Need your Advice Guys!

paintygirl

Ok, here goes! I am totally new to this but it seems a great site. I am in debt. Just writing that sentence is a big thing as I have been fooling myself for a long time now, just looking at each individual purchase etc...but for the first time I have written it all down. OH MY GOD! Ok, there is only one way to go and that is up. I shall lay it all out here and ask advice. Many things I know...I need more income, I need to give up my beloved van Dave (he costs £255 in hp a month, but apparently I can return him in May and walk away. Will cry but will do it. Will need advice there on how to find money for another car Will give up 2nd sky box, get mobile on lowest tarrif. Anyone got anything else though?

DEBT
barclaycard...............776
abbey 0% until Aug....1500
capital one card.........600
cahoot loan...............6025
3hg (computer hp).....900
gmac (Dave).............10000
TOTAL £19901

OUTGOINGS
mortgage..................265
gas/elec....................35
mobile (3g)................30
bt.............................25
ntl broadband.............10
sky (a vice!)...............35
insurances, house.........22
pet............6
life............26
accident......28
car, with breakdown....45

daughters sax rental......20
daughters music lessons..33
petrol...........................50
tv licence......................10
food.............................220
van hp.........................225
barclaycard.................35
cap. one card..............26
abbey card..................50
cahoot.......................116

TOTAL.........................£1312

INCOMINGS..................£1225

LEAVES .............deficit of -£87

getting rid of van in May will free up £350, although some of that will have to go towards new car costs.

WOW! that felt good to write! I had better start getting this sorted then, first step is ?

THE_LONE_RANGER_4

Why Get Rid Of The Van Any Chance Of Making Money Through Deliverys Etc Or Is It To Small ? Just A Thought Vans In The Main Are A Good Asset To Many

CLAPTON

just a few comments

there's a good governement web site about HP agreements that you might find useful

http://www.direct.gov.uk/MoneyTaxAndBenefits/ManagingDebt/DebtsAndArrears/DebtsAndArrearsArticles/fs/en?CONTENT_ID=10013226&chk=1uPl5U

you could replace the mobile with PAYG and use only for emergencies

BT could be reduced by using https://www.call1899.com or https://www.call18185.co.uk which are much cheaper than BT (I use them and had no problems)

you dont say how many there are of you but maybe the food budget could be reduced but truely Dave is the financial villain!

skintchick

Can you get a second job at all? That would help. Or a lodger?

If your food is just for you and daughter then it can be cut down - check out the Old Style board for ideas and help.

tyllwyd

What about the accident insurance - do you need this extra? And the car insurance - is that the cheapest you can get it?

paintygirl

thanx everyone!

The van is a 2 yr old Vivaro, so is not too small for use. As I have until May I will advertise as 'driver and van' and see what happens.

I am employed for 12 per week and am self employed the rest of the time. That is why I have accident insurance as would be scary if I broke my leg or whatever. This also means i use the mobile at work, which I put down on my tax return.

Lodgers are out as I live in a 2 bed mid terrace...bit tight! Definately need to find yet another income.

The car insurance, which includes my breakdown cover, is from Tesco and as I have other stuff from them I get discount.

I will try and get the food bill down to £200. Getting more money in looks to be the obvious solution. Obvious yet tricky arround my commitments!

paintygirl

Oh no! I have realised that I missed out council tax on my budget thingy! That is another £97 down!

ms_london

A 2 bed terrace might be a "bit tight" for a lodger - but you only have to have one, and to be honest - I would rather get a lodger than have to get a 2nd job to bring in £X each month. Even if it is for the short term it will help immensely!! Granted - it's not ideal, but neither is a 2nd job!! (this is what I keep telling myself when I have to work Saturday on top of Mon-Fri - It's only for the short term!!) xx

moongarden

go for it paintygirl - i just did exactly what you are talking about and handed back a new car which was costing me £189 a month and i have just bought a k reg citroen ax for £160!

i still have wheels - the old car does all the important things the new car was doing - getting me from a to b, providing me with some music to accompany my journey etc. don't get me wrong i absolutely loved driving a new fast car - but i felt also that points on the licence are a costly expense too and best avoided.

i have saved £29 in the first month and will save £189 a month after that.

i also fully expect that the 1.0 engine will only use around half the petrol of the 1.6 so there is another £35 saved in petrol not to mention the benefits to the environment!

forgot to add that the "new" car (2003) had cost me £700 in maintenence in 12 months and although i am sure a k reg car will need plenty of maintenence i would not expect it to even be half that. the tax is quite a lot lower and there is MOT till august.

best wishes

MikeAndHisLovelyPlant

paintygirl,

As you would expect from me - some constructive comments:

paintygirl wrote:

first step is ?

is the wrong question - that WAS the first step, you're now onto your second.

Also, doing the sums (including council tax) shows you £184 per month down BUT you've included your debt payments in there of £227 - some of this will be interest (which is effectively an 'outgoing') but some will be debt reduction (which is in effect 'savings'), you should work out how to minimise the interest component which is done by paying off the highest interest rate debts fastest. Abbey cards normally have a minimum payment of 2.25%, so you only need pay about £34 per month - the other £16 can go to whichever of the others has the highest interest rate.

Good luck

Mike

tigerlily

I realise that I may well get shot down in flames for this but....£53 per month on music lessons when in problem debt? I realise children need interests but (in my humble opinion) a respect for the value of money is a HUGE necessity. My parents were never in a postion to afford music lessons or horse riding lessons or ballet lessons...you get the point (lol) they were in the same position as some of my friends parents. We found other things to do like Brownies (probably very uncool now) Guides, youth groups, the odd trip swimming etc there are so many things to do which are so much cheaper and a valuable insight into the value of money.
I guess the other things would be the Sky-a luxury and your food bill, if its for 2 it seems a huge amount to spend.