Need to sort things out....

Amber07

Well, where to begin.

Hubby and I have had a pretty awful year. He was unfairly dismissed a year ago and we are currently in the middle of a tricky Employment Tribunal. He does have a good chance of winning as things stand, but our money situation needs sorted before then or we won't get that far.

Anyway, the upshot of the dismissal meant we went from £30k+ to £17k...we had recently used all our savings for our new house purchase thinking his job was secure. Having no savings meant we used our CC's up to the limits just for things like grocery shopping etc (stupid, I know!). Hubby got another job a month ago and the money is working out a little better, but nothing like we have been used to.

My 'lightbulb moment' (great name for it btw) hit me last night when I was working out how much we had to live on after the bills come off this month, and it wasn't much. We are 2 adults and 3 children, (2 are under 5) I deal with all the money and bills, and the stress of it is really getting to me.

Having read through other threads on here, I have seen the SOA calculator and am currently working through it to calculate everything.

I#m not sure where to start, if an unexpected cost comes up we will be scuppered. (Ie: Gas bill due at end of Feb!!)

He has applied for a new Santander CC at 0% for 15 months to transfer his CC. I need to find one for myself that I can transfer as well.

I know the situation could be much worse, but I don't want to be in debt for the rest of our lives.

Amber07

......................

Amber07

Gosh, it's scary seeing all the debts lined up like that

GeorgeUK

Hi Amber - good luck with the tribunal.

For the SOA, there shouldn't be any surprise bills. If you have an annual bill, just split that by 12 so you are putting money aside for it each month. If you post up the SOA, we'll hopefully be able to find some savings for you. Just put in what you spend right now and make a note under it if there are any extra costs or something you are concerned about.

Doh!! Too late.

JamieT1977

No obvious ways of cutting your outgoings jump out at me, but have you compared prices on your engergy suppliers etc in case there is a cheaper alternative. Are you getting the internet package you require at the cheapest price etc etc.

Seeing as you have about £537 available for debt repayments I would contact somebody like CAB or CCCS who will work out a DMP with you were each of your creditors gets a share of that £537.

talana

Hi,

Groceries etc. ......................... 300 or basically, whatever's left in the bank

You can probably shave some off this. But it NEEDS to be budgeted for, not "whatever's left in the bank"

Presents (birthday, christmas etc)...... 20

For the time being this should go I think. Only do presents for your kids, and then they don't need to be expensive. Kids under 5 are certainly not interested in how much things cost. Be creative instead.

For a slightly more drastic plan of action, sell your car and buy something cheaper. It's worth £4000 you say, so swap for a cheap runaround (budget £1000 maybe).
That's £3000 that could pay off the 2 Cap1 debts, the catalogue-MW debt, the catalogue-S debt and the store card.
In turn that'll free up an extra £127 per month.

Good luck!

talana

JamieT1977 wrote: »

Seeing as you have about £537 available for debt repayments I would contact somebody like CAB or CCCS who will work out a DMP with you were each of your creditors gets a share of that £537.

Which is only a monthly shortfall of £12.78 according to the SOA.
That can surely be found somewhere. I'm sure we're not at the DMP stage here.

JamieT1977

talana wrote: »

Which is only a monthly shortfall of £12.78 according to the SOA.
That can surely be found somewhere. I'm sure we're not at the DMP stage here.

Well said with your suggestions lol, I had missed the possible problem with groceries and the car lol.

So Amber see if you can cut costs in those 2 areas, plus any others.

What is "other travel= £40" cover? Seeing as you drive etc.

GeorgeUK

Mortgage................................ 414.8
Repayment or interest only?

Council tax............................. 150
Are you paying this over 10 months? Will they allow you to pay over 12?

Electricity............................. 58 =Gas/elec dual fuel - £137 monthly DD
Gas..................................... 79
Have a look at the comparison sites to see if you are getting the bes deal (uswitch, moneysupermarket) Also check your meter readings to see if you are incredit on the accounts. If you are, you can ask for the money back and they may reduce the monthly payments.

Water rates............................. 0 Included in Council Tax
Scotland?

Mobile phone............................ 35 This is for 2 phones
Are these PAYG? Can you reduce the tariff on these at all?

Telephone (land line)................... 10
Satellite/Cable TV...................... 0
Internet Services....................... 14.99
Is this a package deal?

Groceries etc. ......................... 300 or basically, whatever's left in the bank
Take a look at the oldstyle board and try cooking in bulk and frezing meals. Have you moved down a brand? Making mealplans may help with larger grocery shopping and stop impulse buys too.

Clothing................................ 0 only buy when have 'spare' money so couldn't say an annual amount
How much did you spend last year (ballpark figure)


Car Insurance........................... 33.57
Buildings insurance..................... 14.13
Life assurance ......................... 23.85 for both of us
Again, check the comparison sites to make sure you are getting the best deal. Also use a cashback site to hopefully get money back for switching.

Haircuts................................ 2.5
Is this for the whole family?

Entertainment........................... 0
You need to unwind sometimes.

Emergency fund.......................... 0
You need something in here incase the washing machine packs up or something.

It looks like with your current expenditure, you are just able to manage and should be able to reduce the bill a bit. It's tight, but you should be able to make a little room for manouvering and hopefully start making a dent in the debt.

I'd advise keeping a spending diary so you know exactly where your money is going and will hopefully be able to update the SOA with confidence that everything is accounted for to the penny.

Do you take your own lunches in to work and your own coffee? Even little things like this can have a large impact over the year.

If you are able to shuffle some of the balances on the cards, the saving you are making from not paying interest or less interest should get the debt down even quicker.

dawnybabes

Have you checked www.entitledto.co.uk to make sure you are claiming everything you can ?

Amber07

talana wrote: »

Hi,

You can probably shave some off this. But it NEEDS to be budgeted for, not "whatever's left in the bank"


For the time being this should go I think. Only do presents for your kids, and then they don't need to be expensive. Kids under 5 are certainly not interested in how much things cost. Be creative instead.

For a slightly more drastic plan of action, sell your car and buy something cheaper. It's worth £4000 you say, so swap for a cheap runaround (budget £1000 maybe).
That's £3000 that could pay off the 2 Cap1 debts, the catalogue-MW debt, the catalogue-S debt and the store card.
In turn that'll free up an extra £127 per month.

Good luck!

I do usually aim for the £70 mark, but if any surprise costs come up, then it comes off the shopping bill

Birthdays I do try and cut back on. There's a lot of birthdays, I have cut back from £20 per child (niees, nephews etc) to £10 each in this past year. Mums are usually ok with a bunch of flowers thankfully. It's march with 4 birthdays, mothers day and easter just after that is the worry. The creative point is a good idea though, and will work for my own lot, esp at easter

The car has been a godsend during this winter - it's a 4x4 and hubby would never have made work without it and would have lost money. If things get drastic, we will have to sell it though, but I want to hold off and see how the tribunal goes first.