Can't go on much longer :-(

dancingfairy

If you are tackling things on your own - ie you keep your money seperate maybe you should do a soa for you and note down on it whether it's half a bill or whether you pay the full amount etc. With the above SOA we can see where some things are a bit high but it doesn't really give a snapshot of your indiviual situation and if you are tackling this on your own and not sharing the finacial resources maybe that would make things a bit clearer for you?
df

ILW

It does seem from many threads on here, that the less money people have, the more attached they become to satellite tv. Not sure if I understand why.

anh1904

A frank and open discussion with your other half might not be a bad thing.
Tackling these things together can be a much less daunting journey.

Money_Fritter

Hi Letmeoutofhere,

You are in good hands on here, there are loads of people on here who are really helpful.

I am in a similar boat to you. I have about 18k of debt and am slowly trying to pay it off. You have made a good start by posting your SOA and asking for advice. I understand it can get you down, but dont worry you can get through this.

I agree with the other people who have commented.

Your food bill could be reduced quite a bit. You just need to plan your weekly meals and do a shopping list. I use to spend loads on food and stuff. Most of it went to waste.

I admit I live on my own, but I have cut my food bill down to £80.83 per month. Which saved me alot of money. Also as other people said, £60 on sky is a lot. Even if you want to keep a few channels, couldn't you go down to the basic package.

Also on this site you will find loads of ways of making extra money. Things such as matched betting, selling books, cd's whatever you can find on amazon or e-bay. There are also lots of challenges that help you cut back.

I am sure you can do it. Just keep your head up. I do understand, it can weigh you down, but dont let it win.

Money Fritter

gargrave50

letmeoutofhere wrote: »

Statement of Affairs and Personal Balance Sheet

Household Information
Number of adults in household........... 2
Number of children in household......... 1
Number of cars owned.................... 1

Monthly Income Details
Monthly income after tax................ 1100
Partners monthly income after tax....... 1000
Benefits................................ 200
Other income............................ 0
Total monthly income.................... 2300

Monthly Expense Details
Mortgage................................ 638Not ideal but have you considered changing to interest only for a period so you can throw the difference at your debts. I note you talk about the value of your home so this might not be an option if the LTV ratio is low. Just a suggestion
Secured/HP loan repayments.............. 0
Rent.................................... 0
Management charge (leasehold property).. 0
Council tax............................. 88I assume you are paying this over 12 months instead of 10, if not approach your council and ask nicely.
Electricity............................. 23If these are realistic then this is good, make sure you stay on top of wasteful consumption.
Gas..................................... 25As above
Oil..................................... 0
Water rates............................. 44
Telephone (land line)................... 15Again pretty good, I assume your calls are through a different company? Or is your line rental BT and you only spend £2.50 each month on calls?
Mobile phone............................ 0Unheard of! Do you both use company mobiles?
TV Licence.............................. 11Realistic - I like it:D
Satellite/Cable TV...................... 60Wowser - got to go or at the very least be reduced.
Internet Services....................... 10This could be reduced there is a plan for wireless broadband at £5.99 a month. If you are with Sky you will be due their basic broadband for free. There are set up costs of £30 for the router, but if you complain in writing - loyal customer etc, you will get it free.:D
Groceries etc. ......................... 300As already suggested try meal planning to reduce this a bit.
Clothing................................ 0You need to be realistic and budget something for this e.g. school uniform. Yes buy only the basics and ebay old clothes to increase the budget for new etc.
Petrol/diesel........................... 80Not bad for a month, try to reduce your usage where possible to reduce this further.
Road tax................................ 10Realistic figure
Car Insurance........................... 23 When it comes up for renewal make sure you go through a cashback site once you shop around and find out who is cheapest.
Car maintenance (including MOT)......... 5
Car parking............................. 0
Other travel............................ 0
Childcare/nursery....................... 0
Other child related expenses............ 0
Medical (prescriptions, dentist etc).... 0
Pet insurance/vet bills................. 13Again when this is due for renewal shop around and then use a cashback site.
Buildings insurance..................... 7Super low - is this a realistic figure? Particularly given the expected value of your house if your mortgage costs £600+ each month.
Contents insurance...................... 7Again make sure this is realistic.
Life assurance ......................... 11
Other insurance......................... 12Can I be nosey and ask what for?
Presents (birthday, christmas etc)...... 0Really? Don't be tempted to put presents on cards. You need to budget something for this. There are ways of topping this up with surveys for vouchers etc.
Haircuts................................ 0Really?
Entertainment........................... 0Lots of entertainment options for free, but I'm sure you might want to budget something for this to ensure you can be realistic.
Holiday................................. 0
Emergency fund.......................... 0
Total monthly expenses.................. 1382


Assets
Cash.................................... 0
House value (Gross)..................... 97000
Shares and bonds........................ 0
Car(s).................................. 250
Other assets............................ 0
Total Assets............................ 97250


Secured & HP Debts
Description....................Debt......Monthly...APR
Mortgage...................... 102000...(638)......6.4
Total secured & HP debts...... 102000....-.........-

Unsecured Debts
Description....................Debt......Monthly...APR
Lloyds Loan....................10500.....206.......4.5Find out if there are penalties associated with overpayments for this.
halifax CC.....................1900......30........0Make sure these are 0%
Egg CC.........................1800......30........0
Barclaycard CC.................900.......30........0
Total unsecured debts..........15100.....296.......-


Monthly Budget Summary
Total monthly income.................... 2,300
Expenses (including HP & secured debts). 1,382
Available for debt repayments........... 918
Monthly UNsecured debt repayments....... 296
Amount left after debt repayments....... 622

Personal Balance Sheet Summary
Total assets (things you own)........... 97,250
Total HP & Secured debt................. -102,000
Total Unsecured debt.................... -15,100
Net Assets.............................. -19,850

Sorry if it all seems doom and gloom. There is no point posting a budget if its not realistic. I just want to make sure that you have included everything. Start a spending diary and see where the extra goes each month.:)

josephine82

I would say it would be better if you can do an SOA based on what you pay i.e half of everything you have put, etc so we can see exactly what YOU have left over each month, i.e so the money that is over isn't your partners if you are not sharing paying off the debts.

If you have £15,000 worth of debts then you can't afford sky. Freeview would do while you sort your finances out. Its a luxury that you can't afford. Instead of staying on and watching TV you could go out with your wife and daughter and sit in the park, go to free events etc- at the end of the day none of us NEED sky.

Do you not spend any money on haircuts, presents and entertainment?

If you shop carefully you could cut your groceries down, what about doing a monthly shop and then just buying the extra bfresh bits when you need them? I shop for myself on about £65 a month and eat pretty well.

basmic

It'd be interesting to see how the bills are split - ie: do you and the OH (other half) pay 50-50 of all the bills?

Or does she just pay for something like food, and you're landed with the rest?

bank_of_slate

Hi and welcome to the site,
Can you see if you can get your TV package, land line, mobile phone and internet service from one provider for a much cheaper quote?

Is your other half aware of the full situation?
...Linda xx

bank_of_slate

ILW wrote: »

It does seem from many threads on here, that the less money people have, the more attached they become to satellite tv. Not sure if I understand why.

I think it's because if you're staying in so much you want a decent choice of viewing!
...Linda xx

BeautyandtheBeast_3

hi lots of useful tips here!
If you have a joint account then just wondering why you take it in turns to pay the week shopping bill? I pay £820 into the Joint, Hubs puts £865 into joint and out of that comes everything; mortgage, joint loan, joint CC, Shopping, Very occasional trip out somewhere, Gas, electric - Everything to do with the house comes from the joint. Is it possible to set something up like that for you both/?