Need a bit guidance I think...

shonimac

Hi all,

First things first I feel extremely stupid and ashamed about all this.

I have a meeting with the bank person tomorrow to review my personal banking. I'm with Bank of Scotland and currently have a student current account (technically a graduate account as I stopped being a student last February) but have a £2,600 overdraft on it that's due to expire in a couple of weeks. At the moment i'm about £1,800 into said overdraft but, due to various crappy decisions i've made over the past 12 months, i've not managed to get out of the overdraft and now i'm reallyl really worried about what the bank person will say tomorrow.

I also have a credit card that i'm due £3700 to. That's with BoS too. And the obligitory store card that seemed a good idea at the time, but that has about £400 on it, which i make monthly direct debits to.

I think I just need to hear what kind of things I should expect the bank person to say, and whether or not he's going to make me cry!! I know my debt probably doesn't seem that much (when I spoke about it with my friend she laughed at me, saying "is that ALL!!!") but it's gettin to me a lot at the moment.

So i'm sorry if this is a bit o a newbie rubbish post but a wee bit of reassurance or realistic criticism would be nice please!!!

Thank you in advance!!

psychopathbabble

Stupid internet... I wrote a reply and then the connection cut out!! I can't remember all of what I had written but some of it is below... :mad:

Right, firstly I don't think the bank will shout at your or be trying to make you cry. They are probably going to try to sell you a loan or something, but don't do it! I'm sure they have thousands of customers in a much worse position. I think as you aren't maxed out, it will look better (I am maxed out on all of my credit items!).

Secondly, if you are working maybe you can open another basic bank account with another bank (no overdraft) for your wages and bills. Then you can properly keep track of your od.

Lastly, when you have had your meeting, try to remember how worried you were today and use that as an incentive to try and pay off these debts before they spiral out of control. My debt is purely from overspending (and a couple of car incidents) and now I am earning a decent wage, I can't enjoy it! The store card needs cutting up as their interest rates are shocking! :money:

Let me know how you get on, and please don't panic about tomorrow! :grouphug:

savingmummy

Hi well done seeking advise.
I am not really knowledgeable regarding how banks work, BUT be warned they may try getting you to buy `more` products.
My DH was too scared to tell me he had trouble repaying a loan so ended up with an overdraft he just couldnt shift.
Instead of telling me he went to the bank. They got him to get a loan to clear his overdraft + loan repayments and now he is stuck paying it until 2018 :mad:

That said they may offer you other help and get you on a more positive route!

Have you done a SOA? http://www.makesenseofcards.com/soacalc.html It may help you to do one and keep it updated each month so you know ALL incomings and ALL outgoings.
You could post it here for us to see and we can advise more.

Good luck x

savingmummy

psychopathbabble wrote: »

Secondly, if you are working maybe you can open another basic bank account with another bank (no overdraft) for your wages and bills. Then you can properly keep track of your od.


:grouphug:

I totally agree with this!!!
You would find this so much better management by having 2 accounts `1` for debt `2` for your other bills.

Have you anything you can sell?
Ebay seems to be a good income boost right now.

shonimac

Right i've had a go, I think this is nearly accurate...

Statement of Affairs and Personal Balance Sheet
Household Information
Number of adults in household........... 2
Number of children in household.........
Number of cars owned.................... 1
Monthly Income Details
Monthly income after tax................ 1300
Partners monthly income after tax....... 0
Benefits................................ 0
Other income............................ 0
Total monthly income.................... 1300
Monthly Expense Details
Mortgage................................ 0
Secured/HP loan repayments.............. 0
Rent.................................... 300
Management charge (leasehold property).. 0
Council tax............................. 0
Electricity............................. 0
Gas..................................... 0
Oil..................................... 0
Water rates............................. 0
Telephone (land line)................... 0
Mobile phone............................ 50
TV Licence.............................. 0
Satellite/Cable TV...................... 0
Internet Services....................... 0
Groceries etc. ......................... 150
Clothing................................ 50
Petrol/diesel........................... 50
Road tax................................ 10
Car Insurance........................... 47
Car maintenance (including MOT)......... 30
Car parking............................. 0
Other travel............................ 0
Childcare/nursery....................... 0
Other child related expenses............ 0
Medical (prescriptions, dentist etc).... 4
Pet insurance/vet bills................. 0
Buildings insurance..................... 0
Contents insurance...................... 0
Life assurance ......................... 0
Other insurance......................... 0
Presents (birthday, christmas etc)...... 20
Haircuts................................ 25
Entertainment........................... 30
Holiday................................. 0
Emergency fund.......................... 30
Total monthly expenses.................. 796

Assets
Cash.................................... 0
House value (Gross)..................... 0
Shares and bonds........................ 0
Car(s).................................. 150
Other assets............................ 0
Total Assets............................ 150

No Secured nor Hire Purchase Debts
Unsecured Debts
Description....................Debt......Monthly...APR
BoS credit card................3700......125.......0
DP store card..................400.......35........29.9
Total unsecured debts..........4100......160.......-

Monthly Budget Summary
Total monthly income.................... 1,300
Expenses (including HP & secured debts). 796
Available for debt repayments........... 504
Monthly UNsecured debt repayments....... 160
Amount left after debt repayments....... 344
Personal Balance Sheet Summary
Total assets (things you own)........... 150
Total HP & Secured debt................. -0
Total Unsecured debt.................... -4,100
Net Assets.............................. -3,950
Created using the SOA calculator at makesenseofcards . com
Reproduced on Moneysavingexpert with permission, using IE browser.

I'm not sure of the APR of my credit card, but i'm a wee bit shocked about the £344 left after debt repayments!!!! Where does it go!!!

shonimac

Oh, and by the way, thank you so much for your quick and comforting replies!!!!

shonimac

psychopathbabble wrote: »

Secondly, if you are working maybe you can open another basic bank account with another bank (no overdraft) for your wages and bills. Then you can properly keep track of your od.

My friend suggested that too, but it took me ages to try and get my head around it for some reason lol. But I completely get it now, and it would be the ideal situation I think! I'd love to see a bank account, ,with my name on it, that didn't have a '-' in front of the first number!!!

psychopathbabble

shonimac wrote: »

Right i've had a go, I think this is nearly accurate...

Statement of Affairs and Personal Balance Sheet
Household Information
Number of adults in household........... 2you dont mention a parners income, who is second person?
Number of children in household.........
Number of cars owned.................... 1
Monthly Income Details
Monthly income after tax................ 1300
Partners monthly income after tax....... 0
Benefits................................ 0
Other income............................ 0
Total monthly income.................... 1300
Monthly Expense Details
Mortgage................................ 0
Secured/HP loan repayments.............. 0
Rent.................................... 300
Management charge (leasehold property).. 0
Council tax............................. 0are you responsible for any of these bills?
Electricity............................. 0
Gas..................................... 0
Oil..................................... 0
Water rates............................. 0
Telephone (land line)................... 0
Mobile phone............................ 50 this can definitely be cut down!
TV Licence.............................. 0
Satellite/Cable TV...................... 0
Internet Services....................... 0
Groceries etc. ......................... 150if this is just for you then this is far too much money, should be well under £100!
Clothing................................ 50unnecessary
Petrol/diesel........................... 50not bad, can you use it any less? walk into town etc etc.
Road tax................................ 10
Car Insurance........................... 47when you are due for renewal check out the comparison websites and see if you can get cashback too
Car maintenance (including MOT)......... 30
Car parking............................. 0
Other travel............................ 0
Childcare/nursery....................... 0
Other child related expenses............ 0
Medical (prescriptions, dentist etc).... 4
Pet insurance/vet bills................. 0
Buildings insurance..................... 0
Contents insurance...................... 0
Life assurance ......................... 0
Other insurance......................... 0
Presents (birthday, christmas etc)...... 20
Haircuts................................ 25this could be cut down? i used to have someone come to my house for £15 but now I am lcky enough to have a friend do it
Entertainment........................... 30this is good but is it accurate?
Holiday................................. 0
Emergency fund.......................... 30
Total monthly expenses.................. 796

Assets
Cash.................................... 0
House value (Gross)..................... 0
Shares and bonds........................ 0
Car(s).................................. 150
Other assets............................ 0
Total Assets............................ 150

No Secured nor Hire Purchase Debts
Unsecured Debts
Description....................Debt......Monthly...APR
BoS credit card................3700......125.......0
DP store card..................400.......35........29.9
Total unsecured debts..........4100......160.......-

Monthly Budget Summary
Total monthly income.................... 1,300
Expenses (including HP & secured debts). 796
Available for debt repayments........... 504
Monthly UNsecured debt repayments....... 160
Amount left after debt repayments....... 344
Personal Balance Sheet Summary
Total assets (things you own)........... 150
Total HP & Secured debt................. -0
Total Unsecured debt.................... -4,100
Net Assets.............................. -3,950
Created using the SOA calculator at makesenseofcards . com
Reproduced on Moneysavingexpert with permission, using IE browser.

I'm not sure of the APR of my credit card, but i'm a wee bit shocked about the £344 left after debt repayments!!!! Where does it go!!!

Hope this helps a bit... the most important thing is really not to panic! You have taken the first step in tackling the issues before they get out of control... well done!

savingmummy

shonimac wrote: »

Right i've had a go, I think this is nearly accurate...

Statement of Affairs and Personal Balance Sheet
Household Information
Number of adults in household........... 2
Number of children in household.........
Number of cars owned.................... 1
Monthly Income Details
Monthly income after tax................ 1300
Partners monthly income after tax....... 0
Benefits................................ 0
Other income............................ 0
Total monthly income.................... 1300
Monthly Expense Details
Mortgage................................ 0
Secured/HP loan repayments.............. 0
Rent.................................... 300
Management charge (leasehold property).. 0
Council tax............................. 0
Electricity............................. 0 ???
Gas..................................... 0 ???
Oil..................................... 0
Water rates............................. 0
Telephone (land line)................... 0
Mobile phone............................ 50 go payg. contact company and explain you cant pay they may cancel contract
TV Licence.............................. 0
Satellite/Cable TV...................... 0
Internet Services....................... 0
Groceries etc. ......................... 150 this needs to be reduced!!! i spend this on 4! meal plan, cut brands, stick to a strict list
Clothing................................ 50 use what you have FOR NOW!
Petrol/diesel........................... 50
Road tax................................ 10
Car Insurance........................... 47 is this the cheapest??
Car maintenance (including MOT)......... 30
Car parking............................. 0
Other travel............................ 0
Childcare/nursery....................... 0
Other child related expenses............ 0
Medical (prescriptions, dentist etc).... 4
Pet insurance/vet bills................. 0
Buildings insurance..................... 0
Contents insurance...................... 0
Life assurance ......................... 0
Other insurance......................... 0
Presents (birthday, christmas etc)...... 20 cut down for now
Haircuts................................ 25 a mth?? find cheaper i pay £28 every 6-8 weeks
Entertainment........................... 30
Holiday................................. 0
Emergency fund.......................... 30 USE YOUR EMERGENCY FUND!!!
Total monthly expenses.................. 796

Assets
Cash.................................... 0
House value (Gross)..................... 0
Shares and bonds........................ 0
Car(s).................................. 150
Other assets............................ 0
Total Assets............................ 150

No Secured nor Hire Purchase Debts
Unsecured Debts
Description....................Debt......Monthly...APR
BoS credit card................3700......125.......0
DP store card..................400.......35........29.9 THIS NEEDS TO GO AS A PRIORTY DUE TO HIGH APR
Total unsecured debts..........4100......160.......-

Monthly Budget Summary
Total monthly income.................... 1,300
Expenses (including HP & secured debts). 796
Available for debt repayments........... 504
Monthly UNsecured debt repayments....... 160
Amount left after debt repayments....... 344 THROW AT DEBTS!!
Personal Balance Sheet Summary
Total assets (things you own)........... 150
Total HP & Secured debt................. -0
Total Unsecured debt.................... -4,100
Net Assets.............................. -3,950
Created using the SOA calculator at makesenseofcards . com
Reproduced on Moneysavingexpert with permission, using IE browser.

I'm not sure of the APR of my credit card, but i'm a wee bit shocked about the £344 left after debt repayments!!!! Where does it go!!!

There are areas you can cut right back on - which is fab!!!
Clothing is too much £50 a month is alot use what you have for now you must have loads of clothing!!!

Groceries is too high. Cut right back on this.

Presents - cut down who you buy for, give everyone a budget. I buy for just 2 people now!

Your showing you have spare money each month but you dont see where - you need to work this out and STOP whatever it is your doing with it! Maybe a spending diary to help with this, it is suprising where it all goes x

If you halve your food shop, and use hair money you can pay OFF your store card in 1 month!

psychopathbabble

shonimac wrote: »

My friend suggested that too, but it took me ages to try and get my head around it for some reason lol. But I completely get it now, and it would be the ideal situation I think! I'd love to see a bank account, ,with my name on it, that didn't have a '-' in front of the first number!!!

I find it so much better... my set-up is actually a little more complicated as I have 2 overdrafts and another bank account I have wages paid into... I somehow manage to keep track though!

It's definitely a good feeling not having that minus on the screen! (if i forget about all the rest for a minute!)

It just means you don't have loads of stuff going in and out of your overdraft and can keep it all a bit clearer for you to see.

psychopathbabble

Good work SavingMummy... we had almost exactly the same points! :beer:

Ooooh I feel a lot more MSE again now... I know these things, I just have to stick to it!:o