Please help ...... my SAO

Mrs_Monkey_3

Hi, I have lurked on MSE for a number of years but today I had my LBM and really would appreciate some advice on our mountain of debt and the best way to go about tackling it. On paper we always seem to have more money then in reality and live from pay day to pay day.

My husband has recently been found to have a heart condition and is currently of work sick, it is unlikely he will return to his physically demanding job but possibly in the future could take a less physical job work permitting. this is our SAO although it is based on his current wages not his sick pay as we have yet to have a full wage of just this. He won't be able to stay on the sick indefinatley and at some point his salary will be £0

We would be greatful of any advice

Statement of Affairs and Personal Balance Sheet
Household Information
Number of adults in household........... 2
Number of children in household......... 2
Number of cars owned.................... 1
Monthly Income Details
Monthly income after tax................ 1300
Partners monthly income after tax....... 620
Benefits................................ 650
Other income............................ 0
Total monthly income.................... 2570
Monthly Expense Details
Mortgage................................ 0
Secured/HP loan repayments.............. 0
Rent.................................... 595
Management charge (leasehold property).. 0
Council tax............................. 85
Electricity............................. 45
Gas..................................... 52
Oil..................................... 0
Water rates............................. 38
Telephone (land line)................... 0
Mobile phone............................ 55
TV Licence.............................. 11
Satellite/Cable TV...................... 0
Internet Services....................... 20
Groceries etc. ......................... 300
Clothing................................ 20
Petrol/diesel........................... 250
Road tax................................ 18
Car Insurance........................... 60
Car maintenance (including MOT)......... 25
Car parking............................. 0
Other travel............................ 0
Childcare/nursery....................... 134
Other child related expenses............ 40
Medical (prescriptions, dentist etc).... 0
Pet insurance/vet bills................. 15
Buildings insurance..................... 0
Contents insurance...................... 26
Life assurance ......................... 0
Other insurance......................... 14
Presents (birthday, christmas etc)...... 25
Haircuts................................ 10
Entertainment........................... 50
Holiday................................. 0
Emergency fund.......................... 50
Total monthly expenses.................. 1938

Assets
Cash.................................... 0
House value (Gross)..................... 0
Shares and bonds........................ 0
Car(s).................................. 500
Other assets............................ 0
Total Assets............................ 500

No Secured nor Hire Purchase Debts
Unsecured Debts
Description....................Debt......Monthly...APR
natwest cc.....................450.......9.........18.9
barclay cc.....................350.......16........16.9
egg cc.........................600.......18........19.9
family loan....................3000......0.........0
cap one CC.....................200.......12........19.9
mint CC........................150.......8.........19.9
Flybe CC.......................4000......120.......22.9
co-op OD.......................1000......0.........0
llyods OD......................1800......30........24.9
hsbc OD........................1700......28........19.9
Smile OD.......................1000......0.........0
Natwest OD.....................1200......0.........0
llyods O/D.....................1550......0.........0
flybe cc.......................2200......65........24.9
Total unsecured debts..........19200.....306.......-

Monthly Budget Summary
Total monthly income.................... 2,570
Expenses (including HP & secured debts). 1,938
Available for debt repayments........... 632
Monthly UNsecured debt repayments....... 306
Amount left after debt repayments....... 326
Personal Balance Sheet Summary
Total assets (things you own)........... 500
Total HP & Secured debt................. -0
Total Unsecured debt.................... -19,200
Net Assets.............................. -18,700
Created using the SOA calculator at
Reproduced on Moneysavingexpert with permission, using IE browser.

As you can see we have a number of OD that are still interest free from our student days but they will soon be changed to normal accounts and we need to start making repayments on them .

Thankyou for your time

Mrs Monkey

Tixy

Hi and welcome

Mrs_Monkey wrote: »

Hi, I have lurked on MSE for a number of years but today I had my LBM and really would appreciate some advice on our mountain of debt and the best way to go about tackling it. On paper we always seem to have more money then in reality and live from pay day to pay day. If this is the case its a great idea to keep a spending diary for a couple of months where you write down everything you spend (even the odd 50ps)

My husband has recently been found to have a heart condition and is currently of work sick, it is unlikely he will return to his physically demanding job but possibly in the future could take a less physical job work permitting. this is our SAO although it is based on his current wages not his sick pay as we have yet to have a full wage of just this. He won't be able to stay on the sick indefinatley and at some point his salary will be £0

We would be greatful of any advice

Statement of Affairs and Personal Balance Sheet
Household Information
Number of adults in household........... 2
Number of children in household......... 2
Number of cars owned.................... 1
Monthly Income Details
Monthly income after tax................ 1300
Partners monthly income after tax....... 620
Benefits................................ 650
Other income............................ 0
Total monthly income.................... 2570
Monthly Expense Details
Mortgage................................ 0
Secured/HP loan repayments.............. 0
Rent.................................... 595 is this competative in your area? do you get HB towards this in the benefits figure above?
Management charge (leasehold property).. 0
Council tax............................. 85
Electricity............................. 45
Gas..................................... 52
Oil..................................... 0
Water rates............................. 38
Telephone (land line)................... 0
Mobile phone............................ 55 are you in contract? if not can you find a cheaper deal, if you are ask to drop a tariff.
TV Licence.............................. 11
Satellite/Cable TV...................... 0
Internet Services....................... 20
Groceries etc. ......................... 300 try to reduce this by meal planning before you shop, trying out shop brand products and cutting back on ready made food, making more from scratch (it is doable for a family of 4 on £200)
Clothing................................ 20
Petrol/diesel........................... 250 looks high, what is this used for? is it mostly your commuting? do you drive efficently and always fill up at the cheapest places etc.
Road tax................................ 18
Car Insurance........................... 60 looks high, have you shopped around for this?
Car maintenance (including MOT)......... 25
Car parking............................. 0
Other travel............................ 0
Childcare/nursery....................... 134 is this still needed with OH not working? is it the cheapest solution?
Other child related expenses............ 40 what are these?
Medical (prescriptions, dentist etc).... 0
Pet insurance/vet bills................. 15
Buildings insurance..................... 0
Contents insurance...................... 26 is this the cheapest available (looks quite high just for contents)
Life assurance ......................... 0
Other insurance......................... 14 what is this for?
Presents (birthday, christmas etc)...... 25
Haircuts................................ 10
Entertainment........................... 50
Holiday................................. 0
Emergency fund.......................... 50 have you been saving this? how much is saved?
Total monthly expenses.................. 1938

Assets
Cash.................................... 0
House value (Gross)..................... 0
Shares and bonds........................ 0
Car(s).................................. 500
Other assets............................ 0
Total Assets............................ 500

No Secured nor Hire Purchase Debts
Unsecured Debts
Description....................Debt......Monthly...APR
natwest cc.....................450.......9.........18.9
barclay cc.....................350.......16........16.9
egg cc.........................600.......18........19.9
family loan....................3000......0.........0
cap one CC.....................200.......12........19.9
mint CC........................150.......8.........19.9
Flybe CC.......................4000......120.......22.9
co-op OD.......................1000......0.........0
llyods OD......................1800......30........24.9
hsbc OD........................1700......28........19.9
Smile OD.......................1000......0.........0
Natwest OD.....................1200......0.........0
llyods O/D.....................1550......0.........0
flybe cc.......................2200......65........24.9
Total unsecured debts..........19200.....306.......-
Do any of the debts in OHs name have PPI and would they pay out due to his illness?
Are you not paying anything towards the 4 0% overdrafts at all?
Monthly Budget Summary
Total monthly income.................... 2,570
Expenses (including HP & secured debts). 1,938
Available for debt repayments........... 632
Monthly UNsecured debt repayments....... 306
Amount left after debt repayments....... 326 where are you spending this currently? are you overpaying on any of the debts? keep a spending diary.

Personal Balance Sheet Summary
Total assets (things you own)........... 500
Total HP & Secured debt................. -0
Total Unsecured debt.................... -19,200
Net Assets.............................. -18,700
Created using the SOA calculator at
Reproduced on Moneysavingexpert with permission, using IE browser.

As you can see we have a number of OD that are still interest free from our student days but they will soon be changed to normal accounts and we need to start making repayments on them .

Thankyou for your time

Mrs Monkey

Hi
I've put a few comments. Do you have anything you could sell to put towards your debts? what was the money spent on?
Could you increase your hours/pay at all?

savingwannabe

Hello i am not very good. I cannot help with difficult stuff but when you do your supermarket shop have you dropped a brand or two? Also have you tried lower price supermarkets?

This is probably too obvious and you probably already do it. I am sure a clever bod will be on here soon.

Good luck,

sw

pixiechick_2

savingwannabe wrote: »

I am sure a clever bod will be on here soon.

Good luck,

sw

You ARE a clever bod SW!

pixiechick_2

Mrs Monkey

In addition to dropping a brand/buying smart price etc have you thought about keeping a spending diary - it's surprising how the odd 'small' purchases such as magazines add up. Another thing that I've found to be a big help is to have 'no spending days'. There's a thread on here somewhere NSD challenge. I find that this stops the impulse purchases.

Good luck

Pixie x

Mrs_Monkey_3

Hi Trixy thankyou for your reply...

To answer a few things

The rent is very reasonable for the area/size of house we have been here 5 years and never had a rent increase, when we looked at moving we would be paying the same price for a smaller house. we have not had any HB to help with this as our joint income is to high, I need to enquire if we are entitled not Hubby is of sick.

The mobile phone bill is for 2 mobiles, mine is ahigher tariff as I have to use it for work, previously I have had very high bills due to going over minutes etc I still have 15months left on this contract as it is a recent up grade.

Grocery shopping I would say probably eats up alot more then the £300 along with meals out etc.. I have tried recently to monitor this and really struggled to get it to £300. This does include nappies, wipes, all cleaning/laundry products and all food and pack lunches for the 4 of us. I regulary buy reduced items, BOGOF's shop at aldi, asda and lidl. I do meal plan to some extent but could do more, just with the long hours at work it's not always easy.

Petrol I have to use my car for work I am community based and do a average of 350 miles a week, I do get a small milage allowence and claim the rest back from the tax office at the end of the year. with this years rebate I intend to buy a smaller more economical car as mine guzzles fuel!

Car insurance includes break down cover but this is up for renewal and am searching for a cheaper deal.

Nursery is a big must at the moment as my husband is not well enough to be looking after a toddler alday, my neighbour helps out where possible and I have taken as much evening/night work as I can to cut this down.

Child related expenses are DD's swimming lessons, school trips ect.. and we save £10 each per month for them. This £20 could go on hold but would prefer to keep putting a little by for their future.

Contents insurance is high and up for renewal I am searching for a cheaper deal at the moment.

The other insurance is life insurance for myself and my husband, recently renewed after a long search.

The emergency fund has been saved each month and I have stuck to it always, but 4 new car tyres and a washing machine breakdown has almost cleared that out.

My husband has no PPI on any cards, and we have been paying £10 in to each OD at % but often this gets dipped in to at the end of the month. We have been over paying the most % CC with some of the surplus after I had a look at snowballing them all.

I have started a money diary this week and have already shocked myself at the amounts we are spending "picking" bits up from the local shops. I really need to tackle the shopping side of this.