Take a deep breath ... and jump

sazzab

Hi all, Well finally it's happened. I've managed to take my head out of the sand and realise that if I spend more than I earn I'll never get out of debt.

I earn good money but I never have any money left at the end of the month and I owe money too. I have practically nothing in the way of savings and I am sick to death of going to the cashpoint halfway through the month to be told I have insufficient funds and then spending the next 2 weeks trying to muddle through, finding money for lunch and petrol, not eating much in the evenings as it's cheaper. I'm sure there are others here who can relate to what I'm saying.

I freely admit that I never open envelopes. I have 18 month's worth piled in stacker boxes. I'm too frightened to open them and it's got worse as the months have gone on. It plays on my mind constantly and I know the reason behind it - if someone wants money and I haven't got it - what's the point in opening it?

And so, here I am. I really really want to get myself out of this hole I've got myself into and today is my lightbulb day. I am determined to do anything I need to do to sort myself out. I have set a target. My 40th birthday. 440 days tomorrow. What do you reckon? Is it possible?

The immediate debts I want to get rid of are:
Creditcard: £5340.15
Overdraft: £2750.00
Homeloan: £3327.84
TOTAL: £11417.99

These are my unsecured loans. I have a mortgage with 2 secured loans on it. That's how terrible I am. I phoned up this evening to find out how much I owe on the mortgage and the interest rate so I could fill in the SOA form and although I knew I had one loan on it, was quite shocked to find out I had another on it too, that I'd completely forgotten about. That's about the long and short of it. It's getting me down and I'm fed up with feeling like this. I am not looking to clear my mortgage just yet. I am trying to be realistic and would just love to get through a month with money left over and all bills paid.
Sorry for rambling on, it's nice to be able to get this off my chest. I apologise for all the extra info that you probably didn't need.

Any and all advice will be so gratefully received.
Thanks
Sally

sazzab

And if anyone is interested here is my SOA, filled in as accurately as I can managed. I have gone through my statement to do this - yep that meant opening envelopes. I can't work out though, when I wrote everything down on paper I had about £140 left at the end of the month. I must have missed something, somewhere but can't see what, as this says I have way more than that left over. If only.

Statement of Affairs and Personal Balance Sheet

Household Information
Number of adults in household........... 1
Number of children in household......... 0
Number of cars owned.................... 1

Monthly Income Details
Monthly income after tax................ 3145.8
Partners monthly income after tax....... 0
Benefits................................ 0
Other income............................ 0
Total monthly income.................... 3145.8

Monthly Expense Details
Mortgage................................ 1145
Secured/HP loan repayments.............. 0
Rent.................................... 0
Management charge (leasehold property).. 0
Council tax............................. 104.06
Electricity............................. 59
Gas..................................... 52
Oil..................................... 0
Water rates............................. 24.29
Telephone (land line)................... 0
Mobile phone............................ 70
TV Licence.............................. 11.95
Satellite/Cable TV...................... 80
Internet Services....................... 0
Groceries etc. ......................... 150
Clothing................................ 50
Petrol/diesel........................... 200
Road tax................................ 15.83
Car Insurance........................... 53.13
Car maintenance (including MOT)......... 41.66
Car parking............................. 4.5
Other travel............................ 8.5
Childcare/nursery....................... 0
Other child related expenses............ 0
Medical (prescriptions, dentist etc).... 8.5
Pet insurance/vet bills................. 53.92
Buildings insurance..................... 0
Contents insurance...................... 20.93
Life assurance ......................... 0
Other insurance......................... 0
Presents (birthday, christmas etc)...... 45
Haircuts................................ 20
Entertainment........................... 200
Holiday................................. 50
Emergency fund.......................... 70
Total monthly expenses.................. 2538.27


Assets
Cash.................................... 0
House value (Gross)..................... 240000
Shares and bonds........................ 0
Car(s).................................. 1000
Other assets............................ 0
Total Assets............................ 241000


Secured & HP Debts
Description....................Debt......Monthly...APR
Mortgage...................... 175373...(1145).....6.2
Total secured & HP debts...... 175373....-.........-

Unsecured Debts
Description....................Debt......Monthly...APR
Barclaycard....................5340.15...115.......17.9
Windows........................3327.84...96.72.....22.56
Overdraft......................2750......0.........12.9
Total unsecured debts..........11417.99..211.72....-


Monthly Budget Summary
Total monthly income.................... 3,145.8
Expenses (including HP & secured debts). 2,538.27
Available for debt repayments........... 607.53
Monthly UNsecured debt repayments....... 211.72
Amount left after debt repayments....... 395.81

Personal Balance Sheet Summary
Total assets (things you own)........... 241,000
Total HP & Secured debt................. -175,373
Total Unsecured debt.................... -11,417.99
Net Assets.............................. 54,209.01

lottie_no1

sazzab wrote: »

And if anyone is interested here is my SOA, filled in as accurately as I can managed. I have gone through my statement to do this - yep that meant opening envelopes. I can't work out though, when I wrote everything down on paper I had about £140 left at the end of the month. I must have missed something, somewhere but can't see what, as this says I have way more than that left over. If only.

Statement of Affairs and Personal Balance Sheet

Household Information
Number of adults in household........... 1
Number of children in household......... 0
Number of cars owned.................... 1

Monthly Income Details
Monthly income after tax................ 3145.8
Partners monthly income after tax....... 0
Benefits................................ 0
Other income............................ 0
Total monthly income.................... 3145.8

Monthly Expense Details
Mortgage................................ 1145
Secured/HP loan repayments.............. 0
Rent.................................... 0
Management charge (leasehold property).. 0
Council tax............................. 104.06 is this over 10 months? see if you can pay over 12
Electricity............................. 59 is this the best deal? compare deals using a cashback site and see
Gas..................................... 52 as above
Oil..................................... 0
Water rates............................. 24.29
Telephone (land line)................... 0
Mobile phone............................ 70
TV Licence.............................. 11.95
Satellite/Cable TV...................... 80 this is quite high. is it tv/internet/phone combined. look at downgrading
Internet Services....................... 0
Groceries etc. ......................... 150 you could probably cut this down a little
Clothing................................ 50
Petrol/diesel........................... 200
Road tax................................ 15.83
Car Insurance........................... 53.13
Car maintenance (including MOT)......... 41.66
Car parking............................. 4.5
Other travel............................ 8.5
Childcare/nursery....................... 0
Other child related expenses............ 0
Medical (prescriptions, dentist etc).... 8.5
Pet insurance/vet bills................. 53.92
Buildings insurance..................... 0
Contents insurance...................... 20.93
Life assurance ......................... 0
Other insurance......................... 0
Presents (birthday, christmas etc)...... 45
Haircuts................................ 20
Entertainment........................... 200 cut back on this
Holiday................................. 50
Emergency fund.......................... 70
Total monthly expenses.................. 2538.27


Assets
Cash.................................... 0
House value (Gross)..................... 240000
Shares and bonds........................ 0
Car(s).................................. 1000
Other assets............................ 0
Total Assets............................ 241000


Secured & HP Debts
Description....................Debt......Monthly...APR
Mortgage...................... 175373...(1145).....6.2
Total secured & HP debts...... 175373....-.........-

Unsecured Debts
Description....................Debt......Monthly...APR
Barclaycard....................5340.15...115.......17.9
Windows........................3327.84...96.72.....22.56
Overdraft......................2750......0.........12.9
Total unsecured debts..........11417.99..211.72....-


Monthly Budget Summary
Total monthly income.................... 3,145.8
Expenses (including HP & secured debts). 2,538.27
Available for debt repayments........... 607.53
Monthly UNsecured debt repayments....... 211.72
Amount left after debt repayments....... 395.81

Personal Balance Sheet Summary
Total assets (things you own)........... 241,000
Total HP & Secured debt................. -175,373
Total Unsecured debt.................... -11,417.99
Net Assets.............................. 54,209.01

I have added a few things in red that you could probably cut back on. As you have quite a high excess I would suggest keeping a spending diary so that you can see exactly where it goes.

Good luck and congrats for taking the first step in becoming debt-free.

mooomin

sazzab wrote: »

Statement of Affairs and Personal Balance Sheet

Household Information
Number of adults in household........... 1
Number of cars owned.................... 1 Essential for work?

Monthly Income Details
Monthly income after tax................ 3145.8
Other income............................ 0 Can you earn a little more through Ebay etc? Every penny helps!
Total monthly income.................... 3145.8

Monthly Expense Details
Mortgage................................ 1145
Council tax............................. 104.06 Over 10 months or 12?
Electricity............................. 59 Leccy and gas seem high, how big is the house you're heating?
Gas..................................... 52
Water rates............................. 24.29
Mobile phone............................ 70 Reduce! You can get a good deal for £30 per month. I haggled mine to £15!
TV Licence.............................. 11.95
Satellite/Cable TV...................... 80 High again, this can be brought down
Internet Services....................... 0 NO INTERNETS?!!?! Surely not
Groceries etc. ......................... 150
Clothing................................ 50 Can this be reduced while you aim to clear debts?
Petrol/diesel........................... 200
Road tax................................ 15.83
Car Insurance........................... 53.13 Seems high, what kind of car is it?
Car maintenance (including MOT)......... 41.66
Car parking............................. 4.5 £4.50 per month? Is this correct?
Other travel............................ 8.5 What does this cover?
Medical (prescriptions, dentist etc).... 8.5
Pet insurance/vet bills................. 53.92 Per month? Crikey! How many pets? Are they included in the grocery bill?
Buildings insurance..................... 0
Contents insurance...................... 20.93 Does this include buildings? Most mortgage companies demand you have buildings cover
Presents (birthday, christmas etc)...... 45 Quite high per month
Haircuts................................ 20
Entertainment........................... 200 Ooh, reduce this one!
Holiday................................. 50
Emergency fund.......................... 70If you're saving into an emergency fund, how much is there? Would that be better put towards the debts?
Total monthly expenses.................. 2538.27


Assets
Cash.................................... 0
House value (Gross)..................... 240000
Car(s).................................. 1000
Total Assets............................ 241000


Secured & HP Debts
Description....................Debt......Monthly...APR
Mortgage...................... 175373...(1145).....6.2 Can you get a lower rate on this or are you tied in?
Total secured & HP debts...... 175373....-.........-

Unsecured Debts
Description....................Debt......Monthly...APR
Barclaycard....................5340.15...115.......17.9
Windows........................3327.84...96.72.....22.56
Overdraft......................2750......0.........12.9
Total unsecured debts..........11417.99..211.72....-


Monthly Budget Summary
Total monthly income.................... 3,145.8
Expenses (including HP & secured debts). 2,538.27
Available for debt repayments........... 607.53
Monthly UNsecured debt repayments....... 211.72
Amount left after debt repayments....... 395.81 Do you have this left every month? I bet not!

Personal Balance Sheet Summary
Total assets (things you own)........... 241,000
Total HP & Secured debt................. -175,373
Total Unsecured debt.................... -11,417.99
Net Assets.............................. 54,209.01

Hi and well done for posting :T

Come and join us on the Debt-Free Birthday Club Challenge - CLICK ME! We're all trying to be debt-free by a birthday.

Comments on your SOA are above in red.

You have a good surplus but there are also savings you can make. If you want to clear your debt in 440 days it will take work but you can do it!

Try joining some challenges for motivation - the one I posted above is good but my favourite is the Payment A Day Challenge. You make one payment every day, even if it's 1p, towards debt. Works a treat!

Good luck

sazzab

Hello
Thankyou both for you speedy replies.
To quickly answer your questions/advice:

1. Council Tax is over 10 months
2. I will look into a cheaper deal for utilities. I always end up in credit with them but they won't reduce my payments. Just got my statement last month (only opened it today for this) to find I'm again £59 in credit with them for gas.
3. I am with Virgin for my phone/tv/internet - have asked for a cheaper deal and that's it - it was about £90 before.
4. I will try to cut down on the groceries bill. I don't actually eat much at all, my animals however ...
5. I will try to cut down on my going out costs and get it under £200.
6. I will phone up about my mobile phone too and get that down.
7. Clothing - I tried to average it out. I can't actually rmr the last thing I purchased to be honest. It's not something I do all the time at all.
8. Car insurance - I have a 10 year old peugeot. I will phone around and see if I can get it cheaper.
9. Parking & travel (Tube) again are average. Luckily I get my parking paid for by work so some months I don't pay anything at all, all depends if I go anywhere with pay and display.
10. I don't have building insurance. I did. A long time ago. It didn't get paid, it expired and I haven't got back onto it. I will, even though I know it will cost me more.
11. Presents - I have tried to be realistic - I know a lot of people / family who I buy presents for. I will try to cut down how much I spend on each of them for the next year though.

Again, thankyou both so much. I've got a list of things to do. I have also made a list of things that I know I can change and cut back on. I will carry on posting here and letting you know. And yes, to the ebay thing, I've been using it on and off for about 10 years. I am determined to make some extra on there and use it to pay off those debts ... I will get there!
Sal

staffie1

Congratulations on having your Light Bulb Moment. Taking your head out of the sand and facing up to the problem really is half the battle!

Some good advice from previous posters on how to cut costs and free up some money to help eradicate the debts.

You will find that once you're in the right frame of mind and start thinking about money in a different way, you'll be surprised how easy it can be to achieve your objective. And if you're anything like me, you'll enjoy the experience of making savings in your monthly budget and seeing your financial situation improve!

Good Luck

lottie_no1

Why not join some of the cashback sites so when you do things like insurance and gas and electric you can get some money back?

I do recommend keeping a spending diary as that will show where the remainder of your money is going and help you cut back there as well.

Good luck and I look forward to reading your journey to being debt-free

C

sazzab

Hi Lottie and Staffie and thankyou both too for your speedy replies.

I will definately keep a spending diary. I have no idea at all where my money goes. I take £100 out and it's gone before I've even seen it, it seems. And I will definately look into the money back offers too. Thankyou, I hadn't even thought of that

I am also thinking of keeping a blog about all of this too. I need things to keep my mind focused and I need something I can interact with, if that makes sense and something like that, where I can keep blurting out what I'm looking into and sorting out I think will help me. I will post a link here if I do get round to it.

Thanks again
Sal

Deep_In_Debt

Not sure I can really help much other than to second what others have said.

Re. birthdays/presents etc - I have an agreement with my family and friends that we spend approx £20.00 on each other. You can get some good stuff for that and it makes you shop more thoughtfully. It's not the money spent, but the thought and a lot of thought goes into buying presents on a budget.

kezlou

Hello, first of all please do not be offended by any of the suggestions i have made, if i have in anyway please forgive me.
You could try and use the OS boards to get some really good ideas on reducing your food bill.
Try the PAD challenge thats a good one too.
Well done for coming on to site, it takes a lot to admit debt (i know from personal experience). But feel good and confident knowing that you know are one of those who are paying it off and not running away.

Just know were all here for you, whenever you need us x

sazzab wrote: »

And if anyone is interested here is my SOA, filled in as accurately as I can managed. I have gone through my statement to do this - yep that meant opening envelopes. I can't work out though, when I wrote everything down on paper I had about £140 left at the end of the month. I must have missed something, somewhere but can't see what, as this says I have way more than that left over. If only.

Statement of Affairs and Personal Balance Sheet

Household Information
Number of adults in household........... 1
Number of children in household......... 0
Number of cars owned.................... 1

Monthly Income Details
Monthly income after tax................ 3145.8
Partners monthly income after tax....... 0
Benefits................................ 0
Other income............................ 0
Total monthly income.................... 3145.8

Monthly Expense Details
Mortgage................................ 1145
Secured/HP loan repayments.............. 0
Rent.................................... 0
Management charge (leasehold property).. 0
Council tax............................. 104.06
Electricity............................. 59
Gas..................................... 52
Oil..................................... 0
Water rates............................. 24.29
Telephone (land line)................... 0
Mobile phone............................ 70 can you get a cheaper deal?
TV Licence.............................. 11.95
Satellite/Cable TV...................... 80can you get a cheaper package?
Internet Services....................... 0 is this in with the tv?
Groceries etc. ......................... 150 cut back on this if possible (pet food is expensive see if you can bulk buy with your local petshop, it has saved me a fortune so far)
Clothing................................ 50 could you not buy anything for a few months?
Petrol/diesel........................... 200
Road tax................................ 15.83
Car Insurance........................... 53.13
Car maintenance (including MOT)......... 41.66
Car parking............................. 4.5
Other travel............................ 8.5
Childcare/nursery....................... 0
Other child related expenses............ 0
Medical (prescriptions, dentist etc).... 8.5 try asking at your pharmacy about a discounted prescription for medicines
Pet insurance/vet bills................. 53.92 can you get a cheaper package?
Buildings insurance..................... 0
Contents insurance...................... 20.93
Life assurance ......................... 0
Other insurance......................... 0
Presents (birthday, christmas etc)...... 45 cut back on this if you can
Haircuts................................ 20 cut back on this if you can
Entertainment........................... 200 cut back on this if you can just be a hermit
Holiday................................. 50cut back on this if you can
Emergency fund.......................... 70
Total monthly expenses.................. 2538.27


Assets
Cash.................................... 0
House value (Gross)..................... 240000
Shares and bonds........................ 0
Car(s).................................. 1000
Other assets............................ 0
Total Assets............................ 241000


Secured & HP Debts
Description....................Debt......Monthly...APR
Mortgage...................... 175373...(1145).....6.2
Total secured & HP debts...... 175373....-.........-

Unsecured Debts
Description....................Debt......Monthly...APR
Barclaycard....................5340.15...115.......17.9
Windows........................3327.84...96.72.....22.56 any extra money throw at this because of the high apr
Overdraft......................2750......0.........12.9
Total unsecured debts..........11417.99..211.72....-


Monthly Budget Summary
Total monthly income.................... 3,145.8
Expenses (including HP & secured debts). 2,538.27
Available for debt repayments........... 607.53
Monthly UNsecured debt repayments....... 211.72
Amount left after debt repayments....... 395.81

Personal Balance Sheet Summary
Total assets (things you own)........... 241,000
Total HP & Secured debt................. -175,373
Total Unsecured debt.................... -11,417.99
Net Assets.............................. 54,209.01

kezlou

sazzab wrote: »

1. Council Tax is over 10 months try changing it to 12 months might make it easier
2. I will look into a cheaper deal for utilities. I always end up in credit with them but they won't reduce my payments. Just got my statement last month (only opened it today for this) to find I'm again £59 in credit with them for gas. an you get a cheaper package?
3. I am with Virgin for my phone/tv/internet - have asked for a cheaper deal and that's it - it was about £90 before. can you get a cheaper package?
4. I will try to cut down on the groceries bill. I don't actually eat much at all, my animals however ... know what you mean

8. Car insurance - I have a 10 year old peugeot. I will phone around and see if I can get it cheaper. peurgots are known as boy racer cars so i very much doubt you will get it any cheaper, even if it is 10 years old.

10. I don't have building insurance. I did. A long time ago. It didn't get paid, it expired and I haven't got back onto it. I will, even though I know it will cost me more. try compare.com you can get some really good deals with them regarding insurance.

Hope the above helps.

By the way, if you dont mind me asking what kind of pets do you have? I may be able to help with food costs if its of any use?