Just want to be debt free

kadiya

Ok, so here goes...
I have 3 1/2 months until our fourth baby is born.
We have under £4000 worth of debt, and I know that it doesn't seem as much as other people, but to be honest, I have never been in that much debt before!
And when we calculated our incomings and outgoing, there isn't really any good reason to be in debt!!!
Si I've started this diary so I can keep a track of what I'm doing, and to help me just get the thoughts OUT of my head and onto screen. For me, it helps!
Going to go and sort out an SOA (I think they are called) and hope I get it right!

kadiya

Income:

OH Incapacity: £263.60 per 2 weeks/£527.20 per month
Child Benefit: £ 46.40 per 1 week /£185.60 per month
Child Tax: £130.06 per 1 week/£520.24 per month

Total: £1233.04 per month


Outgoings:

Rent: £0
Council Tax: £0
Food: £80 per week
Gas: £20 per week
Electric: £20 per week
Water: £08 per week
Cable: £50 + per month
Tv License: £ 12 per month
Catalogue1: £144 per moth
Catalogue2: £10 per month
Catalogue3: £10 per month
catalogue 4: £10 per month

Total: £782 per month

Thats one heck of a gap between income and outcome...

Debt
Overdraft: £1132.13
Catalogue1: £2260.56
Catalogue2: £ 100.18
Catalogue3: £237.49
Catalogue4: £155.12

Total: £3885. 48

kadiya

Ok, so have posted the SOA, and on the face of it, there should be no problems and no reason to why I am in debt.
Just realised though that we seem to spend a lot of money on taxi's, takeouts, on demand films, ebay, amazon...the list just continues to grow.
I had no idea we were that out of control with our spending!:mad:
Just remembered that I didn't include online games with the SOA at £18 per month.:eek:
I wouldn't mind so much, but before too long, we are going to be having another baby, and the last thing I want is to have to go through to summer wondering how I'm going to pay the next bill!
I know there is money now available to pregnant women via HIP grants and then there is the surestart money we can apply for, but those are supposed to be for the baby, and we may not need as much this time round, but I begrudge taking the money away from babe to pay for the debts!
I think the best place to start right now may be the shopping budget. Even with littlies in nappies, it seems a bit OTT that we spend £80 (sometimes more ) on groceries.AND it's online! :eek:

BBL

kadiya

Last night I Spent a lot of time having a think about what I'm going to do and heres the plan so far...

1)Stop the takeouts
We only have these because I'm just too tired to cook. A little bit of organisation would go a loooong way here. If I can manage to make it through 7 days of no takeouts that will save me at least £40!:eek: Thats a heck of a lot of money!!!:o

2)Stop the online games
The accounts are barely used at the moment anyway and I know it isn't a lot, but £18 a month soon adds up over the year!

3)Keep a spending diary...
A lot harder than it seems...Me and OH are petty rubbish at getting things written down or staying on top of things, so definitely more organisation needed!

Going to read some more diaries, I think they are so inspirational!

kadiya

It's Sunday and it's been so nice and relaxing here!
Not spent any money today, and it's nearly time for the roast dinner I've put together for us!:T
Cancelled the subscriptions for the online games, just a shame that the payment for one has already been taken from the account.Didn't quite get in there quick enough
Never mind, both have been scrubbed on the understanding that if we actually EVER miss them, then they can be reopened at any time.
Have had a look through the cupboards and the freezer, and I have quite a lot of tins in the tin cupboard, most of which can be turned into meals, so while there may not be enough frozen food to keep us going for too long, there is plenty of tinned.
The idea between OH and I is that we feed our family based on what we already have in, therefore meaning that we need to buy less for a week or twow.
I don't think this will help us out in the long term, but for a few weeks, it should help to lessen the load while we pay out for the new shoes the children need.:eek:
I may have another think about this though and put together a budget that accounts for things like new shoes and clothes for the children.At the moment, we're completely disorganised when it comes to this, and tend to buy only when they are all desperate and we have managed to scrape the money together.
I can see that there are a lot of changes that need to be made.
I'm getting a little overwhelmed though, so I think babysteps is the best option.
So...
For the plan for next week:
1)Keep a spending diary
2)Create a budget
3)No takeouts

crapwithcash82

Hi Kadiya,

Just thought I would say hi and welcome! I'm sure you'll manage to tackle your debts in no time, like you say, you just need to re-adjust your take-outs, online games etc. If you don't mind me asking, why is your rent £0? I guess this is a good "saving" straight away if there isn't rent or mortage payments eating into your income.

I find keeping a note of everything you spend really useful - it makes you think twice about buying that magazine, or eating out at lunch time!

Good Luck with your debt clearing and good luck with the baby when he/she arrives!!

kadiya

Thanks
I appreciate the welcome
Rent is at 0 because of OH's benefits, which is helpful!
I think a whole readjustment in attitude toward money and toward being organised is going to be helpful too.
I'm lucky that I'm not on my own in this and OH is completely on board!
Speak soon

crapwithcash82

Hello again Kadiya,

Ahh I see (regarding the rent!) that is helpful - every little thing helps when it comes to tackling debts! As the tesco ad's say, "every little helps".

I agree, the re-adjusting your attitude to money and spending makes all the difference. I keep a spreadsheet now of everything I spend, on food, diesel, food at work, treats for my daughter and OH - it helps to see where it all goes.

I'll come back and see you diary to see how your getting on, I take my hat off to you already - raising three children with another on the way while dealing with your debts, go you!! :T

savingholmes

HI Kadiya - just wanted to welcome you to your site. Well done on throwing yourself in and starting a diary:T. It is all the little changes that add up.

Are you a member of freecycle - you may be able to get kids clothes and shoes etc from there for free ? Also perhaps ask people you know with older kids whether there is any chance they could pass old clothes on to you. sometimes you have to swallow your pride. I hardly buy any clothes for my kids - my mother in law askes everyone she knows for their kids castoffs for mine! :jIt is fab. We in turn then pass them around our friends etc...

The other thing you haven't mentioned yet - is upping your income. Do you have any options for that? Try the £10 a day challenge on the DFW board as a place to start - it has been a lifesaver for me! :money:Paid for Christmas and birthday pressies, luxuries, food all sorts since I joined!:j

Keep pressing on. Don't fall at the first hurdle either - money saving is a bit like dieting you have to get back on the wagon after you fall off and keep going for it! Good luck!

You may also want to look at keeping a spending diary - I think there may be a free site called something like my spending diary that you can do it on... The other tip might be to only use cash. Take a set amount out per week and divide it into little pots or envelopes and only use it for what you intended to. That might help you actually have money left at the end of the month which you can then throw at your debts. We finally got out of overdraft last month for the first time in years and it is a fab feeling!:j

posted_2

Stop the catalogues, find the apr on the overdraft, and only draw out of that account when you need to.

kadiya

Thanks for the posts

CWC: How do you organise your spreadsheet? I looked into doing that with a program on the computer, but got myself confused, lost and found I was having to readjust it all the time.
I think maybe I'm just not very good with technology

Saving: It's usually me who passes on the cast offs :rolleyes: My oldest is quite tall for their age and a really odd shape, so any clothes we've ever been given haven't fit, much to my disappointment.
With the smaller ones, they don't care what they wear or if they wear anything at all :rotfl:They are often seen wandering around in my eldest's cast off tee's and think it's brilliant :rotfl:
As for upping our income...I'm not sure if we're allowed with OH being on benefits?
I'm definitely keeping a spending diary, todays page is empty :T

Posted: Short and to the point!lol
I'm not sure I can stop the catalogues until they are paid up?I've never heard of it being done otherwise?
As for the account, that is the only account we have, so EVERYTHING gets drawn out of it.
I will find out the paperwork for the account to see what the APR is.I don't think it's very high, which is a good thing, but living so close to the edge of the overdraft means we will keep being charged :mad:

OH and I have been chatting about the way we want to tackle the debt, and think tha perhaps the smaller amonts on the catalogues should go first.For the ones I pay £10 a month, I seem to get charged another £4-£6 which is really steep!:eek:
Definitely something to ponder on, once I've found out the APR for the overdraft.

Night all:wave: