New Year Still Broke

confused76

good luck, i'm sure you will get lots of support and ideas on the DFW board...

MicheH

Suzy, it's worth a try! Don't be depressed. Take it as a real attempt to get your life on track now. No more spirralling, you're in control - you can do this, you can be proud of taking your debt head on!

Good luck Debt Free Wannabe-er!

Shoe_Gal

Hi Suzy

You can definately do it :j I have a diary on DFW
http://forums.moneysavingexpert.com/showthread.html?t=2172725

and the Single and in Debt thread is fun!

http://forums.moneysavingexpert.com/showthread.html?t=1985189

fiveyearplan

suzzybabe wrote: »

Hello here Its Suzy and not out on a Saturday night!!!!

As expected the CAB have advised me to cut down my expenses and try to resolve money problems without resorting to BR

With this in mind I have projected what my new SOA should look like and if I pull out all the stops with the best will in the world It is going to take me at least 5 years to get myself sorted out

I am going to give it a good old fashioned try


Household Information[/b]
Number of adults in household........... 1
Number of children in household.........
Number of cars owned.................... 1
Monthly Income Details
Monthly income after tax................ 2650
Partners monthly income after tax....... 0
Benefits................................ 0
Other income............................ 0
Total monthly income.................... 2650
Monthly Expense Details
Mortgage................................ 0
Secured/HP loan repayments.............. 0
Rent.................................... 550 change of address
Management charge (leasehold property).. 0
Council tax............................. 80 projected
Electricity............................. 50 "
Gas..................................... 0 you might have this in the new property
Oil..................................... 0
Water rates............................. 10 "
Telephone (land line)................... 30
Mobile phone............................ 10
TV Licence.............................. 12
Satellite/Cable TV...................... 0
Internet Services....................... 10 you can get cheaper phone & internet package
Groceries etc. ......................... 195
Clothing................................ 0 allow something here
Petrol/diesel........................... 60
Road tax................................ 15
Car Insurance........................... 30
Car maintenance (including MOT)......... 20
Car parking............................. 0
Other travel............................ 0
Childcare/nursery....................... 0
Other child related expenses............ 0
Medical (prescriptions, dentist etc).... 10
Pet insurance/vet bills................. 0
Buildings insurance..................... 15 you won't need this in rented
Contents insurance...................... 13
Life assurance ......................... 20 do you need this?
Other insurance......................... 0
Presents (birthday, christmas etc)...... 0

Haircuts................................ 20
Entertainment........................... 0
Holiday................................. 0
Emergency fund.......................... 20
work journals........................... 20
Total monthly expenses.................. 1190

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

No Secured nor Hire Purchase Debts
Unsecured Debts
Description....................Debt......Monthly...APR
loans..........................22000.....462.......0
cc s...........................41000.....410.......14.5
Total unsecured debts..........63000.....872.......-

Monthly Budget Summary
Total monthly income.................... 2,650
Expenses (including HP & secured debts). 1,190
Available for debt repayments........... 1,460
Monthly UNsecured debt repayments....... 872
Amount left after debt repayments....... 588
Personal Balance Sheet Summary
Total assets (things you own)........... 0
Total HP & Secured debt................. -0
Total Unsecured debt.................... -63,000
Net Assets.............................. -63,000



Wish me luck
I can't see it happening though

Going to transfer over to the debt free wannabe board

Thanks everyone

lots and lots of love

Suzy xx (Depressed about the mess I am in):cool::cool:

Hi Suzy,

The DFWers may tell you £195 per month on food is extravagant but stick to your guns. Yes, you can feed yourself cheaper but remember what you are going from and what you are going to - if you lower your standard of living too low you may get bored and resort back to old spending habits. Buy yourself a new article of clothing from time to time and enjoy it. Cut out the waste without cutting down the service (talking phone and internet here). When you do move make sure you get the best deals from utility suppliers etc. I just saved £200 + on car insurance renewal etc.

Come back over to the BR forum to give us an update from time to time and GOOD LUCK!!

Shoe_Gal

Hey - we are not all bad on DFW! :rotfl::rotfl::rotfl: I would never squeeze my toilet rolls and I never cook (old style or otherwise :eek:)

Shoe_Gal

Don't be silly - you didn't upset me Just didn't want Suzy to be scared off :rolleyes: Know what you mean though, I tend to stick to a few threads where I 'know' people!

Suzy - like you, my debts are going to take up to 5 years to pay off and I have no intention of putting my life on hold until then! My way of being a DFW is all about getting the best deals for boring stuff (insurance, electricity, phone etc) to free up enough cash to pay towards my debts - and still have a few nights out and the odd pair of new shoes :j

InaPickle

:j :beer: YAY SUZY! :beer: :j

You CAN do this: a few days ago you thought it would take 18 years to pay off your debts and now you are talking about roughly 5 years. You can do some more damage on your way. Get over to DFW (and we are luverly, don't let anyone tell you otherwise! ), and investigate the Old Style threads for tips on cooking etc. I'll be back at a more reasonable hour with some tips. x

philnicandamy

Go Suzy!!

slummymummyof3

Really pleased you are giving this a sensible, level headed and 'scientific' approach. Just remember to treat yourself to a bottle of pinot once in a while!

Check out the costs of life insurance as it has come down loads in the last few years - don't know how long your policy has been in place for??? Check out the cashback sites for deals and for your contents insurance etc.

Home phone is expensive - have you tried using a call over rider?

InaPickle

Hi Suzy,

Right, sorry I vanished after promising to come back, but I think for the momnet the most prudent two things for you to focus on are moving house and learning to cook. They are two areas where you can really make a big difference to your debts. Cooking is actually quite fun once you get the hang of it. Get over to the Old Style threads to see some stuff. Start doing easy things. You could challenge yourself to learn 10 new recipes in a month. That might sound a lot, but would count as about 2 a week, depending on the month, which is enough to give you a fairly big repertoire quite quickly, but without being so much as to be scary. Of course, what those recipes are depends on what you like to eat, but start with basic stuff to get your confidence, then start to experiment a bit more. For example you could try:

spaghetti bolognaise
lasagne (can be made from the same base as the spag. bol if you cook a lot)
vegetable soup
stew
meat and potato pie
chilli con carne
cottage/shepards pie
a curry of some sort
an omelette
chocolate cake (c'mon, who said it all had to boring and practical! )

Remember learning to cook and find the cheapest places to buy food will be a bit of a challenge at first so set yourself a budget (did I see £195 mentioned in your SOA?), then write shopping lists before you go anywhere. Don't shop when hungry or without a list else you will find yourself going a bit mad throwing anything and everything in the trolley. Check out mysupermarket.co.uk to see where is selling the cheapest of what you want to buy that week and try to split the shop over one or two shops accordingly (but that might count as 'advanced cooking and budgeting' so wait until you've mastered the first module! ). As you get better you can start to find ways to shear a bit off the budget here and there, as well as learn more recipes.

Also, if you have any more time, look at the things you have around you. What have you honestly not worn/used or forgot you had until you noticed it? Chances are, you don't need that 'thing', whatever it may be. You could earn money selling it, and use that to save up for your deposit to your next place/pay off a debt. It will also mean you have less stuff to take with you to your next abode. I started by selling some books and clothes which I have neither read nor worn since time began, and was pleased to get some money for them and also with the space they left. I've since found more things that I know I realistically do not need (and to be honest, no longer want), so I'm getting rid of those as well. But the thing is, I don't feel deprived. I want to be shot of them. They do not make me happy.

Also, do not deprive yourself completely of a social life, or from buying new things. Obviously, you can't afford to buy anything near the level of what you bought, but going completely cold turkey is the fastest way to make you go back to your old ways. Think of it like a money diet: if it were food, depriving yourself completely of chocolate and other sweet stuff would be the fastest way to make you guzzle a big bar of Dairy Milk! For example, tell yourself that if you come in under budget on the food and don't buy any takeaways that you can use the remainder of the budget to buy yourself a new lipstick or something. Or that for every £1000 you pay off, you can buy a cheap new top. If you can only buy one top a month or every 2 months, you will have to choose more carefully and you will prize what you buy far more than you ever did before.

Right, get back on here and talk to us again: I feel like I'm writing an epic here, and that the chances are you will only reply with a few sentences. I expect a long paragraph and a smiley - at least!