Scared witless

cragrate2

Thanks, gonna take another look at SOA. Think I did it a little quickly

gfplux

Hello cragrate,
I don't want to be negative but.....
Examine yourself, is this really your “light bulb moment.” Do you still think you will win the lottery? If you find plenty of reasons and excuses not to act immediately then the bulb has not come on properly. Do you really want to get out of debt. If you can not do without most or all of (this is a general list) - A Sky contract, Mobile Phones, Two cars, Bingo, Music lessons, Lottery tickets, Air fresheners, Cloths for a year, Charity contributions, Savings for a child, Presents, Holidays, Fitness/Sports Membership, then again the bulb has not come on properly. That's not without mentioning Cigarettes!
Only by really excepting that you have to make hard and unpleasant decisions can you get out of debt.
It is not easy.


Good Luck

Burlesque_Babe

cragrate2 wrote: »

Thanks for that. Groceries are high but that includes wine/beer etc. You will notice from SOA that we dont go out, we dont smoke so that is our only vice. .... we are essentially 4 adults who are very active and eat a lot.

even with the odd bottle of wine and a couple of beers per week, it is still a HUGE amount to spend on groceries. Being active is a plus - do you eat lots of fresh fruit and veg. rather than ready meals? If so, use local markets for your fruit etc where it is cheaper.

Nargleblast

Well done on making a start by changing utility companies, that will be a help to you. Now tackle that grocery bill - it is possible with careful planning to eat well and have the occasional drink without spending loads, just check out the Old style moneysaving board and see! Even if you just knock a hundred quid off it will be a start.

gizmo111

cragrate2 wrote: »

Thanks for that. Groceries are high but that includes wine/beer etc. You will notice from SOA that we dont go out, we dont smoke so that is our only vice. Car insurance is high because my son is 18 and just passed his test. £100 p.m is his insurance but he has just started work and will be paying that himself now. Back with groceries, we are essentially 4 adults who are very active and eat a lot. 2 cars is a must cos I work 32 miles away from home! Secured debt is against the house and the product of previous consolidation. A really bad move in hind sight and boy, do I wish i didn't have it.....but I do! I took first steps in changing my utilities last night which, according to web site will save me £365 p.a. We will see! I thought i was with the cheapest (utilities warehouse), it would seem not

Even so groceries can be reduced - I now have a spreadsheet with every amount spent on it, and I now seperate alcohol from food. We are 3 adults also and spend around £250 per month on food, which covers all lunches for college and work as well as a cooked meal every night and snacks etc as well as a takeaway prob twice a month. My tesco bill used to be around £700 per month and we never seemed to have anything nice to eat! Now the freezer is full and we have loads of choice and are eating better. Starting off is the difficult bit as you obviously have to do the cooking/planning from scratch but after that you just top up, or eat everything and start again. Old Style cooking has made my life so much easier.
By seperating the alcohol from the food bill I think twice now about buying another botttle of wine etc, not only for financial reasons but for health also - although this is around £80 per month, so I have halved my tesco bill. This takes something like 5 years off my mortgage.

cragrate2

Gonna work on groceries bill. Not gonna be easy tho. I like the idea of seperating alcohol from food tho, probably be a shock when I see how much we spend on it. Going to the bank in the morning to see about my overdraft problem. I think if we could just get straight then it would be easier to manage the money. If we could start off with a blank sheet..................

gizmo111

cragrate2 wrote: »

Gonna work on groceries bill. Not gonna be easy tho. I like the idea of seperating alcohol from food tho, probably be a shock when I see how much we spend on it. Going to the bank in the morning to see about my overdraft problem. I think if we could just get straight then it would be easier to manage the money. If we could start off with a blank sheet..................

You can start off with a blank sheet sort of ..... open a basic account at a bank you owe nothing to, treansfer all your income and outgoings to it.

Tixy

Don't want to come up with another negative but if you have an overdraft (or 2) then you should really include these in the list of debts on your SoA. What is the overdraft problem? are you over the limit? do you have other debts with the same bank? be careful about highlighting them to your debt worries too much at this stage as you don't want them to recall your overdraft or credit cards (if with the same bank). Also be really careful if they advised consolidation - this hasn't worked in the past and probably won't again. You need to cut back on costs rather than tie yourself into another or larger bank loan.

If son is now paying the £100 insurance then you can remove this off the SoA (providing he is definatley paying) - or if he is giving you the money to make the payments then include this in other income.

If you have an overdraft I guess you do not have the surplus each month -do start a spending diary to work out where that is going.

Good luck

cragrate2

Been to the bank today. Agreed to reduce the overdraft amount/limit (currently £2k) month by month. Worked out that there is about £450 p.m to use so I am going to get rid of my bank card and not touch the account. We will have to live from my wifes account until this situation is sorted. All I have to do is try and explain this to her.................wish me luck!

putty71

Thanks for this insight Cragate.

I am in a very similar position and I am now trying to sort, but like you are scared witless and have young family with Xmas coming which makes it worse. Please let me know how you get on and I'll do likewise.

Ta Putty