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I'm ready to sort this mess out now!
sugarplumfairy83
Posts: 45 Forumite
Hello everyone,
I hope I'm posting in the right place; I've been floating around for a few weeks now and have mainly kept my posts to the Disability & Dosh forum but would like some more general advice.
Over the last 18 months or so I have incurred debts for the first time in my life and have reached the stage where I just don't feel able to carry on with such a shadow hanging over me. I've taken small steps, admittedly made some mistakes but just want to get on some kind of path that will help clear things as quickly as possible (idealistic I know!)
The basics: I've been registered disabled for 19 years. Upon graduating from Uni in 2006 I immediately went into hospital for surgery which my consultant had kindly agreed to delay so that I could finish a chunk of my education in one, for the first time in my life. Whilst this did have a generally positive outcome, it also caused knock on effects and new problems to arise and I have yet to reach the level of mobility and fitness that I had prior to that surgery. Since then, I have been unable to work full-time; depression has played a large part in my ability to work as did having a change of career direction post-surgery (largely due to my physical restrictions) but I have tried to remain active through voluntary work.
In 2008 my DLA was up for renewal and unfortunately my claim was refused. This resulted in a lengthy process of going to tribunal and a reinstatement was actioned last summer. In the intervening months however I lost my main source of income and spiralled into debt; mainly through using my credit card in order to cover bills, food shopping and quite frankly not having the sense to realise soon enough that my disposable income was no longer what it used to be.
I moved back in with my parents as a temporary measure until the DLA was sorted and then once more found my feet independently. Moving to a new area I again undertook voluntary work, whilst actively seeking part-time positions with the support of a Disability advisor at my local JobCentre Plus but to no avail.
In February I developed new back problems, which a few weeks ago was diagnosed as a prolapsed disc. This isn't the area of specialty for my usual consultant so I'm currently awaiting a referral to see someone else and in the meantime, am once again pretty much laid up and certainly not in a position to work.
I managed to transfer some of my debt to a 0% credit card last December but - foolishly I admit - have continued to spend on it. Sometimes stupidly yes, but also when I have found that my bank account does not have enough money in it to cover food for the week, which has happened frequently.
According to the budget I've been working with I should be looking at having approximately £100 spare a month but this is just not happening. I have used tips from here such as looking at past months food spends and creating a cut down budget (which so far I'm sticking to), signing up for things such as Onepoll in order to up my income etc but feel like things are starting to pile up again.
My 0% offer is about to run out in June and part of my problem previously was that my bank and I couldn't work out an agreement regarding interest on my credit card (having explained my circumstances quite thoroughly), hence switching to a new bank and card. I'm reluctant to fall into the card hopping trap as I'm aware I still have a good credit rating right now and would like to keep this for future hopes such as a mortgage. This 0% card is the one with the much larger balance on it.
Below is my SOA: I found this quite difficult to work out because most of my money comes in on a 4 weekly basis, which not being very good at maths, I found it harder to calculate things into monthly figures. I also didn't have enough room to note all my debts! In addition to those below I also owe my parents £480 (they have been amazing but with my Grandad having just passed away and funeral costs, they really aren't in a position to help now like they have tried previously); £400 to an electricity company from my previous address (there was a mix up with meter readings. I left the property in March 09 and have so far reduced what I owe by £280 on an agreement with them to pay £20 a month) and my partner has paid out £120 for various tickets/evenings out so that I'm not just spending time indoors all the time! He has offered to lend me more money and whilst I greatly appreciate it I am reluctant to take him up on it; it's not a situation I've been in before and we've been together less than a year.
Any help or advice really will be appreciated: I don't feel that the SOA entirely covered all my outgoings appropriately but as it's the usual method here I thought I'd try it first. Otherwise I can just copy from my spreadsheet what I usually work with!
Apologies for the length of this but thanks in advance
Statement of Affairs and Personal Balance Sheet
Household Information
Number of adults in household........... 1
Number of children in household.........
Number of cars owned.................... 1
Monthly Income Details
Monthly income after tax................ 0
Partners monthly income after tax....... 0
Benefits................................ 1148.55
Other income............................ 0
Total monthly income.................... 1148.55
Monthly Expense Details
Mortgage................................ 0
Secured/HP loan repayments.............. 0
Rent.................................... 500
Management charge (leasehold property).. 0
Council tax............................. 0
Electricity............................. 14.5
Gas..................................... 0
Oil..................................... 0
Water rates............................. 0
Telephone (land line)................... 0
Mobile phone............................ 23
TV Licence.............................. 12.95
Satellite/Cable TV...................... 30.5
Internet Services....................... 0
Groceries etc. ......................... 75
Clothing................................ 40
Petrol/diesel........................... 50
Road tax................................ 0
Car Insurance........................... 48.88
Car maintenance (including MOT)......... 0
Car parking............................. 85
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)...... 20
Haircuts................................ 37.5
Entertainment........................... 0
Holiday................................. 0
Emergency fund.......................... 0
Total monthly expenses.................. 937.33
Assets
Cash.................................... 0
House value (Gross)..................... 0
Shares and bonds........................ 0
Car(s).................................. 750
Other assets............................ 0
Total Assets............................ 750
No Secured nor Hire Purchase Debts
Unsecured Debts
Description....................Debt......Monthly...APR
Credit Card....................200.......10........18.9
Credit Card....................3060......100.......0
Overdraft......................963.......0.........0
Total unsecured debts..........4223......110.......-
Monthly Budget Summary
Total monthly income.................... 1,148.55
Expenses (including HP & secured debts). 937.33
Available for debt repayments........... 211.22
Monthly UNsecured debt repayments....... 110
Amount left after debt repayments....... 101.22
Personal Balance Sheet Summary
Total assets (things you own)........... 750
Total HP & Secured debt................. -0
Total Unsecured debt.................... -4,223
Net Assets.............................. -3,473
Created using the SOA calculator at https://www.makesenseofcards.com.
Reproduced on Moneysavingexpert with permission, using other browser.
I hope I'm posting in the right place; I've been floating around for a few weeks now and have mainly kept my posts to the Disability & Dosh forum but would like some more general advice.
Over the last 18 months or so I have incurred debts for the first time in my life and have reached the stage where I just don't feel able to carry on with such a shadow hanging over me. I've taken small steps, admittedly made some mistakes but just want to get on some kind of path that will help clear things as quickly as possible (idealistic I know!)
The basics: I've been registered disabled for 19 years. Upon graduating from Uni in 2006 I immediately went into hospital for surgery which my consultant had kindly agreed to delay so that I could finish a chunk of my education in one, for the first time in my life. Whilst this did have a generally positive outcome, it also caused knock on effects and new problems to arise and I have yet to reach the level of mobility and fitness that I had prior to that surgery. Since then, I have been unable to work full-time; depression has played a large part in my ability to work as did having a change of career direction post-surgery (largely due to my physical restrictions) but I have tried to remain active through voluntary work.
In 2008 my DLA was up for renewal and unfortunately my claim was refused. This resulted in a lengthy process of going to tribunal and a reinstatement was actioned last summer. In the intervening months however I lost my main source of income and spiralled into debt; mainly through using my credit card in order to cover bills, food shopping and quite frankly not having the sense to realise soon enough that my disposable income was no longer what it used to be.
I moved back in with my parents as a temporary measure until the DLA was sorted and then once more found my feet independently. Moving to a new area I again undertook voluntary work, whilst actively seeking part-time positions with the support of a Disability advisor at my local JobCentre Plus but to no avail.
In February I developed new back problems, which a few weeks ago was diagnosed as a prolapsed disc. This isn't the area of specialty for my usual consultant so I'm currently awaiting a referral to see someone else and in the meantime, am once again pretty much laid up and certainly not in a position to work.
I managed to transfer some of my debt to a 0% credit card last December but - foolishly I admit - have continued to spend on it. Sometimes stupidly yes, but also when I have found that my bank account does not have enough money in it to cover food for the week, which has happened frequently.
According to the budget I've been working with I should be looking at having approximately £100 spare a month but this is just not happening. I have used tips from here such as looking at past months food spends and creating a cut down budget (which so far I'm sticking to), signing up for things such as Onepoll in order to up my income etc but feel like things are starting to pile up again.
My 0% offer is about to run out in June and part of my problem previously was that my bank and I couldn't work out an agreement regarding interest on my credit card (having explained my circumstances quite thoroughly), hence switching to a new bank and card. I'm reluctant to fall into the card hopping trap as I'm aware I still have a good credit rating right now and would like to keep this for future hopes such as a mortgage. This 0% card is the one with the much larger balance on it.
Below is my SOA: I found this quite difficult to work out because most of my money comes in on a 4 weekly basis, which not being very good at maths, I found it harder to calculate things into monthly figures. I also didn't have enough room to note all my debts! In addition to those below I also owe my parents £480 (they have been amazing but with my Grandad having just passed away and funeral costs, they really aren't in a position to help now like they have tried previously); £400 to an electricity company from my previous address (there was a mix up with meter readings. I left the property in March 09 and have so far reduced what I owe by £280 on an agreement with them to pay £20 a month) and my partner has paid out £120 for various tickets/evenings out so that I'm not just spending time indoors all the time! He has offered to lend me more money and whilst I greatly appreciate it I am reluctant to take him up on it; it's not a situation I've been in before and we've been together less than a year.
Any help or advice really will be appreciated: I don't feel that the SOA entirely covered all my outgoings appropriately but as it's the usual method here I thought I'd try it first. Otherwise I can just copy from my spreadsheet what I usually work with!
Apologies for the length of this but thanks in advance
Statement of Affairs and Personal Balance Sheet
Household Information
Number of adults in household........... 1
Number of children in household.........
Number of cars owned.................... 1
Monthly Income Details
Monthly income after tax................ 0
Partners monthly income after tax....... 0
Benefits................................ 1148.55
Other income............................ 0
Total monthly income.................... 1148.55
Monthly Expense Details
Mortgage................................ 0
Secured/HP loan repayments.............. 0
Rent.................................... 500
Management charge (leasehold property).. 0
Council tax............................. 0
Electricity............................. 14.5
Gas..................................... 0
Oil..................................... 0
Water rates............................. 0
Telephone (land line)................... 0
Mobile phone............................ 23
TV Licence.............................. 12.95
Satellite/Cable TV...................... 30.5
Internet Services....................... 0
Groceries etc. ......................... 75
Clothing................................ 40
Petrol/diesel........................... 50
Road tax................................ 0
Car Insurance........................... 48.88
Car maintenance (including MOT)......... 0
Car parking............................. 85
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)...... 20
Haircuts................................ 37.5
Entertainment........................... 0
Holiday................................. 0
Emergency fund.......................... 0
Total monthly expenses.................. 937.33
Assets
Cash.................................... 0
House value (Gross)..................... 0
Shares and bonds........................ 0
Car(s).................................. 750
Other assets............................ 0
Total Assets............................ 750
No Secured nor Hire Purchase Debts
Unsecured Debts
Description....................Debt......Monthly...APR
Credit Card....................200.......10........18.9
Credit Card....................3060......100.......0
Overdraft......................963.......0.........0
Total unsecured debts..........4223......110.......-
Monthly Budget Summary
Total monthly income.................... 1,148.55
Expenses (including HP & secured debts). 937.33
Available for debt repayments........... 211.22
Monthly UNsecured debt repayments....... 110
Amount left after debt repayments....... 101.22
Personal Balance Sheet Summary
Total assets (things you own)........... 750
Total HP & Secured debt................. -0
Total Unsecured debt.................... -4,223
Net Assets.............................. -3,473
Created using the SOA calculator at https://www.makesenseofcards.com.
Reproduced on Moneysavingexpert with permission, using other browser.
0
Comments
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Hi Sugarplumfairy :wave:
Welcome to this board!
I've put some comments below, which might help you.
Is there any way you could get rid of your car? That's what's helped me the most.
It also helped to start a spending diary https://www.spendingdiary.com
HTH
xsugarplumfairy83 wrote: »
Statement of Affairs and Personal Balance Sheet
Household Information
Number of adults in household........... 1
Number of children in household.........
Number of cars owned.................... 1
Monthly Income Details
Monthly income after tax................ 0
Partners monthly income after tax....... 0
Benefits................................ 1148.55
Other income............................ 0
Total monthly income.................... 1148.55
Monthly Expense Details
Mortgage................................ 0
Secured/HP loan repayments.............. 0
Rent.................................... 500 This seems too high for your income
Management charge (leasehold property).. 0
Council tax............................. 0
Electricity............................. 14.5
Gas..................................... 0
Oil..................................... 0
Water rates............................. 0
Telephone (land line)................... 0
Mobile phone............................ 23 You should be able to get this cheaper.
TV Licence.............................. 12.95
Satellite/Cable TV...................... 30.5 Freeview?
Internet Services....................... 0
Groceries etc. ......................... 75
Clothing................................ 40 You can't afford this every month
Petrol/diesel........................... 50
Road tax................................ 0
Car Insurance........................... 48.88
Car maintenance (including MOT)......... 0
Car parking............................. 85
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)...... 20
Haircuts................................ 37.5 This could be cut down - try waiting another week or two longer than normally
Entertainment........................... 0
Holiday................................. 0
Emergency fund.......................... 0
Total monthly expenses.................. 937.33
Assets
Cash.................................... 0
House value (Gross)..................... 0
Shares and bonds........................ 0
Car(s).................................. 750
Other assets............................ 0
Total Assets............................ 750
No Secured nor Hire Purchase Debts
Unsecured Debts
Description....................Debt......Monthly...APR
Credit Card....................200.......10........18.9
Credit Card....................3060......100.......0
Overdraft......................963.......0.........0
Total unsecured debts..........4223......110.......-
Monthly Budget Summary
Total monthly income.................... 1,148.55
Expenses (including HP & secured debts). 937.33
Available for debt repayments........... 211.22
Monthly UNsecured debt repayments....... 110
Amount left after debt repayments....... 101.22
Personal Balance Sheet Summary
Total assets (things you own)........... 750
Total HP & Secured debt................. -0
Total Unsecured debt.................... -4,223
Net Assets.............................. -3,473
Created using the SOA calculator at www.makesenseofcards.com.
Reproduced on Moneysavingexpert with permission, using other browser.0 -
Thanks for your response La escocesa! Sadly, due to my disability, my car is essential (and I've heard people lambasted on here for using that word but hand on heart, it really is for me!).0
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Im in agreement with La escocesa, you have quite a limited budget to work with and thankfully not a huge amount of debt.
If you have a good credit rating there is no problem in card hoping it won't affect your rating. Just apply for a new card and once you have transfered close down the old account.
Given the cuts suggested and add in the surplus (£101.22), it will take about ~17 months to pay off if you can keep to 0% deals. http://www.whatsthecost.com/snowball.aspx
Have you done a benefit check? - http://www.turn2us.org.uk/benefits_search.aspxAlthough no trees were harmed during the creation of this post, a large number of electrons were greatly inconvenienced.
There are two ways of constructing a software design: One way is to make it so simple that there are obviously no deficiencies, and the other way is to make it so complicated that there are no obvious deficiencies0 -
Well done for posting! It sounds like you've had a rotten time and Im impressed that you have the energy and "umph" to tackle your money problems on top of all of this.
Your SOA looks pretty good to me to be honest - I imagine the high rent and hugely high parking are products of your mobility issues. Is there any help avaliable from the council or government on this? I know some people here have gotten free parking at hospital during prolonged illness, is this something you can look into?
Keep your chin up!Mortgage free by 30:eek:: £28,000/£100,000
Debt free as of 1 October, 2010Taking my frugal life on the road!0 -
Oh goodness, I didn't see your comments on the SOA!
Rent: I'm within the price band for my local Housing Benefit and without living in a tiny studio (which wouldn't allow me the space to use a wheelchair when required), this is the cheapest option for me locally.
Mobile: This £23 is a recent come down from the average £35 I was spending. Given my usage, this is the cheapest deal I was able to find and am now tied to it until October 2011.
Satellite: This covers my internet usage, television and landline. I don't get amazing reception on my mobile and my parents wanted the reassurance that I had a usable landline in case of accidents. It also works out cheaper than previous charges I was incurring using a dongle with limited net usage. Being indoors most of the time, I am quite a heavy net user
Clothing: I honestly plucked this out of the air! I can go months without buying clothes, hit a low and then on a whim whack £100 on my credit card. I'm working really hard to stop doing this. I tried to figure out what I would be likely to spend in a year but am willing to reduce this.
Haircuts: Also willing to go longer between cuts. Also, come September I'm hoping to return to Uni to gain my Masters and will be entitled to 20% discount with my current hairdresser. Student perks!0 -
DarkConvict wrote: »Im in agreement with La escocesa, you have quite a limited budget to work with and thankfully not a huge amount of debt.
If you have a good credit rating there is no problem in card hoping it won't affect your rating. Just apply for a new card and once you have transfered close down the old account.
Given the cuts suggested and add in the surplus (£101.22), it will take about ~17 months to pay off if you can keep to 0% deals. http://www.whatsthecost.com/snowball.aspx
Have you done a benefit check? - http://www.turn2us.org.uk/benefits_search.aspx
Thank you - the idea of 17 months is actually a relief and feels like a realistic time frame to work with!
Just done the benefit checker: I'm already in receipt of the main sources of income but it seems there are a few I've not heard of which I will look into now. Cheers!0 -
Nottoobadyet wrote: »Well done for posting! It sounds like you've had a rotten time and Im impressed that you have the energy and "umph" to tackle your money problems on top of all of this.
Your SOA looks pretty good to me to be honest - I imagine the high rent and hugely high parking are products of your mobility issues. Is there any help avaliable from the council or government on this? I know some people here have gotten free parking at hospital during prolonged illness, is this something you can look into?
Keep your chin up!
Thank you for such a lovely and positive post I buried my head in the sand for a long time and have gone through stages of trying to sort this out but becoming disheartened along the way. I'm hoping with support from others in similar situations I'll find the strength to keep at it! High rent and parking, you're spot on: the area I live in, parking is only available through private contractors, not necessarily automatically coming with property and it's darn expensive. But as I said, having my car is a neccessity and I've tried looking into discounted rates etc. 0 -
go to a beauty college (your local FE college often have a beauty course running) as they will have a cheap salon for doing haircuts. You can probably save 50% or more that way.
Cut up your credit card or put it in the freezer - that will stop you wacking clothing on it.
Keep a spending diary so you can work out why you are not meeting your budget.
I appreciate what you say about the combined phone package but look to see if you can get cheaper and consider buying a freeview box and dropping the TV bit of the package.
Good luck. It will take time to clear your debt as you are not earning but if you focus on it now you can stop it getting out of hand.
I hope it all works out for you.Debt at highest: £8k. Debt Free 31/12/2009. Original MFD May 2036, MF Dec 2018.0 -
ps - I love your username
Hope you get the help you need from here. People on DFW are really fab - even if the advice is to make cuts you find hard.Debt at highest: £8k. Debt Free 31/12/2009. Original MFD May 2036, MF Dec 2018.0 -
Thank you katsu
See I knew the SOA would mean I'd leave things out ... I also have a gym membership which is £34 a month. I'd love to just cut this but exercise helps with my depression and my consultant is keen for me to have a regular regime to help with my disability - at the moment I'm just paying a £5 admin fee because of the severity of my spinal problems but am hoping to return soon so that's another expenditure.
I also have the £20 I pay each month to my previous electricity company.
Just yesterday my previous bank where I hold my student overdraft have agreed that if I make payments at least every 30 days it will remain interest free. Considering how utterly awful they were when I first approached them, I'm hailing this a huge break through and am hoping to contribute £20 each month.
Ultimately it would be nice to have a little money left over to a) have the slightest of social lives and b) start saving in case of emergencies/future hopes (holidays! mortgage! children!)0
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