We’d like to remind Forumites to please avoid political debate on the Forum.
This is to keep it a safe and useful space for MoneySaving discussions. Threads that are – or become – political in nature may be removed in line with the Forum’s rules. Thank you for your understanding.
📨 Have you signed up to the Forum's new Email Digest yet? Get a selection of trending threads sent straight to your inbox daily, weekly or monthly!
New & in debt! Any advice appreciated.

SurfinBird
Posts: 4 Newbie
Greetings to all :beer:
Long story cut short....i have had my head buried in the sand and not taken any steps to help myself (until now) to get out of what ive got myself into ...... silly boy i know. I am so mad at myself for letting these companies make lots of money out of me because of my laziness & stupidity :mad:
I will post my SOA shortly as i know its needed for anyone who is willing to give me any advice can see what the story is.........however i hope ive filled it out correctly
:money:
Long story cut short....i have had my head buried in the sand and not taken any steps to help myself (until now) to get out of what ive got myself into ...... silly boy i know. I am so mad at myself for letting these companies make lots of money out of me because of my laziness & stupidity :mad:
I will post my SOA shortly as i know its needed for anyone who is willing to give me any advice can see what the story is.........however i hope ive filled it out correctly
:money:
0
Comments
-
Statement of Affairs and Personal Balance Sheet
Household Information
Number of adults in household........... 3
Number of children in household......... 0
Number of cars owned.................... 0
Monthly Income Details
Monthly income after tax................ 1100
Partners monthly income after tax....... (I don’t want to drag her into this)
Benefits................................ 0
Other income............................ 0
Total monthly income.................... 1100
Monthly Expense Details
Mortgage................................ 0
Secured/HP loan repayments.............. 0
Rent.................................... 100
Management charge (leasehold property).. 0
Council tax............................. 0
Electricity............................. 0
Gas..................................... 0
Oil..................................... 0
Water rates............................. 0
Telephone (land line)................... 0
Mobile phone............................ 0
TV Licence.............................. 0
Satellite/Cable TV...................... 0
Internet Services....................... 0
Groceries etc. ......................... 0
Clothing................................ 0
Petrol/diesel........................... 0
Road tax................................ 0
Car Insurance........................... 0
Car maintenance (including MOT)......... 0
Car parking............................. 0
Other travel............................ 0
Childcare/nursery....................... 0
Other child related expenses............ 0
Medical (prescriptions, dentist etc).... 0
Pet insurance/vet bills................. 0
Buildings insurance..................... 0
Contents insurance...................... 0
Life assurance ......................... 0
Other insurance......................... 0
Presents (birthday, christmas etc)...... 30
Haircuts................................ 18
Entertainment........................... 200 Holiday................................. 0
Emergency fund.......................... 0
Total monthly expenses.................. £ 350.00
Assets
Cash.................................... 0
House value (Gross)..................... 0
Shares and bonds........................ 0
Car(s).................................. 0
Other assets............................ 0
Total Assets............................ 0
No Secured nor Hire Purchase Debts
Unsecured Debts
Description...........Debt......Monthly……….. .APR
Virgin Credit Card…………510 ………… min payment…… not sure
Lloyds TSB Loan ………………2295………… 115………………………… 21%
Argos card…………………………… 500 ………… 0…………………………… 25%
Argos: I have now received a letter from a debt collection agency who I am going to ring today. I am going to ring Argos to set up a direct debit with them
Virgin: Was paying this off fine until they sent me a letter once I had nearly cleared it saying they were changing they monthly repayment to the minimum!!! I know understand why they do this and am going to change it back today.
Lloyds TSB: What can I do with this??? I have loan insurance …should I cancel this? Any other advice??
Total unsecured debts..£3305.00..........-
Monthly Budget Summary
Total monthly income.................... 1,100
Expenses (including HP & secured debts). 350.00
Available for debt repayments........... 750.00
Monthly UNsecured debt repayments....... 115
Amount short for making debt repayments. 635
Personal Balance Sheet Summary
Total assets (things you own)........... 0
Total HP & Secured debt................. 0
Total Unsecured debt.................... 3305.00
Net Assets.............................. –3305.00
:mad::mad::mad:0 -
Hello SurfinBird and welcome!!:beer:
How come you don't pay any utility bills? Are you living with relatives?
Do you not have a mobile?
2 suggestions from me:
1)the entertainment budget - £200 - you can really cut that down while you pay off your debts
2) I think you should 'snowball your debts', by paying the minimum on the cheaper cards and chucking the remainder of your 'amount left for paying off creditors' to the most expensive card. Get rid of that first, and then go down to the next expensive. Hope that makes sense? There's an article on the main site from MSE Martin :money:
Best wishes
DGLBM - March 2009, DMP Start - April 2009
DMP Mutual Support Thread Member 297
(Don't forget to click on 'Thanks'! Thanks!)0 -
Hi Devon Girl
Thanks for the welcome and for taking the time to reply.
Im living at my girlfriends grandmothers house who will not take more than 100 for rent....cant complain at that.
Have a mobile (pay as you go) but never top up ........hate mobile phones now after a previous experience with o2.
I totally agree about the entertainment bit and will sort that out as im determined to get this sorted and understand sacrifices need to be made.
Yeah that sounds like a good idea ....i kind of understand what you are saying but will read the article on the main site so i get a better understanding...
Thanks for your advice DevonGirl :beer:0 -
Hi Surfinbird and welcome.
What are you spending the surplus shown of £635 on? Do you know? Have you been paying this off your debt. If you have this amount surplus you could clear you debts very quickly.
If you don't know where this money goes you need to keep a spending diary where you write down everything you spend for a few months (50p on a can of pop or £50 on a night down the pub) It all adds up and until you know where it is going you won't be able to cut back.
Good luckA smile enriches those who receive without making poorer those who giveor "It costs nowt to be nice"0 -
Hi
Do you really have spare income of over £600, if so these debts should disapear asap. ie if you actually only owe virgin £510, you should be able to clear this on our next pay day.
I suspect that you don't actually see this £600, so how about a spending diary.0 -
Yes, your SOA must be hopelessly unrealistic and inaccurate (sorry) if you're having problems paying these off.
Because as it stands with £635 surplus every month, why mess around? It's a non-issue.
Month 1 - pay off Argos card in full
Month 2 - pay off Virgin CC in full
Month 5 or 6 - pay back Lloyds TSB
Job done!0 -
Hi Vandanfc & Tixy (thanks for replying
)
I was waiting for someone to ask about that....
Truth is ive been so careless with my money i dont know what im doing with it and a speding diary sounds like something i need to do urgently........ im thinking its maybe not as bad as it seems if i get my head from up my backside.
Ive been thinking about paying one of the cards (virgin / argos) off in one go but will they let me do that without adding any extra charges for paying early?
Thanks peoples0 -
you definately need a spending diary, if you're not seeing the £600 and increasing debt then it must be just draining away.
As long as they are normal credit cards, they won't care that you pay it off in one go, except in so far as they will lose out of future interest from you. But expect to see an interest charge the next month as they often do this.
A good thing to do is also to cancel the cards as they are cleared, saves you getting back in the same position and un used credit cards are sometimes as bad to future credit requests as late payments etc.
Good luck, at least you should be able to clear your debt in a couple of months and then start saving for a deposit or something.0 -
SurfinBird wrote: »Hi Vandanfc & Tixy (thanks for replying
)
I was waiting for someone to ask about that....
Truth is ive been so careless with my money i dont know what im doing with it and a speding diary sounds like something i need to do urgently........ im thinking its maybe not as bad as it seems if i get my head from up my backside.
Ive been thinking about paying one of the cards (virgin / argos) off in one go but will they let me do that without adding any extra charges for paying early?
Thanks peoples
Hiya,
Welcome to MSE!
You can pay your Argos card off in full and your virgin without getting charged, you've got heaps of cash...can I have some??Started PADdin' 13/04/09 paid £7486.66 - CC free 02/11/10
Aim for 2011 - pay off car loan £260.00 saved
Nerd No. 1173! :j
Made by God...Improved by the The Devil0 -
SurfinBird wrote: »Ive been thinking about paying one of the cards (virgin / argos) off in one go but will they let me do that without adding any extra charges for paying early?
Thanks peoples
Do you mean paying over the minimum? You are free to pay as much as you like with credit cards. You could pay them all off today if you wanted (and had the money). The only 'charge' would be that you might have to pay an additional amount of interest in the next statement, it won't be a huge amount though. You are confusing cards with loans, where you can't overpay or pay them off early without penalty.
The minimum is just that, a minimum, so no wonder you haven't made much headway with them if you thought that was all you could pay.
Now that you've taken control of this, you'll be debt free in a matter of months. Good luck.Debt at LBM (17/10/08) £5727.61 Debt free date 31/08/090
This discussion has been closed.
Confirm your email address to Create Threads and Reply

Categories
- All Categories
- 352.1K Banking & Borrowing
- 253.6K Reduce Debt & Boost Income
- 454.2K Spending & Discounts
- 245.1K Work, Benefits & Business
- 600.7K Mortgages, Homes & Bills
- 177.5K Life & Family
- 258.9K Travel & Transport
- 1.5M Hobbies & Leisure
- 16.1K Discuss & Feedback
- 37.6K Read-Only Boards