What would you do if you were me?

southernscouser

What strikes me is that your utility (why is that word such a nightmare to spell ) bills are quite high! Have you been on uswitch.com at all?

Also you pay more for your dogs insurance than you do your car and although I understand that the dog means more than the car. Is it an old dog coz this does seem an awful lot!

As for the breakdown service I'm sure I've seen on here that you can get a years worth for less than £50!

What does OH do for a living? Can he increase his wage?

OberonSH

Hey spud, wonder if I could make some suggestions?


INCOME
Tax credits £300.00 (estimate - waiting to hear from TC people)
Child Benefit £116.60
OH Salary £715.00
My salary £0.00 - Have you checked out the entitled to website, make sure you're claiming everything you're entitled to.

Total £1,131.60

All income is 4 weekly, so monthly equivalent income is £1225.00

EXPENDITURE
Phone & Broadband £30.00 12 months finishes April 07 Have you asked to see if this is the cheapest package for you? I called Tesco and got them to drop my package to £13.99 as I couldn't cancel
Sky TV £46.00 12 months finishes November 06 Some people have successfully got them to halve this by calling them and telling them you're thinking of leaving. Worth a try?
Pet Insurance £32.74 Have you checked if this is the cheapest, indeed if it's necessary? That's nearly £400 a year. You could put that in a savings account instead, and then if (Gods forbid) nothing happens to Fido & Blackie you could throw it at some debt
TV Licence £11.07
Council tax £161.00
Gas £32.50 Have you checked this is the cheapest supplier? Uswitch.com
Electric £54.00 As above
Mortgage £313.07 Fixed rate till Sept 06. Will increase.
House insurance £50.00 Again, check to see if you can get this cheaper
Water £64.58
heating maintenance £33.00 Can you freeze or drop this, Again, you could put the money in a savings account nd use it to throw at debt if boiler doesn't break. It's anothre £400 a year
Car Insurance £30.00 Check if it's the cheapest
Breakdown service £15.00 I'm sure you can get this free with some bank accounts.
Food £200.00 for 2 adults, 2 kids & 1 very large dog. That's impressively low - Have you checked out the Moneysaving Old Style board for tips on lowering it even further?
Petrol £30.00

Total £1102.96 I reckon you could save £227.86 per month by dropping some stuff or making 25% savings on utilities & house insurance (plus halving sky & phone)

DEBTS
Alliance & Leicester £8,200.00 5.8%
Nationwide Credit Card £5,700.00 15.9%
Tesco Credit Card £2,500.00 16.9%
Overdraft £2,500.00
CSL suite £1,500.00 0%
AA loan £14,500.00 6.3%
Harveys - suite £511.04 0%

Can you balance transfer some of the interest payable debts? Not much but every little helps!

Total £35,411.04

Have you considered Ebay, Amazon and carboots to declutter the house and raise some cash to put towards the debts? Wonderfully theraputic too. You mentioned a part time job, in theory your wages could all go on debt. What's the news on that?

spud30

Hi SS,

Hope you are OK !!

Yes, the dog means much more to us than the car. She's not old, but she is a high risk breed, known for health problems. Thats why it costs so much. Before anyone suggests it, she's going nowhere !!!

Am looking at buying RAC breakdown cover with CC vouchers, but doesnt include home start so need to weigh up pros and cons.

cathy163

Spud30 to answer your question about good basic bank account. I would recommend Co-operative Bank. I have 2 accounts ie cashminder account and saver account. Only drawback of cashminder account is that it is an electron card they issue whihc isn't accepted by all shops. Not huge drawback as prefer to deal in cash now anyway.

These accounts were opened on advice of CCCS. My husband and I have been on DMP since Feb 2005 and it is best thing we have ever done. Our debt was £150,000 and have paid off £22,000 which we could never have done on our own. They have been a brilliant help. They do a review every 6 mths which helps keeps you on track and allows you to discuss any problems. My husband has just lost his overtime which unfortunately meant we had to drop payment to CCCS by £650 - was terrified that creditors would refuse but they said we were still paying £750. They calmed me down when I phoned in a panic. They are trained to help. Personally I cannot recommend them highly enough.

southernscouser

spud30 wrote:

Hi SS,

Hope you are OK !!

Yes, the dog means much more to us than the car. She's not old, but she is a high risk breed, known for health problems. Thats why it costs so much. Before anyone suggests it, she's going nowhere !!!

Am looking at buying RAC breakdown cover with CC vouchers, but doesnt include home start so need to weigh up pros and cons.

OH works for Mr T. We needed him to work nights to be around for the kids during the day.

Mr T? Whats that?

I would never suggest getting rid of a pet. Animals are better than humans! I assume you have shopped around for the best deal?

Also, although you can't cancel SKY could you downgrade to a cheaper package?

spud30

Hi Oberon,

Thanks so much for your comments.

I have checked entitled to, and seem to get a different amount each time I try it. Have used the lowest figure, until I get the official notification through from the TC people.

Advised by the CAB today that we may be able to claim council tax benefit, so forms coming in post to claim.

Phone & broadband - not got a BT line so limited where we can go.

Will give SKY a try, nothing to lose.

Pet insurance, as explained, high risk breed. Nowt up with her so far, but you can guarantee the day we cancel summat will happen.

Gas and leccy - we fixed our prices until 2010, just before the recent increases. I just need to train OH and kids to turn lights off etc.

House and car insurance due for renewal soon. Will defo shop around for cheapest.

Heating maintenance - will think about cancelling .

We have sooo much clutter we would love to sell, but we have never Ebayed of Amazoned so not sure how or where to start. I imagine it is therapeutic, and would de-clutter the house at the same time. We have loads of big stuff to sell - exercise equipment etc so need to look at the local paper.

I have been offered another job today. Once I've been CRB checked, I will be able to get more hours helping out. As you say, all income can be thrown at the debts.

southernscouser

spud30 wrote:

Mr T - Tesco's !!!

Oh OK! Thought he was one of BA's sidekicks! :rotfl:



Is there any chance of more hours?

spud30

I'm sure there is a chance of more hours. I just feel so bad asking him to work more. He already does 36 hours over a 4 night week.

Good thing is, he does get the staff discount.

southernscouser

spud30 wrote:

I'm sure there is a chance of more hours. I just feel so bad asking him to work more. He already does 36 hours over a 4 night week.

Good thing is, he does get the staff discount.

I don't envy him working nights! :eek: He couldn't swap to working days or anything?

Ebay is a great way of making some cash. Start off by just listing one or 2 items. There is an ebay board on here with loads of tips and advice!

spud30

If he swapped for days, he would lose his shift allowance for working nights, so would come out with a lot less.

We will look into Ebay. We have a house full of stuff here we could get rid of. I know where to come for advice !!