help and advice needed

ybebly1

hi i've been reading this site for over a year but have never really posted i need a bit of help i've got myself in a pickle i'm in a bit of debt well alot actually and need some friendly advice
i owe roughly 2500 debts some with DCA
i earn 1300 a month a pay 350 rent and roughly 100 in house hold bills but i just need some advice as to what to do next

niccatw

Hi ybebly

Well done for posting!

Do you know the APR's on your debts? It might be easier to advise if you do.

niccatw

Also, if you fill out an SOA http://www.makesenseofcards.com/soacalc.html folks will perhaps be able to give more specific advice on where you can make savings.

The make sense of cards sight also has a "snowball" calculator so you can see how long it might take you to pay back debts. Have a paly about with it, you can put in variuos combinations of debts to see how it might change things.

GeorgeUK

According to this you have over £250 left at the end of the month - is this correct?
You don't pay any insurance or council tax either?

You may be able to reduce the utilities a little - check the comparison sites to see if you are getting a good deal.

I would also suggest you start a spending diary so you know exactly where your money is going.

niccatw

ybebly1 wrote: »

Statement of Affairs and Personal Balance Sheet

Household Information
Number of adults in household........... 2
Number of children in household.........
Number of cars owned....................

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.................................... 347
Management charge (leasehold property).. 0
Council tax............................. 0 Are you exempt?
Electricity............................. 40 Don't know how big your house is, but I pay £25 each for elec & gas. I'm in a 2 bed place.
Gas..................................... 40
Oil..................................... 0
Water rates............................. 60 This seems very high. Though my water rates are included in council tax so don't know much about them.
Telephone (land line)................... 35 You could problem negotiate a cheaper deal if you're not in contract
Mobile phone............................ 15
TV Licence.............................. 0 You should budget at least 12.18 here
Satellite/Cable TV...................... 0
Internet Services....................... 0
Groceries etc. ......................... 100
Clothing................................ 0
Petrol/diesel........................... 0
Road tax................................ 0
Car Insurance........................... 0
Car maintenance (including MOT)......... 0
Car parking............................. 0
Other travel............................ 0
Childcare/nursery....................... 0
Other child related expenses............ 0
Medical (prescriptions, dentist etc).... 0
Pet insurance/vet bills................. 0
Buildings insurance..................... 0
Contents insurance...................... 0
Life assurance ......................... 0
Other insurance......................... 0
Presents (birthday, christmas etc)...... 30
Haircuts................................ 0
Entertainment........................... 50
Holiday................................. 0
Emergency fund.......................... 0
Total monthly expenses.................. 717


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
moorcroft......................500.......40........0
littlewoods....................650.......86........0
additions......................800.......50........0
orange.........................700.......50........0
barclay card...................300.......50........0
capital one....................300.......50........0
Total unsecured debts..........3250......326.......-
If you don't know the APRs, I'd call the companies to find out. Throw as much spare cash as you can to those debts with the highest interest rates as they are costing you the most. Pay the minimums on the rest and reduce your creditors this way.


Monthly Budget Summary
Total monthly income.................... 1,300
Expenses (including HP & secured debts). 717
Available for debt repayments........... 583
Monthly UNsecured debt repayments....... 326
Amount left after debt repayments....... 257

Personal Balance Sheet Summary
Total assets (things you own)........... 0
Total HP & Secured debt................. -0
Total Unsecured debt.................... -3,250
Net Assets.............................. -3,250

I hope you don't mind me adding the above notes.

I agree with GeorgeUK. If you're not sure where your money is going each month and you're not paying off as much debt as you would like, then a spending diary is invaluable. It's a bit of a pain - but that's because it really points out where you're weaknesses are! (Mine's are the charity shops and another bargain t-shirt, jeans...) When i don't stick to my spending diary, I tend to spend on these and a paper and some gum or a packet of crisps... or that's when there's £10 here and £20 there from the cash machine. If you can't bear to do it for a month, try it for a week at least. Mine terrified me, then I saw it as a challenge not to spend anything so it didn't have to go in the spending diary

Good luck

niccatw

Erm, I can't seem to see your original SOA... am I being dim or have I done something when I quoted it?

savingmummy

soa has disappeared x

GeorgeUK

Don't worry Niccatw, you can't do anything to other people's posts.

Their post was edited at 11:41pm so there may be a few blank to fill in on the SOA.