Newbie Debt Basher in need of advice.

ccn1

Hi All,

At last im making a step in the right direction. Over a year being out of work stuffed me after the business I was part of went *BOOM*

Now its time to pull my act together and get myself and family back on track.

I have tried to handle my debts but get mixed information from my bank / creditors so am a bit lost.

Below is my SOA, thanks in advance to anyone who can advise me on busting my debt and how to plan ahead.

Kind Regards

Chris.

Statement of Affairs and Personal Balance Sheet
Household Information
Number of adults in household........... 2
Number of children in household......... 2
Number of cars owned.................... 3

Monthly Income Details
Monthly income after tax................ 2257.46
Partners monthly income after tax....... 300
Benefits................................ 0
Other income............................ 415
Total monthly income.................... 2972.46

Monthly Expense Details
Mortgage................................ 993
Secured/HP loan repayments.............. 0
Rent.................................... 0
Management charge (leasehold property).. 0
Council tax............................. 120
Electricity............................. 76
Gas..................................... 42
Oil..................................... 0
Water rates............................. 25
Telephone (land line)................... 83
Mobile phone............................ 90
TV Licence.............................. 11
Satellite/Cable TV...................... 30
Internet Services....................... 0
Groceries etc. ......................... 100
Clothing................................ 50
Petrol/diesel........................... 80
Road tax................................ 16
Car Insurance........................... 93
Car maintenance (including MOT)......... 20
Car parking............................. 10
Other travel............................ 10
Childcare/nursery....................... 0
Other child related expenses............ 179.5
Medical (prescriptions, dentist etc).... 0
Pet insurance/vet bills................. 0
Buildings insurance..................... 21
Contents insurance...................... 21
Life assurance ......................... 97
Other insurance......................... 29
Presents (birthday, christmas etc)...... 50
Haircuts................................ 0
Entertainment........................... 0
Holiday................................. 0
Emergency fund.......................... 0
Sewer Rates............................. 13
Total monthly expenses.................. 2259.5

Assets
Cash.................................... 0
House value (Gross)..................... 240000
Shares and bonds........................ 0
Car(s).................................. 10000
Other assets............................ 0
Total Assets............................ 250000

Secured & HP Debts
Description....................Debt......Monthly...APR
Mortgage...................... 206000...(993)......5.4
Total secured & HP debts...... 206000

Unsecured Debts
Description....................Debt......Monthly...APR
Abbey Master Card..............8496.35...200.......27.9
Virgin Credit Card.............6375.62...155.......29.9
Natwest Loan...................23566.....235.......8.5
Northern Rock Loan.............14646.....122.......8
Total unsecured debts..........53083.97..712.......-

Monthly Budget Summary
Total monthly income.................... 2,972.46
Expenses (including HP & secured debts). 2,259.5
Available for debt repayments........... 712.96
Monthly UNsecured debt repayments....... 712
Amount left after debt repayments....... 0.96

Personal Balance Sheet Summary
Total assets (things you own)........... 250,000
Total HP & Secured debt................. -206,000
Total Unsecured debt.................... -53,083.97
Net Assets.............................. -9,083.97


** Please note: I have not budgeted for shopping /nursery fees / household maint etc int the list above.

talana

Some initial ideas.........

3 cars in a 2-adult household? Seems excessive.
Can you not cut that down to 2 cars and put the proceeds towards your debts?

£173 per month on telephones (mobiles & landline) also way excessive.
Easy savings can surely be made there. I pay about £30, which includes internet as well. Also replace satellite/cable TV with freeview.

tesuhoha

Council tax seems high. What are the other child related expenses of £179 per month? I agree about the third car.

JOANNESAPHINE

Agree with other comments about car and phone services also life insurance seems quite a lot.

ccn1

Hello,
Wow some quick replies there, thank you.....

3 cars here we go.

All the cars are bought and paid for.

1st Car is our family car which my wife now uses to drive our 2 children around.

2nd Car is my run around as I drive in and out of London and round the SE of England every day.

3rd Car is a VW camper van which is nice for little weekend aways with the kids as its cheap but we are looking into selling this though.

Childrens Expenses. £179.50

£100 a month to my daughter (from previous marrage)
£79.50 to my favourite of clubs. The Child Support Agency (dont get me started!)

Council Tax
It is correct I think. £1200 over ten months.

Mobile phones
Looking into changing this, mine is a business tarriff so quite high.

Good points thankyou

Merlinexcalibur

Groceries seem low for the number in your household.

ccn1

Hi Merlinexcalibur

Myself, my wife and 2 young boys (3 year old and the other 1 month.) So we do generally spend £100 - £150 I guess, forget the interim trips to the corner Tesco Extra store for the odds and sods.

As our 2 get older then the costs will increase.

Regards.

elsie52

Hi ccn1,

The obvious things that stand out are the phones, but as you say, you are going to look into this. Clothing at £50 a month would have to go for a while. I know what its like I had 3 children, but you ca get some amazing bargains from charity shops. No one need know that you get them from there, I still shop in them just for myself.

We were in a similar position 16 months ago, we owed £74k and were living on our credit cards. We took the DMP route, and we have since paid off £25k. Its tough, but easier knowing that we have enough money every month to feed ourselves, pay our bills and pay our debt off.

The Money saving oldstyle boards are absolutely brilliant, they show you how to get the most out of your food budget and cook from scratch.

I am sure someone will be along with a bit more advice soon.

ccn1

Hi elsie52

Thankyou for the response, thats great news well done. Sounds like your really making a dent !

Yup funnily enough my wife just said we dont need that much for clothing !.

What do you mean by DMP ?

I will be looking at the OldStyle Boards re the food.

Thanks for your email.

Regards
Chris

elsie52

DMP is a Debt Management Plan......i.e. Payplan, CCCS, they are companies which manage your debt and deal with our creditors.. They are totally free, if you do go along this route, never pay a fee charging company, its not necessary. If you read the posts on MSE you will find that hardly anyone uses a company which charges. We give Payplan X amount each month and they distribute it between our creditors. There are a few threads which will help you to understand. Its not easy and your credit rating is totally trashed for some time, but who wants credit again.....not me.!!

ccn1

Thanks elsie52

Sorry, I see you mean a Debt Management Plan.

Can anyone suggest a good company to approach re a DMP, and if you go down this route is your credit rating in danger or blacklisted ?

Regards

Chris