had enough of debt, time to seek help..

robb1e1978

hi folks, new here so go easy on me!

this seems as good a place to start as any. i will read others threads but just want to get my own started first. i'm 31 now and been an absolute penile with money all my life. in fact, it's plain rediculous. what i owe may not seem alot to some but it's a nightmare to me. so, to cut a long story short, i owe barclays around 2.8k for a current account, i owe virgin credit card 2.5k, finance for a sofa which is around 1.8k, barclaycard 500, water rates 400 and council tax 1.7k. due to a short spell in prison and loosing my job in the process i've not paid any of these for a long time. it's been bugging me for way to long and if i'm honest it doesn't feel too healthy either. (if that makes sense)

for the people who got a good head on their shoulders i'd like to know what you'd do in this situation? i dont have any funds to offer a full and final settlement and have been advised against these debt management places. i've buried my head up my hoop for way too long and it's time to get myself sorted.

any and all help greatly appreciated.

regards
rob

Nargleblast

Hello Rob and welcome, you have come to the right place for help. You need to sit down and write out all your incomings and outgoings so you know where you are financially. If you use the Statement of Affairs link at the top of the threads list ( a sticky for first time posters with SOA link) then post it on here we may be able to suggest how you can tighten up your finances and how best to tackle the debt.

Verbatim

Perhaps a trip to the CAB would be helpful. I think you can get 6 months off council tax if you're in prison?? They'd know and could help with any claims.

robb1e1978

hope this works?

[tt]Statement of Affairs and Personal Balance Sheet

Household Information
Number of adults in household........... 1
Number of children in household......... 0
Number of cars owned.................... 0

Monthly Income Details
Monthly income after tax................ 1200
Partners monthly income after tax....... 0
Benefits................................ 0
Other income............................ 0
Total monthly income.................... 1200

Monthly Expense Details
Mortgage................................ 0
Secured/HP loan repayments.............. 79
Rent.................................... 61.2
Management charge (leasehold property).. 0
Council tax............................. 95
Electricity............................. 50
Gas..................................... 50
Oil..................................... 0
Water rates............................. 40
Telephone (land line)................... 0
Mobile phone............................ 50
TV Licence.............................. 12
Satellite/Cable TV...................... 0
Internet Services....................... 0
Groceries etc. ......................... 200
Clothing................................ 0
Petrol/diesel........................... 0
Road tax................................ 0
Car Insurance........................... 0
Car maintenance (including MOT)......... 0
Car parking............................. 0
Other travel............................ 120
Childcare/nursery....................... 0
Other child related expenses............ 200
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)...... 40
Haircuts................................ 0
Entertainment........................... 0
Holiday................................. 0
Emergency fund.......................... 0
Total monthly expenses.................. 997.2


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


Secured & HP Debts
Description....................Debt......Monthly...APR
Mortgage...................... 0........(0)........0
Hire Purchase (HP) debt ...... 999......(79).......29.8
Total secured & HP debts...... 999.......-.........-

Unsecured Debts
Description....................Debt......Monthly...APR
barclaycard....................444.7.....0.........29.9
barclays bank account..........2330.51...0.........0
virgin credit card.............2655.29...0.........29.9
Total unsecured debts..........5430.5....0.........-


Monthly Budget Summary
Total monthly income.................... 1,200
Expenses (including HP & secured debts). 997.2
Available for debt repayments........... 202.8
Monthly UNsecured debt repayments....... 0
Amount left after debt repayments....... 202.8

Personal Balance Sheet Summary
Total assets (things you own)........... 0
Total HP & Secured debt................. -999
Total Unsecured debt.................... -5,430.5
Net Assets.............................. -6,429.5

[/tt]

hmm is that right? anyway, thats as accurate as i can be. i do owe council tax and rent arreas which are now getting sorted. i also think a trip to the cab would benefit.

consultant31

Only £61 a month for rent? Is that a typo?

£200 a month for groceries is a lot for one person. Have a look on the Old Stle Board for ideas on how to halve this amount http://forums.moneysavingexpert.com/forumdisplay.html?f=33
and £50 a month for the mobile seems an awful lot too.

robb1e1978

ah right, it's meant to be 61 a week! i work away so eat out alot which is pretty much unavoidable. my job also requires me to use my phone alot although that is one area i can have another look at.

RAS

robb1e1978 wrote: »

ah right, it's meant to be 61 a week! i work away so eat out alot which is pretty much unavoidable. my job also requires me to use my phone alot although that is one area i can have another look at.

Hit the edit button, then re-calculate.

Remember if everythign else is monthly, you need to use £61x4.333.

daviesalie_2

Hi Rob, here are a few more suggestions that may help...

robb1e1978 wrote: »

hope this works?

[tt]Statement of Affairs and Personal Balance Sheet

Household Information
Number of adults in household........... 1
Number of children in household......... 0
Number of cars owned.................... 0

Monthly Income Details
Monthly income after tax................ 1200
Partners monthly income after tax....... 0
Benefits................................ 0
Other income............................ 0
Total monthly income.................... 1200

Monthly Expense Details
Mortgage................................ 0
Secured/HP loan repayments.............. 79
Rent.................................... 61.2
Management charge (leasehold property).. 0
Council tax............................. 95 Have you claimed the 25% discount for single person?
Electricity............................. 50 Seems high - have you compared utilities companies on uswitch, etc?
Gas..................................... 50 As per elec
Oil..................................... 0
Water rates............................. 40 It would probably be cheaper to get a meter for just one person - if you google Dwr Cymru water meter calculator you can see if it would be cheaper
Telephone (land line)................... 0
Mobile phone............................ 50
TV Licence.............................. 12
Satellite/Cable TV...................... 0
Internet Services....................... 0
Groceries etc. ......................... 200 How often do you work away - could you take some pot noodles with you
Clothing................................ 0
Petrol/diesel........................... 0
Road tax................................ 0
Car Insurance........................... 0
Car maintenance (including MOT)......... 0
Car parking............................. 0
Other travel............................ 120
Childcare/nursery....................... 0
Other child related expenses............ 200 Is this maintenance, if so, how many children do you have - you should be paying 15% of your take home wage for 1 child, 20% for 2, etc
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)...... 40 Can this be cut down a bit?
Haircuts................................ 0
Entertainment........................... 0
Holiday................................. 0
Emergency fund.......................... 0
Total monthly expenses.................. 997.2


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


Secured & HP Debts
Description....................Debt......Monthly...APR
Mortgage...................... 0........(0)........0
Hire Purchase (HP) debt ...... 999......(79).......29.8
Total secured & HP debts...... 999.......-.........-

Unsecured Debts
Description....................Debt......Monthly...APR
barclaycard....................444.7.....0.........29.9
barclays bank account..........2330.51...0.........0
virgin credit card.............2655.29...0.........29.9
Total unsecured debts..........5430.5....0.........-


Monthly Budget Summary
Total monthly income.................... 1,200
Expenses (including HP & secured debts). 997.2
Available for debt repayments........... 202.8
Monthly UNsecured debt repayments....... 0
Amount left after debt repayments....... 202.8 minus £180 for rest of rent

Personal Balance Sheet Summary
Total assets (things you own)........... 0
Total HP & Secured debt................. -999
Total Unsecured debt.................... -5,430.5
Net Assets.............................. -6,429.5

[/tt]

hmm is that right? anyway, thats as accurate as i can be. i do owe council tax and rent arreas which are now getting sorted. i also think a trip to the cab would benefit.

Hope some of this helps.

Good luck