Day One

Smithy22

Hi,

I've been working up towards posting on here for a couple of weeks now and have finally run out of cleaning, washing sorting and the countless other tasks I have found to occupy my time and put off the inevitable!!

I first posted on MSE a few years ago when I was having money worries with my then boyfriend and our ever increasing debt. Long story short, we split up and that should have - in theory- put an end to my debt worries and set me on the path to being debt free. Things didn't quite pan out like that though! Struggling to pay a mortgage I couldn't afford and other events that conspired against me my debts began to spiral out of control. I'm not quite sure how it happened but I changed from someone who had always been in control of their finances to someone who no longer opens bills let alone looks at them and assumed the classic ostrich stance! I know this is all my doing but I have to stop beating myself up about things that are in the past and start now, day one.

I do still manage my debt in that I am making repayments and have not defaulted on any of my debts but my debt is getting bigger, not smaller, and it has to stop. I want to be in control of my finances and my life again. I don't currently know how much I owe but I think its around £10k in unsecured debts but we'll see!

I know my debts are manageable and i'm in a much better position that a lot of people on here but I also know that I have tried, and failed, to clear my debts on my own before and I am just hoping that by putting it all out there in public I will finally make some real progress.

Well thats enough waffle from me, I have finally set my ball rolling! I'm off to write my SOA and will post it up as soon as I'm done. Thanks x

BEAT_THE_DEBT

Welcome:T.

Little_Mis-spent

Hi & welcome :hello:

CosmoCat

Welcome and a great big cheer to you for getting it under control. :T

gfplux

Hello smithy22,
When you make out your SOA (link - http://www.makesenseofcards.com/soacalc.html ) Try not to guess at the figures, dig out the paperwork! However remember a partial completed one is better than none. It is in fact one of the most IMPORTANT things you will ever do to start on the road to recovery. If you want a lot of help on this forum, posting your SOA is the first and most important step. After it is done it is very easy to keep it up to date. In my opinion everyone should have an up to date SOA even if you have little or no debt. It is a great tool to manage your life with.
If you post it on the forum answer the obvious questions before they are asked so you get immediate feedback, such as :-
If you have other Income explain what it is
Mortgage – interest only or not.
What is the age of any children.
Council tax over 10 or 12 months.
Electricity and gas any arrears.
Water rates meter yes or no.
Mobiles, how many and when are the contracts up for renewal.
If no contents insurance is it include with buildings insurance.
If your pets cost money, what are they.
House or flat value, has it been valued by an Estate Agent and when.
The more you can explain about your financial figures and circumstances the quicker you will get advise rather than questions.
When you have posted it and it does not look right or you want to change it, do so and repost it.
Good Luck

Smithy22

Statement of Affairs and Personal Balance Sheet
Household Information
Number of adults in household........... 1 I live in a house share with 5 others.
Number of children in household.........
Number of cars owned....................
Monthly Income Details
Monthly income after tax................ 1218.65
Partners monthly income after tax....... 0
Benefits................................ 0
Other income............................ 0
Total monthly income.................... 1218.65
Monthly Expense Details
Mortgage................................ 0
Secured/HP loan repayments.............. 0
Rent.................................... 325 My rent is inclusive of all bills except council tax and broadband.
Management charge (leasehold property).. 0
Council tax............................. 21.5
Electricity............................. 0
Gas..................................... 0
Oil..................................... 0
Water rates............................. 0
Telephone (land line)................... 0
Mobile phone............................ 38.5 I know this is high but is an honest average of my last 6 bills, I can't change contract yet as am tied in but will get this down.
TV Licence.............................. 0
Satellite/Cable TV...................... 0
Internet Services....................... 5
Groceries etc. ......................... 200
Clothing................................ 10
Petrol/diesel........................... 0
Road tax................................ 0
Car Insurance........................... 26.48 My car got written off a few months ago so even though I don't have a car as they paid me out on a total loss basis I am still liable for the insurance until renewal
Car maintenance (including MOT)......... 0
Car parking............................. 0
Other travel............................ 53
Childcare/nursery....................... 0
Other child related expenses............ 0
Medical (prescriptions, dentist etc).... 18.11
Pet insurance/vet bills................. 0
Buildings insurance..................... 0
Contents insurance...................... 0
Life assurance ......................... 0
Other insurance......................... 0
Presents (birthday, christmas etc)...... 57
Haircuts................................ 8
Entertainment........................... 50
Holiday................................. 0
Emergency fund.......................... 0
Total monthly expenses.................. 812.59

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

No Secured nor Hire Purchase Debts
Unsecured Debts
Description....................Debt......Monthly...APR
Overdraft......................188.66....0.........17.3
Tesco Credit Card..............1397.16...41........17.5
RBS Credit Card................2580.14...61........3.99
Student Loan ..................4888.45...0.........0.4 currently deferred.
Natwest Credit Card............2545.57...58........3.99
Total unsecured debts..........11599.98..160.......-

Monthly Budget Summary
Total monthly income.................... 1,218.65
Expenses (including HP & secured debts). 812.59
Available for debt repayments........... 406.06
Monthly UNsecured debt repayments....... 160
Amount left after debt repayments....... 246.06
Personal Balance Sheet Summary
Total assets (things you own)........... 0
Total HP & Secured debt................. -0
Total Unsecured debt.................... -11,599.98
Net Assets.............................. -11,599.98
Created using the SOA calculator at makesenseofcards
Reproduced on Moneysavingexpert with permission, using IE browser.

A couple more things to add. I think my card tarting days are over as I have recently applied for a couple of 0% cards to do balance transfers and have (for the first time ever eeek) been rejected. The RBS and Natwest cards above are on 6 month specials that run out in November and will then go to some insane figure of APR!

I know my current outgoings can be cut dramatically but just wanted to post a realistic figure of my current position.

Thats about it really, all advice greatfullt received!

helping_hubby

Smithy22 wrote: »

Statement of Affairs and Personal Balance Sheet
Household Information
Number of adults in household........... 1 I live in a house share with 5 others.
Number of children in household.........
Number of cars owned....................
Monthly Income Details
Monthly income after tax................ 1218.65
Partners monthly income after tax....... 0
Benefits................................ 0
Other income............................ 0
Total monthly income.................... 1218.65
Monthly Expense Details
Mortgage................................ 0
Secured/HP loan repayments.............. 0
Rent.................................... 325 My rent is inclusive of all bills except council tax and broadband.
Management charge (leasehold property).. 0
Council tax............................. 21.5
Electricity............................. 0
Gas..................................... 0
Oil..................................... 0
Water rates............................. 0
Telephone (land line)................... 0
Mobile phone............................ 38.5 I know this is high but is an honest average of my last 6 bills, I can't change contract yet as am tied in but will get this down.
TV Licence.............................. 0
Satellite/Cable TV...................... 0
Internet Services....................... 5
Groceries etc. ......................... 200
Clothing................................ 10
Petrol/diesel........................... 0
Road tax................................ 0
Car Insurance........................... 26.48 My car got written off a few months ago so even though I don't have a car as they paid me out on a total loss basis I am still liable for the insurance until renewal
Car maintenance (including MOT)......... 0
Car parking............................. 0
Other travel............................ 53
Childcare/nursery....................... 0
Other child related expenses............ 0
Medical (prescriptions, dentist etc).... 18.11
Pet insurance/vet bills................. 0
Buildings insurance..................... 0
Contents insurance...................... 0
Life assurance ......................... 0
Other insurance......................... 0
Presents (birthday, christmas etc)...... 57
Haircuts................................ 8
Entertainment........................... 50
Holiday................................. 0
Emergency fund.......................... 0
Total monthly expenses.................. 812.59

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

No Secured nor Hire Purchase Debts
Unsecured Debts
Description....................Debt......Monthly...APR
Overdraft......................188.66....0.........17.3
Tesco Credit Card..............1397.16...41........17.5
RBS Credit Card................2580.14...61........3.99
Student Loan ..................4888.45...0.........0.4 currently deferred.
Natwest Credit Card............2545.57...58........3.99
Total unsecured debts..........11599.98..160.......-

Monthly Budget Summary
Total monthly income.................... 1,218.65
Expenses (including HP & secured debts). 812.59
Available for debt repayments........... 406.06
Monthly UNsecured debt repayments....... 160
Amount left after debt repayments....... 246.06
Personal Balance Sheet Summary
Total assets (things you own)........... 0
Total HP & Secured debt................. -0
Total Unsecured debt.................... -11,599.98
Net Assets.............................. -11,599.98
Created using the SOA calculator at makesenseofcards
Reproduced on Moneysavingexpert with permission, using IE browser.

A couple more things to add. I think my card tarting days are over as I have recently applied for a couple of 0% cards to do balance transfers and have (for the first time ever eeek) been rejected. The RBS and Natwest cards above are on 6 month specials that run out in November and will then go to some insane figure of APR!

I know my current outgoings can be cut dramatically but just wanted to post a realistic figure of my current position.

Thats about it really, all advice greatfullt received!

Hi, welcome to the forum...

£200 a month on food is relatively high for 1 person. I spend less than that on 2 people, more like £160 a month. What sort of things are you spending on? Can you try going a brand down? E.g if you have heinz, try Tesco own, or even better have a go at the Tesco Value brand.

Other ideas are to check out the Old Style forum for tips on bulk cooking. E.g. make a shepherds pie and freeze portions. Works out much cheaper. Google for "rubber chicken" to see how to make a chicken go a lot further...

Mobile Phone - how long have you got left? Some companies let you downgrade the contract after a certain number of months. Then you need to be strict on yourself with phone calls and texts to make sure you don't go over your inclusive time.

Birthdays/Christmas: Check out the Occassions board for loads of ideas on homemade presents, or think about doing hampers which some people have done amazingly cheap and they make fab presents. Do you have a "Card Fair" shop? Think that's the name. Cards are really cheap in there. They sometimes have 5 cards for £1 and they are actually alright. Better than £3 in Clintons. I would suggest making your own - but if you get hooked it costs a fortune

According to your SOA, you have £246 a month left over....do you really? If so what do you do with it? If you're not sure, how about keeping a spending diary for a few months...put everything in it, from a chocolate bar to rent. This will give you a better idea of where the stray pennies go.

As for the debts (sorry if I pointing out the obvious here), pay off the ones with the highest APR first with the 'spare' money you have each month. I'd start with the overdraft as that could be put into the black quite quickly and it'll be nice to wipe one debt off the list pretty quickly.

It might not hurt to phone your existing credit card companies to see if they can offer you a new deal.

Which credit card did you get rejected for? Some credit cards are harder than others to get so I've read, so if you name it someone might be able to advise on that.

Rather than going for a 0% deal where you'll need to keep changing it, it might be worth looking at a low balance card for the life of the debt. But you CANNOT spend on these cards.

Hope that helps for starters...

Shoe_Gal

Hello and welcome

Looking at your SOA you have done the right thing in admitting the problem now - and tackling it while you can. I wish I had

Good luck :A

GeorgeUK

Hi Smithy, well done on posting.

Mobile phone............................ 38.5 I know this is high but is an honest average of my last 6 bills, I can't change contract yet as am tied in but will get this down.
Could you ask to change tariff?

Groceries etc. ......................... 200
Might be able to cut this down a little. Have a look at the old style board for mealplan ideas and cooking in bulk.

Contents insurance...................... 0
Nothing here?

Presents (birthday, christmas etc)...... 57
Every month?

Holiday................................. 0
Emergency fund.......................... 0
You should probably have something for these.

Not really much that can be cut back on and you seem to have quite alot to left over with which to tackle the debts. If you don't have this left at the end of each month, it might be worth keeping a spending diary for a few months - this should allow you to see if there are other areas where you are spending but not realised how much.

You can have about 3 credit searches in a 6 month period before your credit score is affected so you're probably right to take a break for a while. It might be an idea to make the minimum payments to all debts but overpay the Texco card as much as possible. Not just because this is currently the highest APR but also because you may be able to get a BT offer once you have a nil balance. As an existing customer, this shouldn't require a credit check so hopefully you'll be able to make some more transfers without payng too much interest.

I would also try to keep some money saved for emergencies - just incase.

Smithy22

Thanks so much for the welcomes and tips so far!

To be honest I currently have no money left at the end of every month (and the debt I have accrued) as I spend every penny I have (and plenty I dont!) on things I don't need and countless nights out I can ill afford. The £50 a month entertainment is going to be my new bench mark and I am determined to make this work and pay off my debts.

I'm currently typing this now as I turned down a night out tonight and have even taken a shift in my brother in laws restaurant tomorrow to raise some extra revenue. Its something I haven't done for a long time and way out of my comfort zone so wish me luck

Thanks again, this website is truly amazing and your stories are inspiring

Can someone just tell me if this should be in debt free diaries? I'm still a bit bemused by the sheer number of threads and posts on the forums?!?!?

GeorgeUK

Don't worry about this turning into a diary - if it does, it'll get moved there.

This board is usually about asking for help or advice and i think you're still at that stage rather than a diary of your debtbusting journey.