having palpitations

gabs41

I've been lurking on this forum a while and have finally got myself together to take a look at my financial situation which I knew was bad, As I haven't defaulted on any payments and still have credit available I have been able to ignore to a greater or lesser extent. I guess this is my lightbulb moment but a bit of a shock as to how bad things are and how much worse things will get unless i take action.

My SOA
income
wages 674.57
cchid credits 314
working credits 125
child benfit 115

total 1228


outgoings
mortgage 367
house insurance 15
union 17
electricity 41
water 45
loan 71
council tax 77
overdraft 15
car insurance 15
phone 20
c/c 248
mobile 10
internet 17.99
tv 10
petrol 120
housekeeping 200
childcare 30
total 1318

Not sure what I can cut down but am having a water meter fitted, and maybe cheaper internet connection but used a lot for school work.
well the figures dont add up and my debt is gradually increasing, my outgoings above don't include things like clothes for kids, school trips, etc.
I contacted london and county mortgage brokers, and maybe all for the best they said no lender would offer me a mortgage with extra to consolidate loans, due to my income 'stretch'.
I am thinking about loan consolidation, which i know people seem to be against but i looked at one which would cover my 15000 debs, over 10 years with repayments at 177 a month (if i can get it). I would be spending over 100 less a month on repayments. which are crippling me at the moment.
I'm on my own with two kids 7 and 16. and with no support from family struggle, with childcare in the holidays. I work part-time, would work fulltime if it was term-time only! I am in the process of applying to do extra shifts which I wouldn't have to do in the holidays.
I'm having palpitations just thinking about it.
My mortgage is running out and due to see financial advisor at lloyds about my C&g mortgage. Phone messsage sounded like they are keen for me to borrow more to 'mop up' my debts.
I had a look at the snowball calculator things, but it worked out that I couldn't afford to pay all the debts with the amount I had free at the end of the month.
What if anything can I do. I am very scared to apply for the loan to clear all my debts in case they refuse and I start to muck up my credit rating.
sorry if this is all a bit garbled, cant believe i am in such a muddle.

kar

have you checked out the entitled to pages someone will come along with the link if you need it. I'm not sure about benefits and stuff but would look at countil tax credits and the like. I'm sure you already get single persons discount on your council tax don't you?

Other than that what does housekeeping include. Could you break it down further - often there are things that could be cut down here.

fivemice

mortgage 367
house insurance 15
union 17 is this a necessity?
electricity 41
water 45
loan 71
council tax 77
overdraft 15
car insurance 15
phone 20
c/c 248 credit card? is this minimum payment?
mobile 10
internet 17.99
tv 10
petrol 120 this seems quite high
housekeeping 200 what does this include
childcare 30

$17mma

kar wrote:

have you checked out the entitled to pages someone will come along with the link if you need it. I'm not sure about benefits and stuff but would look at countil tax credits and the like. I'm sure you already get single persons discount on your council tax don't you?

Other than that what does housekeeping include. Could you break it down further - often there are things that could be cut down here.

Do you mean this one Kar?

http://www.entitledto.co.uk/

gabs41

fivemice wrote:

mortgage 367
house insurance 15
union 17 is this a necessity?
electricity 41
water 45
loan 71
council tax 77
overdraft 15
car insurance 15
phone 20
c/c 248 credit card? is this minimum payment?
mobile 10
internet 17.99
tv 10
petrol 120 this seems quite high
housekeeping 200 what does this include
childcare 30

Hi, I think the union is necessary as I am a nurse, and would hate to be unprotected if anything went wrong. Petro; I might be able to cut down a bit, but I need it to get to and from work, rural area so public transport not too good and very expensive.
With the cards payments I actually have 3, and pay the minimum amount on them all. One, which has 5500 outstanding is 0% interest dut to end sept.
Housekeeping includes mainly food, treats like swimming hiring the odd dvd, not 100% sure. Must start spending diary but scared that I am actually underestimating how much I pay in this area.

lynzpower

Hi there
I think your housekeeping money is the one you can crack.

You could do some dvd tarting, to hire dvds for free ?

Little_Miss_Winner

Hi and welcome aboard, please don't panic as we will work through this.

Firstly;-

I am thinking about loan consolidation, which i know people seem to be against but i looked at one which would cover my 15000 debs, over 10 years with repayments at 177 a month (if i can get it). I would be spending over 100 less a month on repayments. which are crippling me at the moment.

Am a bit confused about this?
You don't mention any debts apart from your monthly outgoings.
So would you be able to break down any debts including aprs, and amounts owing, so that we can have a look at the bigger picture, and work it out from there.

I know it's a scary/worrying process, but it will get better when you have some answers as to how much/what to pay to whom.

Keep posting
hugs
pot
xx

Little_Miss_Winner

sorry our posts crossed. (you must be a faster typer!:rotfl: )

fivemice

Spending diaries are great. Scary, but great. I only started mine yesterday, but already I have cut back on things that "I'll just pop to the shop" for, as I'd be too embarassed to have to right such an unnecessary thing in my book! If it helps, my unaccountable spending is over £1000, so either my spending diary is going to be very interesting to read, or I am going to be £1000 better off this month

gabs41

$17mma wrote:

Do you mean this one Kar?

http://www.entitledto.co.uk/

I think I get all I am entitled too. Because my earnings have gone up, my tax credits have gone down dramatically. It has occurred to me that I might be better off getting a job in the local supermarket and getting maximum tax credits and then I could get rid of the car, which costs somewhere between 145-170 a month run assuming no repairs are needed, and whoops that didn't include road tax.

And ironically I have to reapply for my post at the local hospital, and if I don't get it and there will be more applicants that posts, might face redundancy. But cross that bridge a bit later!!

$17mma

Make sure you arent paying too much for your water

http://www.uswitch.com/Water/W_Output.aspx?ref=moneysavingexpert&sessionid=AUDSWcO6OpFoQeRrYwmqLyfbgFRdxuUh

Are you using childcare vouchers through work? these will be cheaper

http://www.busybees.com/calculator.php