Sick of having no money....

pm2326

Hi all

I've decided to start my own diary to try and inspire myself to get out of the mess I'm currently in with my money and debts.

June was a bad month as I had no money by the middle of the month and had to rely on a friend to bale me out. I've since been paid and find myself in a similar position but dont get paid again until 24th of the month.

I have a gambling problem (internet slot machines). Its not extreme but its bad enough, I have blocked myself from these sites for a minimum of 5 years!

My online back account currently shows I have £5.69 available of my £2500 overdraft and I have two more bills to pay on 15th & 19th totalling £33 before I get paid again. I need to find £28 just to pay these. I sell on ebay regularly so I've transferred the balance of £13.50 from my paypal account to my bank account today. I have another sale but the buyer has'nt paid yet.

I also have another £20 in an account where I transfer 'my' money to on paydays. I could use this if desperate but then I would need to find money for cat food, bread and milk near the end of the month (have already done all my monthly shopping and batched cooked meals, doing some more tomorrow).

Also have another overdraft of £126 with Abbey which I'm trying to pay off. I offered them a minimum payment of £15 a month in writing, but they just told me to ring them and when I did they asked me to pay £20 by Tuesday (paid this on Friday), the girl even said pay it in and withdraw it same day if I want (ridiculous comment to make!). Balance now at £106.

My immediate aim is to try and get through this month and then pay off the Abbey on 24th as their letters and calls are really not helping at the moment.

Sorry for the winge just need to get some of this out in the open, maybe it wont seem so bad then.

claire0788

Ok somebody is going to say post your incomings and outgoings so we can help you see where some cuts can be made.

I dont know the link but I betcha fire fox will be here in a flash to post it =P

Once you know where all your money is going and where you can make some cuts youll feel better.

Also is there any debts other than the abbey account ? Let us know and we can try to help you out. I say we, im not nearly as good as alot of people here but im a great cheerleader

pm2326

Been a while since posted, but I have been working hard at getting myself out of the whole I'm currently in.

Problem 1 - made enough money on ebay to pay both the bills due this month and a little bit more, this is currently winging its way from my paypal account to my bank account... phew!! :T

Problem 2 - I have spent the £20 I had in the other account as I found cat food on offer... (they will only eat one brand!) but at least cats will be fed until payday comes again.

I have sat and read numerous peoples diaries over the last week for some inspiration and boy did I find some...

So I have a new budget in place starting payday, I've also snowballed my debts and apparently will be debt free in June 2012..I do have one dilemma though

Problem 3 - I have three loans in total + an overdraft, the snowball thingy says I should pay off the loans before paying the overdraft. I can over pay all of the loans without charge so this is ok but it would only reduce the term not the interest (all front loaded). I'm thinking it would be better to repay the overdraft first as I get charged interest on the outstanding balance every month. Therefore lower overdraft = less interest.

Also I'm aware that a bank can recall an overdraft at any time, so I'm a bit wary about not paying this off first...any thoughts?

LeeSouthEast

Given your circumstances, it would seem to make more sense to pay off your overdraft first.

Good luck with your journey!!

Fire_Fox

claire0788 wrote: »

Ok somebody is going to say post your incomings and outgoings so we can help you see where some cuts can be made.

I dont know the link but I betcha fire fox will be here in a flash to post it =P

Once you know where all your money is going and where you can make some cuts youll feel better.

Also is there any debts other than the abbey account ? Let us know and we can try to help you out. I say we, im not nearly as good as alot of people here but im a great cheerleader

My reputation precedes me ...
http://www.makesenseofcards.com/soacalc.html

pm2326

Statement of Affairs and Personal Balance Sheet
Household Information
Number of adults in household........... 1
Number of children in household.........
Number of cars owned....................
Monthly Income Details
Monthly income after tax................ 1178
Partners monthly income after tax....... 0
Benefits................................ 0
Other income............................ 0
Total monthly income.................... 1178
Monthly Expense Details
Mortgage................................ 360
Secured/HP loan repayments.............. 0
Rent.................................... 0
Management charge (leasehold property).. 0
Council tax............................. 71
Electricity............................. 12.5
Gas..................................... 12.5
Oil..................................... 0
Water rates............................. 13.15
Telephone (land line)................... 15
Mobile phone............................ 27
TV Licence.............................. 11.95
Satellite/Cable TV...................... 0
Internet Services....................... 12.23
Groceries etc. ......................... 125
Clothing................................ 5
Petrol/diesel........................... 0
Road tax................................ 0
Car Insurance........................... 0
Car maintenance (including MOT)......... 0
Car parking............................. 0
Other travel............................ 53
Childcare/nursery....................... 0
Other child related expenses............ 0
Medical (prescriptions, dentist etc).... 15
Pet insurance/vet bills................. 20
Buildings insurance..................... 20.31
Contents insurance...................... 15.22
Life assurance ......................... 0
Other insurance......................... 12.14
Presents (birthday, christmas etc)...... 10
Haircuts................................ 10
Entertainment........................... 10
Holiday................................. 0
Emergency fund.......................... 29.88
Total monthly expenses.................. 860.88

Assets
Cash.................................... 0
House value (Gross)..................... 70000
Shares and bonds........................ 0
Car(s).................................. 0
Other assets............................ 0
Total Assets............................ 70000

Secured & HP Debts
Description....................Debt......Monthly...APR
Mortgage...................... 58435....(360)......5.69
Total secured & HP debts...... 58435.....-.........-
Unsecured Debts
Description....................Debt......Monthly...APR
LLoyds Loan....................711.03....50.29.....20.9
LLoyds Loan....................2856.49...80.33.....20.9
NR Loan........................5094.16...68.84.....6.9
LLoyds Overdraft...............2500......50........19.3
Abbey Overdraft................108.......10........19.3


Summary of Monthly Income, expense and surplus

Total monthly income: £ 1178
Expenses (incl. HP & secured debts): £ 860.88
Available for debt repayments: £ 317.12
Unsecured debt repayments: £ 259.46
Surplus (shortfall if negative) £ 57.66

Well its payday next Friday so this is my budget going forward...please note the grocery budget is for me and two cats. This is an estimate but have a delivery booked for friday and its only come to £90 so far and it covers everything for the month except fruit and veg :T

The emergency fund is actually Homecare covering my boiler, plumbing, drainage and electrics..I wont cancel this as I have a really old boiler and electrics that need replaced but dont have the cash at the minute, the cost over the year is pittance compared to the cost of the repairs they've needed in the last 12 months.

According to the snowball calculator I should be debt free by August 2013 :eek:, but this is too far away + the fixed rate on my mortgage finishes Jan 2012 so would really like to have got rid of the unsecured debt by then.

I'm planning to pay off Abbey this payday then earn 'extra' money to start on the LLoyds overdraft..I will beat that Debt free date!!

robpw2

could you not get a joint buildings/contents insurance check out comparison websites
have you attempted to get help for your addiction - i know you said you had opted out of these sites for 5 years but the addiction will need dealing with as welll.

could you speak to lloyds or abbey about consildating your 2 loans into one

i think you need to be paying off both overdrafts as a priorty

pm2326

The insurance is through the same company but they collect the payments via two seperate Direct Debits need to check contract to see if I can change them as renewal date is not till next year but I think I can get cheaper.

I have counselling booked through my work...they offer an employee assistance service so its free. Have'nt give in to the addiction for two weeks now :j

I know what you mean about the overdrafts..they are my goals for now...the loans can run as normal until these are paid back