Don't know where to start!

Apricot

:eek:Right so here is my SOA - I have these debts and I want to be free of them asap so I can start saving for a house or whatever...but I just don't know where to start when I already have a shortfall on my debt repayments. I have checked my credit report with Experian and it all looks fine at the moment but Im worried that this debt is getting out of hand! Im only 21 and don't want to let this go on!

Household Information[/b]
Number of adults in household........... 1
Number of children in household.........
Number of cars owned.................... 1
Monthly Income Details
Monthly income after tax................ 1100
Partners monthly income after tax....... 0
Benefits................................ 0
Other income............................ 0
Total monthly income.................... 1100
Monthly Expense Details
Mortgage................................ 0
Secured/HP loan repayments.............. 165
Rent.................................... 304
Management charge (leasehold property).. 0
Council tax............................. 80
Electricity............................. 50
Gas..................................... 40
Oil..................................... 0
Water rates............................. 30
Telephone (land line)................... 0
Mobile phone............................ 36
TV Licence.............................. 12
Satellite/Cable TV...................... 0
Internet Services....................... 0
Groceries etc. ......................... 160
Clothing................................ 20
Petrol/diesel........................... 60
Road tax................................ 10
Car Insurance........................... 35
Car maintenance (including MOT)......... 10
Car parking............................. 0
Other travel............................ 0
Childcare/nursery....................... 0
Other child related expenses............ 0
Medical (prescriptions, dentist etc).... 0
Pet insurance/vet bills................. 0
Buildings insurance..................... 0
Contents insurance...................... 0
Life assurance ......................... 0
Other insurance......................... 0
Presents (birthday, christmas etc)...... 20
Haircuts................................ 10
Entertainment........................... 20
Holiday................................. 0
Emergency fund.......................... 0
Total monthly expenses.................. 1062

Assets
Cash.................................... 0
House value (Gross)..................... 0
Shares and bonds........................ 0
Car(s).................................. 6000
Other assets............................ 0
Total Assets............................ 6000

Secured & HP Debts
Description....................Debt......Monthly...APR
Mortgage...................... 0........(0)........0
Hire Purchase (HP) debt ...... 6500.....(165)......8
Total secured & HP debts...... 6500......-.........-
Unsecured Debts
Description....................Debt......Monthly...APR
Barclaycard Goldfish...........2350......100.......0
Virgin Money...................80........25........17.9
Overdraft......................2000......0.........0 (1000 is 0% and the other is 1000 is not as of September)
Total unsecured debts..........4430......125.......-

Monthly Budget Summary
Total monthly income.................... 1,100
Expenses (including HP & secured debts). 1,062
Available for debt repayments........... 38
Monthly UNsecured debt repayments....... 125
Amount short for making debt repayments. -87

Personal Balance Sheet Summary
Total assets (things you own)........... 6,000
Total HP & Secured debt................. -6,500
Total Unsecured debt.................... -4,430
Net Assets.............................. 1,570

Created using the SOA calculator
Reproduced on Moneysavingexpert with permission, using IE browser.[/font]

Any help you could give I would be very grateful!

dancingfairy

Hi. A couple of thoughts to start you off - electric and gas look a bit high - can you compare and switch? or try being really careful with electric ie low energy bulbs, turning lights off when not needed, unplugging everything you can when not needed etc.
Groceries - you could maybe cut this a little although it is not too bad.
The car is costing you a fair amount each month of your income - can you car share/bus/train/cycle/walk etc?

Any potential for overtime? second job? ebay/car boots etc?
df

dancingfairy

You could consider renting a room out to a friend or lodger to help with bills?
df

talana

Gas and elec seem high for one person, what sort of property is this for?
Check your meter readings/bills and look around for a better deal.

Grocery bill could be cut a bit if you wanted.
£20 for presents I'd knock on the head for the time being, you can't afford it. Other expenses don't look unreasonable, but those things could cover your present monthly shortfall.

After that look to sell things on ebay, whatever you have that you don't need any more. Your immediate goal here should be to clear that Virgin Money card, which is only £80. If you can clear that asap, it frees up another £25 per month for you.

Then I'd suggest you investigate ways to boost your income a wee bit. Even just a modest amount here will help you out.

Jesthar

Hey leah, and welcome!

And double congratulations on getting a handle on things so early in life, it makes things much easier

Now, lets have a look for you - as it happens, I'm single and live alone, so I can identify with your cost levels:

princessleah_ wrote: »

:eek:Right so here is my SOA - I have these debts and I want to be free of them asap so I can start saving for a house or whatever...but I just don't know where to start when I already have a shortfall on my debt repayments. I have checked my credit report with Experian and it all looks fine at the moment but Im worried that this debt is getting out of hand! Im only 21 and don't want to let this go on!

Household Information[/b]
Number of adults in household........... 1
Number of children in household.........
Number of cars owned.................... 1
Monthly Income Details
Monthly income after tax................ 1100
Partners monthly income after tax....... 0
Benefits................................ 0
Other income............................ 0
Total monthly income.................... 1100
Monthly Expense Details
Mortgage................................ 0
Secured/HP loan repayments.............. 165
Rent.................................... 304
Management charge (leasehold property).. 0
Council tax............................. 80
Electricity............................. 50 - this is VERY high for just one person, especially if your heating and hot water is gas. Have you checked about changing supplier? Also, get pathalogical about turning everything off at the wall when not in use (including lights), and avoid using things like tumble driers and electric heaters, as they eat money. My elec is about £15 a month...
Gas..................................... 40- possibly a bit high, too - mine is around £35. If your heating is gas you shouldn't need it right now, but come winter make sure you do as much as you can to stop draughts and keep heat in.
Oil..................................... 0
Water rates............................. 30 - are you on a meter? If you are, that's a lot of water for one person per month, so unless you are having a bath every other day, check for any leaks or dripping taps etc., and try to moderate your useage as much as possible. If not, can you get one fitted?
Telephone (land line)................... 0
Mobile phone............................ 36 - if you don't use all your tarriff, see about getting this lowered. I'm on PAYG, and my bill is usually under £5...
TV Licence.............................. 12
Satellite/Cable TV...................... 0
Internet Services....................... 0
Groceries etc. ......................... 160 - major savings can be made here as this is just for one person. I get annoyed if I spend more than £80 in the supermarket in a month, and that's for non-food as well as me and my cat. You could save yourself £60 - 80 a month here pretty easily, more with care. Check the Old Style Moneysaving section of this forum for some truly inspiring ways to save on food and plenty of suggestioins for good eating without going hungry or repetitive menus.
Clothing................................ 20 - go essentials only for a while
Petrol/diesel........................... 60 - can you cut out any unnecessary journeys?
Road tax................................ 10
Car Insurance........................... 35
Car maintenance (including MOT)......... 10
Car parking............................. 0
Other travel............................ 0
Childcare/nursery....................... 0
Other child related expenses............ 0
Medical (prescriptions, dentist etc).... 0
Pet insurance/vet bills................. 0
Buildings insurance..................... 0
Contents insurance...................... 0 - you really should consider getting this
Life assurance ......................... 0
Other insurance......................... 0
Presents (birthday, christmas etc)...... 20 - plenty of ways to save on present giving, loads of suggestions in some of the forums here.
Haircuts................................ 10
Entertainment........................... 20 - could be cut for a month or two whilst you make a start on your debts?
Holiday................................. 0
Emergency fund.......................... 0
Total monthly expenses.................. 1062

Assets
Cash.................................... 0
House value (Gross)..................... 0
Shares and bonds........................ 0
Car(s).................................. 6000
Other assets............................ 0
Total Assets............................ 6000

Secured & HP Debts
Description....................Debt......Monthly...APR
Mortgage...................... 0........(0)........0
Hire Purchase (HP) debt ...... 6500.....(165)......8
Total secured & HP debts...... 6500......-.........-

Unsecured Debts
Description....................Debt......Monthly...APR
Barclaycard Goldfish...........2350......100.......0 - really 0% APR?
Virgin Money...................80........25........17.9 - a very easy first target to clear!
Overdraft......................2000......0.........0 (1000 is 0% and the other is 1000 is not as of September)
Total unsecured debts..........4430......125.......-

Monthly Budget Summary
Total monthly income.................... 1,100
Expenses (including HP & secured debts). 1,062
Available for debt repayments........... 38
Monthly UNsecured debt repayments....... 125
Amount short for making debt repayments. -87

Personal Balance Sheet Summary
Total assets (things you own)........... 6,000
Total HP & Secured debt................. -6,500
Total Unsecured debt.................... -4,430
Net Assets.............................. 1,570

Created using the SOA calculator
Reproduced on Moneysavingexpert with permission, using IE browser.[/font]

Any help you could give I would be very grateful!

Right, you don't have many items in your SoA, but there are some areas you can make good savings.

Your utility bills all seem rather high, especially the electricity. Check your useage patterns, make sure everything is turned off when not in use, and try and avoid using heat generating electrical appliances as much as possible, as they tend to be the money eating culprits! Also, do some price comparing and see if you could switch to a cheaper supplier. Oh, and make sure the bills are based on actual readings, not estimated.

By far your easiest target is your grocery bill, though - you could halve that with ease, and - with good discipline - maybe even knock £100 off it for a while. You don't have to eat like a miser on that money, either, much of it can be done by dropping down a brand name or two, cutting out some of the more expensive items for a while, getting cheaper cuts of mean, batch cooking, making things like bolognese sauces yourself (I can make 8 portions of bolognese for about £5-6 in my slow cooker) etc. I could probably knock between an extra £10 - 20 off my food bill most months, truth be told, but thankfully I'm in a position where I don't HAVE to do that (still buy organic milk, for example). If I needed to, though, I would!

Also, if you have any items you no longer need/want but could sell on eBay, why not have a profitable de-clutter? There are also plenty of ways to up your income a bit - paid online surveys, free cashback from daily cashback site 'clicks', doing any online shopping through a cashback site (make sure you check this out if you change energy suppliers, they can often pay cashback!).

Truth be told, I think you just caught this in time, especially as you are going to have to start paying interest on one overdraft soon, too. You're looking at having to be very strict with yourself for a while, especially as you get started, but with some determination you can do this.

To help you, you should start a spending diary and write in it EVERYTHING you spend, no matter how small. This is essential for keepng track of where pennies are wasted, and helps you really focus on not wasting money. I use a spreadsheet of my own design, but there are many ways of doing it!

Hope this helps!

~Jes

Apricot

Thanks for all of your responses so far:
Gas, Electicity & Water - I have only moved into the property in the last two weeks so this is what I am paying on my payment card in the hope it will be enough to cover my quarterly bills. If my first bills are high how would you suggest I go about changing suppliers? This is my first place on my own and I would love to be as thrifty as possible.
Mobile Phone - I have only had this for four months on an Orange 18 month contract - do you think they will let me lower the tariff? Will call after work and find out
Groceries - Im not the best cook but mum has bought me a cookbook so will look into cooking batches of food and freezing - to be fair I haven't been using everything I've been buying and end up throwing away some perishables - effectively throwing money away I guess
Entertainment - Only go out about once a month but must stop those takeaways that im a sucker for!
Presents - I have a massive family - oldest child of 14!!! This means at least one sibling birthday a month before you start on parents and grandparents - i know i should cut it down but don't want to be seen as mean
Car - At the moment I need the car to visit my parents (separated) as they both live in pretty remote areas about 30 miles away - but i could cut down non essential use as I am quite lazy.

I was planning on paying the Virgin Card off in full this month as it is my birthday on Friday and I know I will have some money and paying a debt off would be a greater present than anything I could buy myself atm.
Just opened the Barclaycard on 0% til September 2010.
I have £400 in savings at the moment on 3.5% interest - I know i should probably pay something off with this but I am scared that if anything unexpected happens I won't have a safety net.

Apricot

Oh forgot to say I have sold one thing on Ebay this week already - only £6.50 but it's a start! Also just signed up for Quidco - not really sure what its about yet but after reading some other threads it seems like money for nothing basically?
Feeling a bit more positive already! You're all angels!:T

talana

princessleah_ wrote: »

I have £400 in savings at the moment on 3.5% interest - I know i should probably pay something off with this but I am scared that if anything unexpected happens I won't have a safety net.

You're right, this £400 could be made to work harder for you, certainly come September. What's going to be the APR on the second £1000 of your overdraft from then? 15% or thereabouts? Compared to 3.5% interest on the savings account. It's no contest really.

As for what happens if you need cash in an emergency, as long as you keep the overdraft facility in place then you still have access to the cash if required. And you'll be no worse off than before.
If nothing unexpected happens, all well and good, you're paying off the overdraft!

Good luck

Apricot

Me again - I just had a phonecall from Virgin - don't know how they got my number but they said that they have been reviewing intrest rates and have decided to offer me a 0% balance transfer or money transfer for 9 months....would this be a good thing to do with my overdraft? Im really confused now...they must have known I was trying to sort myself out today and thats why they rang!

PNPSUKNET

you may not be able to transfer your o/d to the card unless they have give you 0% cheques or cant think of the other named one where they do transfer to current accounts. I use quidco for near enough everything, its really worth while using. aa for £9 a year! 3 year orange contract £120!

Jesthar

Hey Leah, a few more thoughts below:

princessleah_ wrote: »

Thanks for all of your responses so far:
Gas, Electicity & Water - I have only moved into the property in the last two weeks so this is what I am paying on my payment card in the hope it will be enough to cover my quarterly bills. If my first bills are high how would you suggest I go about changing suppliers? This is my first place on my own and I would love to be as thrifty as possible.
Ah, right. When you say 'payment card' does that mean you have a prepayment meter? If so, how do you keep track of what is left on your credit? Only ever had one once at a rented house, you see...

Mobile Phone - I have only had this for four months on an Orange 18 month contract - do you think they will let me lower the tariff? Will call after work and find out
You might be lucky, though they can be stonewalls. Try the polite but pleading approach, but be firm - it might help if you knew what you wanted to switch down to as a better match for your needs than what the sales rep talked you into, so to speak.

Groceries - Im not the best cook but mum has bought me a cookbook so will look into cooking batches of food and freezing - to be fair I haven't been using everything I've been buying and end up throwing away some perishables - effectively throwing money away I guess
Well, try and avoid that, yes, but it will happen from time to time, so don't beat yourself up too much over the odd wasted carrot, only if you are having to chuck significant things or amounts! You'll learn what you need soon enough. Oh, and always by stuff that will keep for ages (pasta, rice etc.) in the biggest bulk value packs as you can, it works out much cheaper.

As to cookbooks, the best one I own is 'Student Grub' by Jan Arkless - brilliant for absolute beginners (like I was!). And the Old Style Moneysaving boards are a goldmine of information on this topic, too.

Entertainment - Only go out about once a month but must stop those takeaways that im a sucker for!
Good plan - you can cook your own for cheaper!

Presents - I have a massive family - oldest child of 14!!! This means at least one sibling birthday a month before you start on parents and grandparents - i know i should cut it down but don't want to be seen as mean
Ouch! One tip,though - if you buy little things people really want, you'll get far more brownie points that spending more money on something more extravagent bot less desired. For example, I have a friend who LOVES Galaxy chocolate, so do I waste money on buying Thorntons for her? Nope!

Car - At the moment I need the car to visit my parents (separated) as they both live in pretty remote areas about 30 miles away - but i could cut down non essential use as I am quite lazy.
Good plan

I was planning on paying the Virgin Card off in full this month as it is my birthday on Friday and I know I will have some money and paying a debt off would be a greater present than anything I could buy myself atm.
:TVery good plan! That's £25 a month saved already!

Just opened the Barclaycard on 0% til September 2010.
Good - try and keep on top of using it, and make sure you pay off the minimums every month, but this means you have a year to concentrate on getting your interest charging overdraft down. You need to make a note to try and get another 0% card when this one is about to run out, or at least somethign with a lower interest rate that the Barclaycard will rise to.

I have £400 in savings at the moment on 3.5% interest - I know i should probably pay something off with this but I am scared that if anything unexpected happens I won't have a safety net.

Personally I'd say having a small emergency fund is a good thing, unless you have some spare room on the 0% card. However, if your overdraft facility won't be reduced if you pay your savings off the balance, and/or you do have some significant spare room on the 0% card, you'd save yourself a load of interest and reduce the payoff time too.

Oh, and well done on the e-Baying!

~Jes