Final Lightbulb Moment!

rhowes2000

Good morning all,

In the past I have had several lightbulb moments, I'm sensible for a couple of weeks or so and then it all goes out of the window and i'm back to square one. Now my priorities in life have changed, I live with my girlfriend we have recently bought a house and would like to start a family in the future but that isnt going to happen in the current situation. Below is a list of where we are current at using Martin/Tony's budget spreadhseet:-

Income approx £2200 (joint and approx as I have just started a new job and i'm unsure what my exact take home pay will be)

Overdraft Cost £5.00
Mortgage / Rent £506.00
Buildings & Contents Ins £17.00
Council Tax £75.00
Water Rates / Meter £30.00
Gas Bill £30.00
Electricity Bill £30.00
Home Phone Bill £20.00
Internet Bill £18.00
Mobile Phone Bill(s) £90.00
Pet Insurance £14.00
Food & Household Shopping £190.00
Meals at Work £50.00
Rail / Bus / Coach / Taxi £42.75
Car Insurance £54.00
Car Tax £10.00
Petrol / Diesel / Gas £90.00
Personal Loan Repayments £675.00
Credit Card Repayments £40.00
Fitness / Sports / Gym £78.00
NTL / Sky Subscription £30.00
TV Licence £12.00
Optical Bills £10.00

Balance remaining £83.25


The Internet & Sky have been downgraded to the lowest price I could today, I can't cancel sky until August 12th (which I definitely will do). We recently joined a gym after i got a new job with a higher salary, although it was very spur of the moment we dont go out much (if at all!) and we are using it regularly. The personal loans is obviously where the main problem lies, these are broken down as follows:-

Ocean Finance £140pcm over 300 months (secured) balance £15000 approx

Sainsburys £105pcm over 84 months balance £4500 approx

Natwest £250pcm over 84 months balance approx £14000

Lloyds TSB £40pcm over 36 months balance approx £700

Lloyds TSB £140pcm over 60 months balance approx £800


Credit cards broken down as follows:-


Lloyds TSB Advantage balance £1300 minimum payment £20

Lloyds TSB classic, balance £1050 (over limit by £50) minimum payment £12

SkyCard, balance £500 minimum payment £8



I also have 3 CCJ's (totalling around £2000) from 5+ years ago, I would like to pay these off instead of wiping them after 6 years as I feel I borrowed the money I should be paying it back. I also have a loan of £8200 from 5+ years ago that in future I would like to pay back.

In this huge mess what do you guys recommend we do, at the moment we are considering arraning a payment plan through CCCS. Although we have £83 per month left not all the debts are being paid regularly.

Thank you for reading I know it was a long post, all help is very much appreciated.

Richard

CLAPTON

if you nominally have 83 left each month but not all debts are paid regularly, your first priority is to find out where all this money is actually going.
both of you should start spending diaries so you know exactly where the monthly money is going. then think about all the yearly or one off spending..car servicing, RAC/AA, any holidays, presents,weekends away, any spending on the house...decorating, appliances .

the SOA
even to live within your income you need to either increase income or reduce spending or both

can you work overtime or get a parttime job, sublet a room in the property?

mobile phones at 90 is enormous....should be able to reduce this by £60 possibly consider PAYG and use sparingly

meals at work...take food from home save 30 easy money

gym 78 ...sadly you can't afford this

home phone..if you have a BT line then 11 for line and use https://www.call1899 or https://www.call18185 or equivalent

lots of broadband for 15 or less

this will give you an extra 170 approx to throw at the credit cards.
do you have PPI on any of the CC or loans?

and with the spare money remember to pay off the debt with the highest APR first.

gallygirl

Richard, hello & welcome!!!!

There are lots of people on here who can give you expert advice, especially about CCCS, but my thoughts are:
Water Rates / Meter £30.00
Gas Bill £30.00
Electricity Bill £30.00
All 3 of these are v high. Have you estimated them as you have just moved house? For gas & electric make sure you are on the cheapest tariff with www.uswitch.com . There is at least 1 company who will take you if you are cuurently on a coin or card meter at the same price, sorry can't remember who but if you read tehrough this forum it's in here soemwhere!
Home Phone Bill £20.00
Internet Bill £18.00
Mobile Phone Bill(s) £90.00 These are WAY too high. Why???? Switch to cheaper PAYG.
Pet Insurance £14.00 if pet is helathy consider cancelling this and putting money into a savings account instead - 'self insure'.
Food & Household Shopping £190.00
Meals at Work £50.00
These can be cut down a lot - go on Old Style board to look for tips. Consider doing store cupboard challenge (using up what you've got before buying any more!) Is 'meals at work' subsidised? If so, can you have your main meals there? If not, start taking sandwiches, packed lunches etc.
Rail / Bus / Coach / Taxi £42.75
Car Insurance £54.00
Car Tax £10.00
Petrol / Diesel / Gas £90.00
Is there any way this can be cut? Where do you live? Can you sell teh car & use public transport - desparate times mean desparate measures!
Fitness / Sports / Gym £78.00 Make sure you get your money's worth or these have to go. You can't justify additional expenditure just because you're earning more. How much does this work out per session, including fuel to get there?
Ocean Finance £140pcm over 300 months (secured) balance £15000 approx

Sainsburys £105pcm over 84 months balance £4500 approx

Natwest £250pcm over 84 months balance approx £14000

Lloyds TSB £40pcm over 36 months balance approx £700

Lloyds TSB £140pcm over 60 months balance approx £800

Credit cards broken down as follows:-


Lloyds TSB Advantage balance £1300 minimum payment £20

Lloyds TSB classic, balance £1050 (over limit by £50) minimum payment £12

SkyCard, balance £500 minimum payment £8

For all of these we need APR's, then we can prioritise paying off. Also, how much is overdraft & is it interest free? You reckon you have £83 left over, but then say you're not paying all bills - the money is going somewhere - keep a spending diary to see where you can cut stuff out. Also you need to allow for birthdays, car repairs etc.

You need to make a budget - either use the spreadsheets on here or devise your own. Remember, it's not how much you have in the bank today that matters, but how much is left on the day before pay day (or how much slack there is on overdraft!).

Finally, it's admirable of you to want to pay off old debts. However, I'm not sure if this is wise - you're in enough trouble as it is.

Good luck!

rhowes2000

ali007 wrote:

Richard, hello & welcome!!!!

There are lots of people on here who can give you expert advice, especially about CCCS, but my thoughts are:
Water Rates / Meter £30.00
Gas Bill £30.00
Electricity Bill £30.00
All 3 of these are v high. Have you estimated them as you have just moved house? For gas & electric make sure you are on the cheapest tariff with www.uswitch.com . There is at least 1 company who will take you if you are cuurently on a coin or card meter at the same price, sorry can't remember who but if you read tehrough this forum it's in here soemwhere!
Home Phone Bill £20.00
Internet Bill £18.00
Mobile Phone Bill(s) £90.00 These are WAY too high. Why???? Switch to cheaper PAYG.
Pet Insurance £14.00 if pet is helathy consider cancelling this and putting money into a savings account instead - 'self insure'.
Food & Household Shopping £190.00
Meals at Work £50.00
These can be cut down a lot - go on Old Style board to look for tips. Consider doing store cupboard challenge (using up what you've got before buying any more!) Is 'meals at work' subsidised? If so, can you have your main meals there? If not, start taking sandwiches, packed lunches etc.
Rail / Bus / Coach / Taxi £42.75
Car Insurance £54.00
Car Tax £10.00
Petrol / Diesel / Gas £90.00
Is there any way this can be cut? Where do you live? Can you sell teh car & use public transport - desparate times mean desparate measures!
Fitness / Sports / Gym £78.00 Make sure you get your money's worth or these have to go. You can't justify additional expenditure just because you're earning more. How much does this work out per session, including fuel to get there?
Ocean Finance £140pcm over 300 months (secured) balance £15000 approx

Sainsburys £105pcm over 84 months balance £4500 approx

Natwest £250pcm over 84 months balance approx £14000

Lloyds TSB £40pcm over 36 months balance approx £700

Lloyds TSB £140pcm over 60 months balance approx £800

Credit cards broken down as follows:-


Lloyds TSB Advantage balance £1300 minimum payment £20

Lloyds TSB classic, balance £1050 (over limit by £50) minimum payment £12

SkyCard, balance £500 minimum payment £8

For all of these we need APR's, then we can prioritise paying off. Also, how much is overdraft & is it interest free? You reckon you have £83 left over, but then say you're not paying all bills - the money is going somewhere - keep a spending diary to see where you can cut stuff out. Also you need to allow for birthdays, car repairs etc.

You need to make a budget - either use the spreadsheets on here or devise your own. Remember, it's not how much you have in the bank today that matters, but how much is left on the day before pay day (or how much slack there is on overdraft!).

Finally, it's admirable of you to want to pay off old debts. However, I'm not sure if this is wise - you're in enough trouble as it is.

Good luck!

Thanks very much for your help I will hopefully be able to answer clapton and ali in this post,

Firstly utilities:-

Gas and Electric, I have just moved to Powergen by using uswitch, these are estimates am I sure these will be lower but for now I would prefer to over estimate until the change over is completed in the next week or so. I looked into a water meter and it was only slightly cheaper, I would rather pay £30 so I know where i stand for now.

Mobile phones, I completely agree this is ridiculous. It is something we have to cut back on but unfortunately we are tied into contracts so PAYG isnt an option at the moment. We will be changing tariff's to the lowest possible and using them only when necessary.

Landline, we havent got a BT line available in our house so we are with Telewest, we dont use it very often and we may consider getting rid of it altogether instead of paying BT to install a new line.

Internet, again back to the BT line problem so £18 is cheapest available with Telewest.

Transport,

My girlfriend uses public transport so that is the £42.75. Previously I would have sold my car (even though its only worth around £100!) but with my new job I will be travelling and I do need it, this means I will get paid expenses which will definitely help my income.

Gym,

I would prefer to cancel it but again its a 12 month contract (very foolish to take it up initially I know)

Overdraft is £900 and its on my girlfriends account i'm not sure of the interest but she said the maximum fee is £5 per month.

I'm unsure of the exact APR's on the loans but I know how they rank:-

Loans (highest apr to lowest apr)

Lloyds TSB £40pcm over 36 months balance approx £700

Lloyds TSB £140pcm over 60 months balance approx £800

Natwest £250pcm over 84 months balance approx £14000

Sainsburys £105pcm over 84 months balance £4500 approx

Ocean Finance £140pcm over 300 months (secured) balance £15000 approx



Credit cards (highest to lowest APR)

SkyCard, balance £500 minimum payment £8

Lloyds TSB classic, balance £1050 (over limit by £50) minimum payment £12

Lloyds TSB Advantage balance £1300 minimum payment £20



We have filled in the budget spreadsheet from this site, and we will now be keeping a spending diary so we can see exactly where we need to make cut backs.

Thank you very much for your help

newleaf

Looks like it's packed lunches for work and reduce your grocery bill then? Do you live near any of these? Lidl/Aldi/Morrisons
Have a look on the Moneysaving Old Style board for back to basics advice on all kinds of household moneysaving. I also recommend the Shop But Don't Drop board, there's a long thread about what to buy or not to buy at Lidl/Aldi, which I found very helpful myself when recently needing to make radical changes to my own household budget. Finally, good luck! Admitting the problem is half the battle.

rhowes2000

Cheers newleaf, grocery shopping is definitely a problem for us. In the past it would easily be £100 per week we have managed to halve it to £50 and I know we still have work to do. I'll look into the old style boards/posts.

gallygirl

APR's will held both you and us, so track down as soon as possible. While you are at it, check if there are early repayment charges on the loans. However, the one good thing that's obvious straight away is that your skycard which has the highest apr also has the lowest monthly payment - any spare money should be chucked at this straight away, even if it's only £20 a month, it will make a difference - save you interest and give you the satisfaction of seeing one gone.

You also need to learn to love the following site
http://www.whatsthecost.co.uk/snowball.aspx This will scare the living daylights out of you at first as it will show you how long it will take you to pay off your debts! but the challenge then is to get that down. You DO need the APR's though as it prioritises debt based on this.

You seem to have a pragmatic approach to this, which is good as you're in it for the long haul! Good luck!

rhowes2000

Thanks so much Ali, you are being a great help. I'll have a look through the paperwork I have got and make calls where necessary. I'm going to get in touch with the gym and plead poverty which should hopefully save £78 pcm.

Also one of the Lloyds TSB Loans has a settlement figure of £573. And the monthly payment is £140, I appreciate it isnt the highest APR but it will help me a great deal each month if I could clear this first. If I sell some of my toys on ebay eg. XBox 360, Sony PSP and Kona montain bike and an old mobile I could potentially raise around £600-£700. If I do this I know I am v serious about it!!

I will have a look at that website now, and get the APR's asap.

gallygirl

rhowes2000 wrote:

Thanks so much Ali, you are being a great help. I'll have a look through the paperwork I have got and make calls where necessary. I'm going to get in touch with the gym and plead poverty which should hopefully save £78 pcm.

Also one of the Lloyds TSB Loans has a settlement figure of £573. And the monthly payment is £140, I appreciate it isnt the highest APR but it will help me a great deal each month if I could clear this first. If I sell some of my toys on ebay eg. XBox 360, Sony PSP and Kona montain bike and an old mobile I could potentially raise around £600-£700. If I do this I know I am v serious about it!!

I will have a look at that website now, and get the APR's asap.

You boys and your toys, what are you like!!!!! You really are going for it, aren't you!!!!:T :T What other 'c**p' have you got lying around you could sell?

Although the highest APR's are the most important sometimes it's just as good to get a 'quick win' and free up some cash, so that's a great idea with the Lloyds loan.

Get on the snowball calculator as soon as you can, with a stiff drink in your hand, and report back!

rhowes2000

Right I have got the APR's and I have been snowballing!

Lloyds TSB Loan with repayments of £40.10 has an APR of 16.9%

Lloyds TSB Loan with repayments of £140 has an APR of 11.9%

Natwest Loan 11.5% APR

Ocean Finance 10.9% APR

Sainsburys 7.7% APR

Credit cards:-

Skycard 29.7% APR !!!!!

Lloyds Classic 11.9%

Lloyds Advance 8.9%


Snowballing gives me a debt free date of June 2037 if I carry on the way I am going, this excludes the older debt I have as some of the loans are non flexible. Definitely not waiting that long!! I have looked through the terms and conditions I have for a couple of loans and asked the other companies and there arent set charges for early settlements they just calculate interest up to the date you pay it off etc.

beanielou

Try to get rid of highest APR lloyds loan & that Sky card first.