Where do i start?!!

eleerin

I am really struggling to pay back my debts. I have calculated an SOA and I am looking for some advice.

Statement of Affairs and Personal Balance Sheet

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

Monthly Income Details
Monthly income after tax................ 1960
Partners monthly income after tax....... 1690
Benefits................................ 133
Other income............................ 0
Total monthly income.................... 3783

Monthly Expense Details
Mortgage................................ 915
Secured/HP loan repayments.............. 234.75
Rent.................................... 0
Management charge (leasehold property).. 0
Council tax............................. 155
Electricity............................. 78
Gas..................................... 60
Oil..................................... 0
Water rates............................. 0
Telephone (land line)................... 11
Mobile phone............................ 50
TV Licence.............................. 11
Satellite/Cable TV...................... 50
Internet Services....................... 19
Groceries etc. ......................... 300
Clothing................................ 50
Petrol/diesel........................... 250
Road tax................................ 30
Car Insurance........................... 50
Car maintenance (including MOT)......... 25
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..................... 10
Contents insurance...................... 5
Life assurance ......................... 20
Other insurance......................... 0
Presents (birthday, christmas etc)...... 20
Haircuts................................ 15
Entertainment........................... 50
Holiday................................. 0
Emergency fund.......................... 0
Total monthly expenses.................. 2408.75

Assets
Cash.................................... 0
House value (Gross)..................... 155000
Shares and bonds........................ 0
Car(s).................................. 14000
Other assets............................ 0
Total Assets............................ 169000

Secured & HP Debts
Description....................Debt......Monthly.. .APR
Mortgage...................... 143000...(915)......4.78
Hire Purchase (HP) debt ...... 2100.....(190)......0<
hire purchase..................550......(24.75)....0<
hire purchase..................501......(20).......24.9
Total secured & HP debts...... 146151

Unsecured Debts
Description....................Debt......Monthly.. .APR
loan tied to mortgage..........27000.....175.......4.8
credit card tsb................1000......19........16.9
credit cad bcard...............2900......44........13.9
personal loan..................11930.....295.......9.9
optimax loan...................1100......114.......0
credit union loan..............2300......90........8.5
credit union loan..............5581......138.......7.9
car loan.......................8500......155.......11. 5
car loan.......................11900.....199.......14. 3
Total unsecured debts..........72211.....1229

Monthly Budget Summary
Total monthly income.................... 3,783
Expenses (including HP & secured debts). 2,408.75
Available for debt repayments........... 1,374.25
Monthly UNsecured debt repayments....... 1,229
Amount left after debt repayments....... 145.25

Personal Balance Sheet Summary
Total assets (things you own)........... 169,000
Total HP & Secured debt................. -146,151
Total Unsecured debt.................... -72,211
Net Assets.............................. -47,262


Any advice or suggestions would be really appreciated.

Thanks

misspoppy

Hi

If you don't actually have any money left over at the end of the month it sounds like you need to keep a spending diary.

Few obvious savings would be the mobile phones, try and cut the package down, Sky broad band etc speak to them and get a combined deal but apart from that its watching the little bits and bobs that you are spending that are easily forgotten, news paper, coffee out.

Am I right in thinking you have two secured loans, one you've included in the main section of your SOA and then another one linked to the mortgage in the debt section?

eleerin

Thanks for the advice, the mobile phone costs are for two contracts for me and my wife. I will however try to reduce it. I will also contact sky to try to reduce tv and broadband costs. Just to clarify I dont have any secured loans. I have my mortgage, two Hp (comet and Littlewoods). The loan tied to the mortgage is not secured, however if I remortgage the APR increases dramatically.

Thanks again.

WASHER

eleerin wrote: »

I am really struggling to pay back my debts. I have calculated an SOA and I am looking for some advice.

Statement of Affairs and Personal Balance Sheet

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

Monthly Income Details
Monthly income after tax................ 1960
Partners monthly income after tax....... 1690
Benefits................................ 133
Other income............................ 0
Total monthly income.................... 3783

Monthly Expense Details
Mortgage................................ 915
Secured/HP loan repayments.............. 234.75
Rent.................................... 0
Management charge (leasehold property).. 0
Council tax............................. 155
Electricity............................. 78 _ this is very high
Gas..................................... 60 - this is also very high
Oil..................................... 0
Water rates............................. 0 - do you not pay water rates
Telephone (land line)................... 11
Mobile phone............................ 50 - again too high, this is a luxury
TV Licence.............................. 11
Satellite/Cable TV...................... 50 - this is one luxury you cannot afford
Internet Services....................... 19 - this is high
Groceries etc. ......................... 300 - I suspect you are spending more than this each month. Try meal planning, it can help to reduce costs
Clothing................................ 50
Petrol/diesel........................... 250
Road tax................................ 30
Car Insurance........................... 50
Car maintenance (including MOT)......... 25
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..................... 10
Contents insurance...................... 5
Life assurance ......................... 20
Other insurance......................... 0
Presents (birthday, christmas etc)...... 20
Haircuts................................ 15
Entertainment........................... 50
Holiday................................. 0
Emergency fund.......................... 0
Total monthly expenses.................. 2408.75

Assets
Cash.................................... 0
House value (Gross)..................... 155000
Shares and bonds........................ 0
Car(s).................................. 14000
Other assets............................ 0
Total Assets............................ 169000

Secured & HP Debts
Description....................Debt......Monthly.. .APR
Mortgage...................... 143000...(915)......4.78
Hire Purchase (HP) debt ...... 2100.....(190)......0<
hire purchase..................550......(24.75)....0<
hire purchase..................501......(20).......24.9
Total secured & HP debts...... 146151

Unsecured Debts
Description....................Debt......Monthly.. .APR
loan tied to mortgage..........27000.....175.......4.8
credit card tsb................1000......19........16.9
credit cad bcard...............2900......44........13.9
personal loan..................11930.....295.......9.9
optimax loan...................1100......114.......0
credit union loan..............2300......90........8.5
credit union loan..............5581......138.......7.9
car loan.......................8500......155.......11. 5
car loan.......................11900.....199.......14. 3
Total unsecured debts..........72211.....1229

Monthly Budget Summary
Total monthly income.................... 3,783
Expenses (including HP & secured debts). 2,408.75
Available for debt repayments........... 1,374.25
Monthly UNsecured debt repayments....... 1,229
Amount left after debt repayments....... 145.25

Personal Balance Sheet Summary
Total assets (things you own)........... 169,000
Total HP & Secured debt................. -146,151
Total Unsecured debt.................... -72,211
Net Assets.............................. -47,262


Any advice or suggestions would be really appreciated.

Thanks

Welcome to MSE and the DFW board.

I have added comments in above. I see you have two children and you and your partner work, do you not pay childcare?

Are your current debts the actual amount outstanding? I notice alot of your debts are rounded up, to get an accurate SOA, you need actual balances.

WASHER.x.

josephine82

eleerin wrote: »

I am really struggling to pay back my debts. I have calculated an SOA and I am looking for some advice.

Statement of Affairs and Personal Balance Sheet

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

Monthly Income Details
Monthly income after tax................ 1960
Partners monthly income after tax....... 1690
Benefits................................ 133 have you checked you are getting all you are entitled to
Other income............................ 0
Total monthly income.................... 3783

Monthly Expense Details
Mortgage................................ 915
Secured/HP loan repayments.............. 234.75
Rent.................................... 0
Management charge (leasehold property).. 0
Council tax............................. 155
Electricity............................. 78 have you checked you are on the best tariff?
Gas..................................... 60 have you checked you are on the best tariff?
Oil..................................... 0
Water rates............................. 0
Telephone (land line)................... 11
Mobile phone............................ 50 ok for two I guess but might be worth seeing if you can get for cheaper?
TV Licence.............................. 11
Satellite/Cable TV...................... 50 can you cancel this and just have freeview?
Internet Services....................... 19 can you get a cheaper deal?
Groceries etc. ......................... 300
Clothing................................ 50 are you shopping in the cheapest places- is this for all of you? Could cut down to just kids for the meantime- use freecycle, primark/tesco/asda etc
Petrol/diesel........................... 250
Road tax................................ 30
Car Insurance........................... 50 best deal??
Car maintenance (including MOT)......... 25
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..................... 10
Contents insurance...................... 5
Life assurance ......................... 20
Other insurance......................... 0
Presents (birthday, christmas etc)...... 20
Haircuts................................ 15 can you cut this down to every other month/go to a college for cheaper/find a friend who can cut hair?
Entertainment........................... 50
Holiday................................. 0
Emergency fund.......................... 0
Total monthly expenses.................. 2408.75

Assets
Cash.................................... 0
House value (Gross)..................... 155000
Shares and bonds........................ 0
Car(s).................................. 14000
Other assets............................ 0
Total Assets............................ 169000

Secured & HP Debts
Description....................Debt......Monthly.. .APR
Mortgage...................... 143000...(915)......4.78
Hire Purchase (HP) debt ...... 2100.....(190)......0<
hire purchase..................550......(24.75)....0<
hire purchase..................501......(20).......24.9
Total secured & HP debts...... 146151

Unsecured Debts
Description....................Debt......Monthly.. .APR
loan tied to mortgage..........27000.....175.......4.8
credit card tsb................1000......19........16.9
credit cad bcard...............2900......44........13.9
personal loan..................11930.....295.......9.9
optimax loan...................1100......114.......0
credit union loan..............2300......90........8.5
credit union loan..............5581......138.......7.9
car loan.......................8500......155.......11. 5
car loan.......................11900.....199.......14. 3
Total unsecured debts..........72211.....1229

Monthly Budget Summary
Total monthly income.................... 3,783
Expenses (including HP & secured debts). 2,408.75
Available for debt repayments........... 1,374.25
Monthly UNsecured debt repayments....... 1,229
Amount left after debt repayments....... 145.25

Personal Balance Sheet Summary
Total assets (things you own)........... 169,000
Total HP & Secured debt................. -146,151
Total Unsecured debt.................... -72,211
Net Assets.............................. -47,262


Any advice or suggestions would be really appreciated.

Thanks

Definitely start the spending diary to see if you have that £145 left over every month. If not, identify why and update your SOA..

Even if you can end up with £200 spare a month, you could really make a dent in some of those credit cards, to start with!

Is there anything you can sell to raise any funds, ebay etc. You would be surprised what you can sell, people buy anything!

september09

have posted on your post on the diary forum

Tixy

Hi eleerin and welcome

Have you done the online check to check your council tax is the correct band?

Your elec bill looks really high - are you paying off any arrears? is this based on them having actual readings each quarter or any estimated? If actual then either look to see if you can find a cheaper supplier or try to cut down on the use of high energy items such as tumble driers, fan heaters, other elec heaters, an immersion heater for hot water (check your isn't on constantly).

Satellite & internet are high - if you have Sky you should be able to get inclusive broadband, cut out some of the higher cost channels. Or consider a package that includes your landline.

Groceries - some room to reduce this by meal planning, drop a brand, batch cooking from scratch etc. Look on oldstyle board for loads of ideas on cutting back this and still having healthy filling meals. (how old are the kids?)

Clothing - try to think about every purchase to make sure you are only buying what is necessary and getting good value for money.

Petrol/diesel is high - is this mostly commuting? are all journeys necessary? try to combine short journeys to save unneccesary fuel costs and check out this article to get the most from your petrol money - http://www.moneysavingexpert.com/travel/cheaper-fuel

Your car loans are substantially more than the cars are worth. Assume these are not secured but just personal loans you took out to buy the cars? Are these loan amount the current balance or the original balance? How long have you had the cars? Could either or both of you sell your car and buy a much cheaper one?

As has been said do you have the £145 left each month?

Katie-Kat-Kins

eleerin wrote: »

I am really struggling to pay back my debts. I have calculated an SOA and I am looking for some advice.

Statement of Affairs and Personal Balance Sheet

Household Information
Number of adults in household........... 2
Number of children in household......... 2 - how old??
Number of cars owned.................... 2 - do you really need two? Sharing one can save you a lot of money if it is practical

Monthly Income Details
Monthly income after tax................ 1960
Partners monthly income after tax....... 1690
Benefits................................ 133
Other income............................ 0
Total monthly income.................... 3783

Monthly Expense Details
Mortgage................................ 915 - Is this repayment? Going interest only can reduce your outgoings
Secured/HP loan repayments.............. 234.75
Rent.................................... 0
Management charge (leasehold property).. 0
Council tax............................. 155
Electricity............................. 78 - Your joint gas and electric spend is high. Compare rates switch and save and also moniter your usage and try to cut back.
Gas..................................... 60
Oil..................................... 0
Water rates............................. 0
Telephone (land line)................... 11
Mobile phone............................ 50 - for how many? Are you in contract? If outside your contract period go PAYG, if not phone up and see if you can drop to a cheaper deal.
TV Licence.............................. 11
Satellite/Cable TV...................... 50 - this is a pure luxury and is a prime thing to cut back to save money.
Internet Services....................... 19
Groceries etc. ......................... 300 - Not bad for 4 people but you can normally shave a bit off with some downshifting and meal planning, check out the O/S board for hints.
Clothing................................ 50 - you could cut back for a few months.
Petrol/diesel........................... 250 - that is high, could you reduce it?
Road tax................................ 30
Car Insurance........................... 50 - that is pretty high, compare switch and save.
Car maintenance (including MOT)......... 25
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..................... 10
Contents insurance...................... 5
Life assurance ......................... 20
Other insurance......................... 0
Presents (birthday, christmas etc)...... 20
Haircuts................................ 15
Entertainment........................... 50
Holiday................................. 0
Emergency fund.......................... 0
Total monthly expenses.................. 2408.75

Assets
Cash.................................... 0
House value (Gross)..................... 155000
Shares and bonds........................ 0
Car(s).................................. 14000
Other assets............................ 0
Total Assets............................ 169000

Secured & HP Debts
Description....................Debt......Monthly.. .APR
Mortgage...................... 143000...(915)......4.78
Hire Purchase (HP) debt ...... 2100.....(190)......0<
hire purchase..................550......(24.75)....0<
hire purchase..................501......(20).......24.9
Total secured & HP debts...... 146151

Unsecured Debts
Description....................Debt......Monthly.. .APR
loan tied to mortgage..........27000.....175.......4.8
credit card tsb................1000......19........16.9
credit cad bcard...............2900......44........13.9
personal loan..................11930.....295.......9.9
optimax loan...................1100......114.......0
credit union loan..............2300......90........8.5
credit union loan..............5581......138.......7.9
car loan.......................8500......155.......11. 5
car loan.......................11900.....199.......14. 3
Total unsecured debts..........72211.....1229

Monthly Budget Summary
Total monthly income.................... 3,783
Expenses (including HP & secured debts). 2,408.75
Available for debt repayments........... 1,374.25
Monthly UNsecured debt repayments....... 1,229
Amount left after debt repayments....... 145.25

Personal Balance Sheet Summary
Total assets (things you own)........... 169,000
Total HP & Secured debt................. -146,151
Total Unsecured debt.................... -72,211
Net Assets.............................. -47,262


Any advice or suggestions would be really appreciated.

Thanks

According to this you have money left at the end of the month. If you don't you need a spending diary to track down where it is going. There is no reason why you shouldn't be able to meet your minimum repayments looking at this, and you should be able to make some over payments to help bring forward your debt free date too.

The spending diary will be the key!