January he returned to work 2 days a week just because we couldn't cope without his wage. Things have picked up abit now but we've reached the limit on our overdraft going over a few times so inccuring charges.

I have spent the morning working out what we owe APRs etc but still not sure where to go now.
I have done up our SOA could anyone help shed some light on what to do next.

Thanks for reading





Statement of Affairs and Personal Balance Sheet
Household Information
Number of adults in household........... 2
Number of children in household......... 3
Number of cars owned.................... 2
Monthly Income Details
Monthly income after tax................ 1469
Partners monthly income after tax....... 947
Benefits................................ 171
Other income............................ 0
Total monthly income.................... 2587
Monthly Expense Details
Mortgage................................ 579
Secured/HP loan repayments.............. 324
Rent.................................... 0
Management charge (leasehold property).. 0
Council tax............................. 130
Electricity............................. 107
Gas..................................... 0
Oil..................................... 0
Water rates............................. 45
Telephone (land line)................... 22
Mobile phone............................ 50
TV Licence.............................. 12
Satellite/Cable TV...................... 0
Internet Services....................... 0
Groceries etc. ......................... 500
Clothing................................ 50
Petrol/diesel........................... 60
Road tax................................ 25
Car Insurance........................... 23
Car maintenance (including MOT)......... 20
Car parking............................. 10
Other travel............................ 0
Childcare/nursery....................... 0
Other child related expenses............ 0
Medical (prescriptions, dentist etc).... 22
Pet insurance/vet bills................. 0
Buildings insurance..................... 29
Contents insurance...................... 0
Life assurance ......................... 22
Other insurance......................... 25
Presents (birthday, christmas etc)...... 100
Haircuts................................ 10
Entertainment........................... 80
Holiday................................. 0
Emergency fund.......................... 0
Total monthly expenses.................. 2245

Assets
Cash.................................... 0
House value (Gross)..................... 180000
Shares and bonds........................ 0
Car(s).................................. 5000
Other assets............................ 2400
Total Assets............................ 187400

Secured & HP Debts
Description....................Debt......Monthly...APR
Mortgage...................... 99390....(579)......2.5
Hire Purchase (HP) debt ...... 7100.....(169)......8<
currys(2)......................2045.....(55).......29.5<
currys(1)......................300......(100)......0
Total secured & HP debts...... 108835....-.........-
Unsecured Debts
Description....................Debt......Monthly...APR
MBNA...........................345.......50........17.4
Barclaycard....................700.......50........14.9
MBNA (A+L).....................566.......110.......0
Grattan........................78.84.....25........0
Debenhams......................40........40........24.9
Total unsecured debts..........1729.84...275.......-

Monthly Budget Summary
Total monthly income.................... 2,587
Expenses (including HP & secured debts). 2,245
Available for debt repayments........... 342
Monthly UNsecured debt repayments....... 275
Amount left after debt repayments....... 67
Personal Balance Sheet Summary
Total assets (things you own)........... 187,400
Total HP & Secured debt................. -108,835
Total Unsecured debt.................... -1,729.84
Net Assets.............................. 83,935.16
Created using the SOA calculator at www.makesenseofcards.com.
Reproduced on Moneysavingexpert with permission, using IE browser. could anyone help shed some light on what to do next.

angelicmary85

Hiya!!

Well done on taking the 1st step to being debt free!! The 2 things that stand out the most to me are your grocery bill (it's massive) and mobile phone costs! I also believe there is an advanced purchase scheme running for perscriptions which bring down the cost per script.

tyllwyd

So for your currys (1) debt of £300, you are paying £100 per month to that, so I guess it will be finished in three months time?

What about the cars - could you manage with one?

sandhawk2701

Thanks for replying so quickly.
There are 5 of us living here myself, hubby 3 teenagers, 2 dogs and a cat.
Food shopping also includes toiletries and the animals food as well.

OH has a mobile contract of £35 a month they won't lower it, contract ends Dec 09. I have a PAYG £15 a month so the total is for both.

I have the forms for the perscription but haven't got round to sending off.

Both OH and I are on antidepressants and Ive also got to take tablets for high blood pressure. GP was very good to double up on the perscriptions last time because she knew of our hardship.

sandhawk2701

the £300 currys (1) will be finished in 3 months yes.
Both sons wanted laptops and talked dad into taking out the finance on them and then them paying back each month....
Fine until eldest decided he didnt want his so we pay for 1 and 15 yr old gives us £50 religiously every month, but it does't always get put back into account...........

sandhawk2701

I'd be happy to get rid of my car, I can walk to work its only 25 min, but OH says because of the 7am starts and 7pm finishes its best I have a car. He needs his car as he works 20 miles away.

pinkneonmartini

sandhawk2701 wrote: »

Statement of Affairs and Personal Balance Sheet
Household Information
Number of adults in household........... 2
Number of children in household......... 3
Number of cars owned.................... 2
Monthly Income Details
Monthly income after tax................ 1469
Partners monthly income after tax....... 947
Benefits................................ 171
Other income............................ 0
Total monthly income.................... 2587
Monthly Expense Details
Mortgage................................ 579
Secured/HP loan repayments.............. 324
Rent.................................... 0
Management charge (leasehold property).. 0
Council tax............................. 130
Electricity............................. 107
Gas..................................... 0
Oil..................................... 0
Water rates............................. 45
Telephone (land line)................... 22
Mobile phone............................ 50
TV Licence.............................. 12
Satellite/Cable TV...................... 0
Internet Services....................... 0
Groceries etc. ......................... 500 take a look on the old-style boards for meal plans etc, this could easily be halved.
Clothing................................ 50
Petrol/diesel........................... 60
Road tax................................ 25
Car Insurance........................... 23
Car maintenance (including MOT)......... 20
Car parking............................. 10
Other travel............................ 0
Childcare/nursery....................... 0
Other child related expenses............ 0
Medical (prescriptions, dentist etc).... 22
Pet insurance/vet bills................. 0
Buildings insurance..................... 29
Contents insurance...................... 0
Life assurance ......................... 22
Other insurance......................... 25
Presents (birthday, christmas etc)...... 100 i know in life theres alwaus "something" every month, but this is £1200 a year! Surely this could be reduced?
Haircuts................................ 10
Entertainment........................... 80 what entertainment????
Holiday................................. 0
Emergency fund.......................... 0
Total monthly expenses.................. 2245

Assets
Cash.................................... 0
House value (Gross)..................... 180000
Shares and bonds........................ 0
Car(s).................................. 5000
Other assets............................ 2400
Total Assets............................ 187400

Secured & HP Debts
Description....................Debt......Monthly...APR
Mortgage...................... 99390....(579)......2.5
Hire Purchase (HP) debt ...... 7100.....(169)......8<
currys(2)......................2045.....(55).......29.5<
currys(1)......................300......(100)......0
Total secured & HP debts...... 108835....-.........-
Once the currys(1) debt is clear thats £100 extra a month, I would throw it at your MBNA card, as it's a smaller debt, then when that is cleared you'll have that extra £50, giving you a total £150 extra to then throw at currys(2) meaning it could be paid off in 10 months time rather than 3 years, and 3 of your debts would be gone, two of which are at nasty interest rates. Search the forum for "snowball calculator" for more info on shuffling debt payments to ensure min payments are always made but that the smallest amount of interest is paid.
Unsecured Debts
Description....................Debt......Monthly...APR
MBNA...........................345.......50........17.4
Barclaycard....................700.......50........14.9
MBNA (A+L).....................566.......110.......0
Grattan........................78.84.....25........0
Debenhams......................40........40........24.9
Total unsecured debts..........1729.84...275.......-
Again try to clear the Grattan and Debenhams and don't use them again, that will free up £65 a month, which would make a huge dent in clearing the barclaycard.
Monthly Budget Summary
Total monthly income.................... 2,587
Expenses (including HP & secured debts). 2,245
Available for debt repayments........... 342
Monthly UNsecured debt repayments....... 275
Amount left after debt repayments....... 67
Personal Balance Sheet Summary
Total assets (things you own)........... 187,400
Total HP & Secured debt................. -108,835
Total Unsecured debt.................... -1,729.84
Net Assets.............................. 83,935.16
Created using the SOA calculator at www.makesenseofcards.com.
Reproduced on Moneysavingexpert with permission, using IE browser. could anyone help shed some light on what to do next.

Honestly have a look at the old style board those guys are legends! There are ways and tricks to make a £200 monthly BIG shop actually last the month!

angelflower_2

sandhawk2701 wrote: »

Statement of Affairs and Personal Balance Sheet
Household Information
Number of adults in household........... 2
Number of children in household......... 3
Number of cars owned.................... 2 are 2 cars really necessary given you only spend 60 a month on petrol for both, this suggests you dont do a huge amount of driving?
Monthly Income Details
Monthly income after tax................ 1469
Partners monthly income after tax....... 947
Benefits................................ 171
Other income............................ 0
Total monthly income.................... 2587
Monthly Expense Details
Mortgage................................ 579
Secured/HP loan repayments.............. 324
Rent.................................... 0
Management charge (leasehold property).. 0
Council tax............................. 130 is this spread over 10 or 12 months. If 10, request over 12 to ease the pressure a bit
Electricity............................. 107 wow - this is massive. Are you paying arrears off on this? Might be time to shop around and use a cash back site to try find the best deal
Gas..................................... 0
Oil..................................... 0
Water rates............................. 45 meter fitted?
Telephone (land line)................... 22
Mobile phone............................ 50 high but I guess is ok for 2 mobiles
TV Licence.............................. 12
Satellite/Cable TV...................... 0
Internet Services....................... 0
Groceries etc. ......................... 500 this is MASSIVE
Clothing................................ 50
Petrol/diesel........................... 60
Road tax................................ 25 is this right for 2 cars?
Car Insurance........................... 23 for 2 cars?
Car maintenance (including MOT)......... 20
Car parking............................. 10
Other travel............................ 0
Childcare/nursery....................... 0
Other child related expenses............ 0
Medical (prescriptions, dentist etc).... 22
Pet insurance/vet bills................. 0
Buildings insurance..................... 29 even if contents included in this, this is still quite high. when is it up for renewal?
Contents insurance...................... 0
Life assurance ......................... 22
Other insurance......................... 25 is this necessary
Presents (birthday, christmas etc)...... 100 i appreciate you have 3 kids but you could reduce this short term
Haircuts................................ 10
Entertainment........................... 80 this could be reduced short term
Holiday................................. 0
Emergency fund.......................... 0
Total monthly expenses.................. 2245

Assets
Cash.................................... 0
House value (Gross)..................... 180000
Shares and bonds........................ 0
Car(s).................................. 5000
Other assets............................ 2400
Total Assets............................ 187400

Secured & HP Debts
Description....................Debt......Monthly...APR
Mortgage...................... 99390....(579)......2.5
Hire Purchase (HP) debt ...... 7100.....(169)......8<
currys(2)......................2045.....(55).......29.5<
currys(1)......................300......(100)......0 only 3 payments left? Then snowball on to the other currys loan to pay off quicker as v high apr
Total secured & HP debts...... 108835....-.........-
Unsecured Debts
Description....................Debt......Monthly...APR
MBNA...........................345.......50........17.4
Barclaycard....................700.......50........14.9
MBNA (A+L).....................566.......110.......0
Grattan........................78.84.....25........0
Debenhams......................40........40........24.9
Total unsecured debts..........1729.84...275.......- this will be fully paid in 7 months time!!!

Monthly Budget Summary
Total monthly income.................... 2,587
Expenses (including HP & secured debts). 2,245
Available for debt repayments........... 342
Monthly UNsecured debt repayments....... 275
Amount left after debt repayments....... 67
Personal Balance Sheet Summary
Total assets (things you own)........... 187,400
Total HP & Secured debt................. -108,835
Total Unsecured debt.................... -1,729.84
Net Assets.............................. 83,935.16
Created using the SOA calculator at www.makesenseofcards.com.
Reproduced on Moneysavingexpert with permission, using IE browser. could anyone help shed some light on what to do next.

hope these comments help in some little way

Jesthar

Hiya, sandhawk, and congratulations on haing your 'lightbulb moment!'

My thoughts insterted below:

sandhawk2701 wrote: »

Statement of Affairs and Personal Balance Sheet
Household Information
Number of adults in household........... 2
Number of children in household......... 3
Number of cars owned.................... 2
Monthly Income Details
Monthly income after tax................ 1469
Partners monthly income after tax....... 947
Benefits................................ 171
Other income............................ 0
Total monthly income.................... 2587
Monthly Expense Details
Mortgage................................ 579
Secured/HP loan repayments.............. 324
Rent.................................... 0
Management charge (leasehold property).. 0
Council tax............................. 130
Electricity............................. 107 - have you checked around for cheaper suppliers?
Gas..................................... 0
Oil..................................... 0
Water rates............................. 45
Telephone (land line)................... 22
Mobile phone............................ 50
TV Licence.............................. 12
Satellite/Cable TV...................... 0
Internet Services....................... 0
Groceries etc. ......................... 500 - this could probably be lowered significantly with a little work - try the Old Style boards for inspiration, the people there are amazing at making family meals for next to nothing!
Clothing................................ 50 - try going 'essentials only' for a while if you can
Petrol/diesel........................... 60
Road tax................................ 25
Car Insurance........................... 23
Car maintenance (including MOT)......... 20
Car parking............................. 10
Other travel............................ 0
Childcare/nursery....................... 0
Other child related expenses............ 0
Medical (prescriptions, dentist etc).... 22
Pet insurance/vet bills................. 0
Buildings insurance..................... 29 - is this buildings and contents together? If not, it's pretty high.
Contents insurance...................... 0
Life assurance ......................... 22
Other insurance......................... 25 - pet insurance? Or something else?
Presents (birthday, christmas etc)...... 100 - if you were willing to sacrifice half of this for a while, you could make some sizeable dents!
Haircuts................................ 10
Entertainment........................... 80 - same as for presents, a few sacrifices here could really help you make a good start
Holiday................................. 0
Emergency fund.......................... 0
Total monthly expenses.................. 2245

Assets
Cash.................................... 0
House value (Gross)..................... 180000
Shares and bonds........................ 0
Car(s).................................. 5000
Other assets............................ 2400
Total Assets............................ 187400

Secured & HP Debts
Description....................Debt......Monthly...APR
Mortgage...................... 99390....(579)......2.5
Hire Purchase (HP) debt ...... 7100.....(169)......8<
currys(2)......................2045.....(55).......29.5< - this has the highest APR, and is also big, so should be a priority.
currys(1)......................300......(100)......0
Total secured & HP debts...... 108835....-.........-
Unsecured Debts
Description....................Debt......Monthly...APR
MBNA...........................345.......50........17.4
Barclaycard....................700.......50........14.9
MBNA (A+L).....................566.......110.......0 - really 0% (just checking!) If so, minumum payment only, pay extra off the higher APR debts first.
Grattan........................78.84.....25........0 - really 0% (just checking!)
Debenhams......................40........40........24.9 - can you clear this immediately? It's very small, and the APR is nasty!
Total unsecured debts..........1729.84...275.......-

Monthly Budget Summary
Total monthly income.................... 2,587
Expenses (including HP & secured debts). 2,245
Available for debt repayments........... 342
Monthly UNsecured debt repayments....... 275
Amount left after debt repayments....... 67
Personal Balance Sheet Summary
Total assets (things you own)........... 187,400
Total HP & Secured debt................. -108,835
Total Unsecured debt.................... -1,729.84
Net Assets.............................. 83,935.16
Created using the SOA calculator at www.makesenseofcards.com.
Reproduced on Moneysavingexpert with permission, using IE browser. could anyone help shed some light on what to do next.

Well, the good news is you have several areas you could easily make some savings, andalso a theoretical surplus to put towards overpaying debts on paper. If the practice doesn't reflect that, and you don't seem to have money over at the end of the month, try keeping a spending diary - log absolutely EVERYTHING you spend, no matter how trivial, you'll be astonished as to where money can slip away!

~Jes

sandhawk2701

Statement of Affairs and Personal Balance Sheet
Household Information
Number of adults in household........... 2
Number of children in household......... 3
Number of cars owned.................... 2
Monthly Income Details
Monthly income after tax................ 1469
Partners monthly income after tax....... 947
Benefits................................ 171
Other income............................ 0
Total monthly income.................... 2587
Monthly Expense Details
Mortgage................................ 579
Secured/HP loan repayments.............. 324
Rent.................................... 0
Management charge (leasehold property).. 0
Counciltax...............................130 over 10 months will call to see if I can change to 12
Electric.................................107 Stayedwith same provider because wouldn't have the money if it was a huge bill
Gas..................................... 0 no gas at property
Oil..................................... 0
Water rates............................. 45 2 bill combined not metered
Telephone (land line)................... 22
Mobile phone............................ 50
TV Licence.............................. 12
Satellite/Cable TV...................... 0
Internet Services....................... 0
Groceries etc. ......................... 500 does include toiletres and pet food Have got out of the habit if storecupboard challenges
Clothing................................ 50 not always spent
Petrol/diesel........................... 60 mostly OH £20 last me roughly 6 weeks
Road tax................................ 25 both lower tax bracket
Car Insurance........................... 23 combined £14 mine £8 OH pm
Car maintenance (including MOT)......... 20
Car parking............................. 10
Other travel............................ 0
Childcare/nursery....................... 0
Other child related expenses............ 0
Medical (prescriptions, dentist etc).... 22
Pet insurance/vet bills................. 0
Buildings insurance..................... 29 both combined but had them look at subsidence last year, was ok and didn't go up this year so stayed with them
Contents insurance...................... 0
Life assurance ......................... 22
Other insurance......................... 25 mortgage ppi
Presents (birthday, christmas etc)...... 100 has been a christmas savings club OH work Haven't paid into since Nov
Haircuts................................ 10
Entertainment........................... 80 OH treat to the local at weekend over the month
Holiday................................. 0
Emergency fund.......................... 0
Total monthly expenses.................. 2245

Assets
Cash.................................... 0
House value (Gross)..................... 180000
Shares and bonds........................ 0
Car(s).................................. 5000
Other assets............................ 2400
Total Assets............................ 187400

Secured & HP Debts
Description....................Debt......Monthly.. .APR
Mortgage...................... 99390....(579)......2.5
Hire Purchase (HP) debt ...... 7100.....(169)......8<
currys(2)......................2045.....(55)...... .29.5<
currys(1)......................300......(100)..... .0
Total secured & HP debts...... 108835....-.........-
Unsecured Debts
Description....................Debt......Monthly.. .APR
MBNA...........................345.......50....... .17.4
Barclaycard....................700.......50....... .14.9
MBNA (A+L).....................566.......110.......0
Grattan........................78.84.....25....... .0 no APR in payments
Debenhams......................40........40....... .24.9 will be paying off next week only used for discount on wedding present!
Total unsecured debts..........1729.84...275.......-

Monthly Budget Summary
Total monthly income.................... 2,587
Expenses (including HP & secured debts). 2,245
Available for debt repayments........... 342
Monthly UNsecured debt repayments....... 275
Amount left after debt repayments....... 67
Personal Balance Sheet Summary
Total assets (things you own)........... 187,400
Total HP & Secured debt................. -108,835
Total Unsecured debt.................... -1,729.84
Net Assets.............................. 83,935.16

Thank you for all your replies.It certainly has given me an idea what I am to do.
Will sit down with OH tonight and show him the situation as I don't think he really understands how bad its got.

angelicmary85

sandhawk2701 wrote: »

Statement of Affairs and Personal Balance Sheet
Household Information
Number of adults in household........... 2
Number of children in household......... 3
Number of cars owned.................... 2
Monthly Income Details
Monthly income after tax................ 1469
Partners monthly income after tax....... 947
Benefits................................ 171
Other income............................ 0
Total monthly income.................... 2587
Monthly Expense Details
Mortgage................................ 579
Secured/HP loan repayments.............. 324
Rent.................................... 0
Management charge (leasehold property).. 0
Counciltax...............................130 over 10 months will call to see if I can change to 12
Electric.................................107 Stayedwith same provider because wouldn't have the money if it was a huge bill
Gas..................................... 0 no gas at property
Oil..................................... 0
Water rates............................. 45 2 bill combined not metered
Telephone (land line)................... 22
Mobile phone............................ 50
TV Licence.............................. 12
Satellite/Cable TV...................... 0
Internet Services....................... 0
Groceries etc. ......................... 500 does include toiletres and pet food Have got out of the habit if storecupboard challenges
Clothing................................ 50 not always spent
Petrol/diesel........................... 60 mostly OH £20 last me roughly 6 weeks
Road tax................................ 25 both lower tax bracket
Car Insurance........................... 23 combined £14 mine £8 OH pm
Car maintenance (including MOT)......... 20
Car parking............................. 10
Other travel............................ 0
Childcare/nursery....................... 0
Other child related expenses............ 0
Medical (prescriptions, dentist etc).... 22
Pet insurance/vet bills................. 0
Buildings insurance..................... 29 both combined but had them look at subsidence last year, was ok and didn't go up this year so stayed with them
Contents insurance...................... 0
Life assurance ......................... 22
Other insurance......................... 25 mortgage ppi
Presents (birthday, christmas etc)...... 100 has been a christmas savings club OH work Haven't paid into since Nov
Haircuts................................ 10
Entertainment........................... 80 OH treat to the local at weekend over the month
Holiday................................. 0
Emergency fund.......................... 0
Total monthly expenses.................. 2245

Assets
Cash.................................... 0
House value (Gross)..................... 180000
Shares and bonds........................ 0
Car(s).................................. 5000
Other assets............................ 2400
Total Assets............................ 187400

Secured & HP Debts
Description....................Debt......Monthly.. .APR
Mortgage...................... 99390....(579)......2.5
Hire Purchase (HP) debt ...... 7100.....(169)......8<
currys(2)......................2045.....(55)...... .29.5<
currys(1)......................300......(100)..... .0
Total secured & HP debts...... 108835....-.........-
Unsecured Debts
Description....................Debt......Monthly.. .APR
MBNA...........................345.......50....... .17.4
Barclaycard....................700.......50....... .14.9
MBNA (A+L).....................566.......110.......0
Grattan........................78.84.....25....... .0 no APR in payments
Debenhams......................40........40....... .24.9 will be paying off next week only used for discount on wedding present!
Total unsecured debts..........1729.84...275.......-

Monthly Budget Summary
Total monthly income.................... 2,587
Expenses (including HP & secured debts). 2,245
Available for debt repayments........... 342
Monthly UNsecured debt repayments....... 275
Amount left after debt repayments....... 67
Personal Balance Sheet Summary
Total assets (things you own)........... 187,400
Total HP & Secured debt................. -108,835
Total Unsecured debt.................... -1,729.84
Net Assets.............................. 83,935.16

Thank you for all your replies.It certainly has given me an idea what I am to do.
Will sit down with OH tonight and show him the situation as I don't think he really understands how bad its got.

Make sure he gets it...take charge and don't let him have his weekend treat (i.e The pub!! ) for a while!!