help a Newbie!! SOA now up !

mystra

Hi,


I'm basically after a few tips and advice to help pay of my credit card and overdraft...

At the end of every month my over draft is maxed out to -1400

Credit card not so bad... £500 debt on there but it was a cash advance so is costing me in interest

Basically I moved to London for a new job, the pay is great etc but I'm struggling to break free of the initial cost of the move (petrol, buying bits and pieces to set up home, deposits for rent etc). Before the move i was almost out of my over draft and had a clear bill on the credit card!

Things i do/done so far -

save £100 a month by cycling to work (the bike etc cost £200 - so has now paid for itself after two months of cycling!)
Take my own lunch to work rather than buying (a nasty habit i had before!)
I get 5% off my Asda shopping through work, which is good as i find them the cheapest, i also get lots of other random discounts and cashback because of this!
Buy cheapest food possible!! Bulk buy things i use a lot of from Aldi (their apple juice is yummy and cheap!) once a month
Signed up to OnePoll the other day... made a fiver so far... may take a while get to £40 so i can have the money
Shopped around and got cheapest house/car insurance, got a good deal on my mobile and free broadband for 6 months off O2.
Sold what i can on eBay... but finding it disappointing. Sold some good games and had to let them go at 99p but price them any higher you get nothing... and games shops aren't any better


I can really post a full breakdown of spending as we still haven't had a bill from electric or water yet so don't know how much that will be

I pay £200 a month off my credit card so it will be clear sooner rather than later but soon my over draft will run out as i graduated 2 years ago... it's now only interest free up to -£500 lucky they let me still have the full overdraft and the interest isn't too bad to be fair, but in a year i could lose the whole lot!

The initial outlay has really laid waste to my finances tho... the rent etc is well within our budget but so many fees and deposits to pay before you can move in!

My boyfriend pays half the rent/council tax but i pay the bills/food, as he still lives in our home town until he can find a job here, whch is very good of him plus means he can move straight down when he gets a job... hope it's soon tho!
I want to be able own a home one day so i can have pets... don't think that's going to happen for centuries... which makes me very sad

Any general tips and advice?

GeorgeUK

Other than posting up a statement of affairs once you know where you are with the bills, get on the electoral roll as soon as possible. This can have a huge impact in your credit rating.

One thing you may be able to do once the overdraft is no longer at 0% is to transfer to a promotional rate credit card that allows money trasnfers at 0% - such as Virgin. Do you have any old credit cards that you have never closed? You may be able to get a promotional balance transfer as an existing customer which would not require a credit check. I wouldn't apply for new credit right now as you have just moved.

mystra

GeorgeUK wrote: »

Other than posting up a statement of affairs once you know where you are with the bills, get on the electoral roll as soon as possible. This can have a huge impact in your credit rating.

One thing you may be able to do once the overdraft is no longer at 0% is to transfer to a promotional rate credit card that allows money trasnfers at 0% - such as Virgin. Do you have any old credit cards that you have never closed? You may be able to get a promotional balance transfer as an existing customer which would not require a credit check. I wouldn't apply for new credit right now as you have just moved.

thanks for that...was thinking the same thing, wish i had got another before the move that i could do a cheaper balance transfer on! oh well!

Will get the SOA up soon as i know everything

I'm just running out of things to cut down on... i regularly have no spend days now which is great but it does feel like its going down the drain sometimes.... i suppose we all have the same feeling from time to time!

Just want to put things right before they get any worse. My mum is in a lot of debt and in a right mess (although she is being helped and has had great advice etc - she'll be paying it off forever!) i don't want to be the same!

mystra

at last here is my SOA

Statement of Affairs and Personal Balance Sheet

Household Information
Number of adults in household........... 2 (well sort of... my other half is on the tenancy but doesn't live here except at the weekends - until he can get a job here in London, he's staying put at his job in stoke - he pays half the rent/contents insurance and council tax which i think is more than fair of him to do so - he's offered more but i've said no!)
Number of children in household......... 0
Number of cars owned.................... 1

Monthly Income Details
Monthly income after tax................ 1425
Partners monthly income after tax....... 0
Benefits................................ 0
Other income............................ 0
Total monthly income.................... 1425

Monthly Expense Details
Mortgage................................ 0
Secured/HP loan repayments.............. 0
Rent.................................... 475 (my half only)
Management charge (leasehold property).. 0
Council tax............................. 70 (again my half)
Electricity............................. 30
Gas..................................... 0
Oil..................................... 0
Water rates............................. 0 (we've just been told by water company that its included in our rent - bonus! If not prob be about £20 - awaiting confirmation!)
Telephone (land line)................... 11.54
Mobile phone............................ 30
TV Licence.............................. 0
Satellite/Cable TV...................... 0
Internet Services....................... 7.5
Groceries etc. ......................... 120
Clothing................................ 20
Petrol/diesel........................... 10
Road tax................................ 12.5
Car Insurance........................... 75 (can't get it any cheaper i promise! Had an accident )
Car maintenance (including MOT)......... 40
Car parking............................. 0
Other travel............................ 36 (odd tube/bus fairs and the cost of my bike and helmet etc split over a year)
Childcare/nursery....................... 0
Other child related expenses............ 0
Medical (prescriptions, dentist etc).... 3
Pet insurance/vet bills................. 0
Buildings insurance..................... 0
Contents insurance...................... 9 (my half - also covers my mobile and bike outside the home)
Life assurance ......................... 0
Other insurance......................... 0
Presents (birthday, christmas etc)...... 20
Haircuts................................ 12.5
Entertainment........................... 30 (although this is the max at the moment so it is usually less)
Holiday................................. 40 (if we go on one this year... if we do we will aim for cheaper anyway, this is based on the cost of our last hol)
Emergency fund.......................... 0
Total monthly expenses.................. 1036.04


Assets
Cash.................................... 0
House value (Gross)..................... 0
Shares and bonds........................ 0
Car(s).................................. 1000 (hmm if that... cars aren't selling at all. Boyfriend spent ages selling his and had to accept half of its worth so no i wont be getting rid!)
Other assets............................ 0
Total Assets............................ 1000

No Secured nor Hire Purchase Debts

Unsecured Debts
Description....................Debt......Monthly...APR
Credit card....................285.......200.......16.5 (this high because i choose to pay off that much - i want it gone! so it will be paid off within 2 months!)
Total unsecured debts..........285.......200.......-


Monthly Budget Summary
Total monthly income.................... 1,425
Expenses (including HP & secured debts). 1,036.04
Available for debt repayments........... 388.96
Monthly UNsecured debt repayments....... 200
Amount left after debt repayments....... 188.96

Personal Balance Sheet Summary
Total assets (things you own)........... 1,000
Total HP & Secured debt................. -0
Total Unsecured debt.................... -285
Net Assets.............................. 715

Created using the SOA calculator at www.makesenseofcards.com.
Reproduced on Moneysavingexpert with permission, using Firefox browser.

t4mof

Hi

Your SOA looks OK to be honest - the only thing that seems quite high (other than your rent, if that's only half of it!) is your mobile. I'm guessing contract?? When is this up?? Can you go PAYG?? I'm on Virgin and top up £10 every 2 months. I get 300 free texts the month after the top up so use these rather than calling anybody in the first month and then in month 2 I use up my £10 credit on texts and calls. £5 a month to run my mobile.

Your credit card has very nearly gone - will that be £200 in June and then £85 + the interest in July??

Once that has cleared, if you can save just £12 a month somewhere (phone looks most likely but also savings to be made on Entertainment and/or Holiday if you choose not to go this year) you should have £400 a month surplus from August onwards - overdraft will then be gone within 4 months. Does that seem realistic?? Do you have £188 surplus each month at the moment?? If not, you may need to consider a spending diary to understand where this money goes.

Hope that helps.

firesidemaid

two things jump out.

1) is your OH paying council tax where he lives at home? if so, should you only be paying the single rate? or is OH paying single rate at home instead?

2) do both you and OH have a car each? do you really need one in london? i sold mine when i moved there as i found no need with such good transport links/times. you could save loads a month.

mystra

t4mof wrote: »

Hi

Your SOA looks OK to be honest - the only thing that seems quite high (other than your rent, if that's only half of it!) is your mobile. I'm guessing contract?? When is this up?? Can you go PAYG?? I'm on Virgin and top up £10 every 2 months. I get 300 free texts the month after the top up so use these rather than calling anybody in the first month and then in month 2 I use up my £10 credit on texts and calls. £5 a month to run my mobile.

Your credit card has very nearly gone - will that be £200 in June and then £85 + the interest in July??

Once that has cleared, if you can save just £12 a month somewhere (phone looks most likely but also savings to be made on Entertainment and/or Holiday if you choose not to go this year) you should have £400 a month surplus from August onwards - overdraft will then be gone within 4 months. Does that seem realistic?? Do you have £188 surplus each month at the moment?? If not, you may need to consider a spending diary to understand where this money goes.

Hope that helps.

Thanks for the advice

The phone is a new contract - in my excitement i treated myself to an iphone - Telling myself i had saved money because it was the refurb deal and i got free broadband off o2 for 6 months. I use all my minutes and texts and are unlimited, as it internet on the phone. So i guess at east i did have to pay any extra upfront for the phone, but yeah should have thought it thru until the CC was paid off to save some pennies...

Yeah I'm planning to pay £200 off when i get paid at the end of this month, if i can afford the extra 85 i might pay that and have done, but i don't want to leave myself short so maybe not. Holiday will defo be less this year if we go. We're thinking of going in the autumn. We're only going to go if my boyfriend gets a job in London, if he's still stuck working up in Stoke it'll be a no no.

As for the surplus.... hmm probably none at all really but at the same time i can guess what i have spent it on, one off trips back to stoke in the car (had to bring my pet goldfish home so couldn't do that on a train lol) and i also went to a wedding which required a posh frock that i didn't own (my friends aren't the same size or i would have happily borrowed)

I am really concious of every penny i spend now, if you ask me where my surplus went at the end of this month I'd be able to tell you lol but of course there will be a surplus left over if it kills me lol

mystra

firesidemaid wrote: »

two things jump out.

1) is your OH paying council tax where he lives at home? if so, should you only be paying the single rate? or is OH paying single rate at home instead?

2) do both you and OH have a car each? do you really need one in london? i sold mine when i moved there as i found no need with such good transport links/times. you could save loads a month.

My boyfriend pays half the council tax here, at home he lives with his parents. I tried the single rate but as his name is on the tenancy they wont believe me. It's a strange situation i guess.

I'm the one with the car, my boyfriend sold his and to be honest, was thinking of selling but i'm not putting up with the stuff he did. He accepted an offer half of what the car was worth and more time wasters that you can shake a stick at. I have serious problems with my neck so i also can't carry the shopping home/drag it on a bus. I tried shopping online but the fresh stuff was always about to go out of date, i just refer doing it mysef to be honest. I had to change the premium halfway through the year (i ay monthly - but its interest free) so the adjustment pushed it up. Hopefully it will come down on renewal as i will be back up to 5 years no-claims and my accident will be a little further in the past lol. I bought a pushbike so i could keep the car really by not paying for tubes and buses everyday. My car is a hobby to me as well so god knows what i coud play with without it lol. i know it seems daft but i just don't see the point in selling it to make such a loss both in money and effort. i guess we'll see how i feel once the CC is paid off or the maret for selling cars improves again.

thanks for your help

ecoelle

I think you SOA looks wonderful! Well done. I actually think you may be in a better position than you thought, by doing thi SOA it's a chance to see how the land lies and it looks good. So 2 months to pay off the credit card, then in the second month the extra £100 (only paying £85 in July so will have some left) can go off your overdraft.

If you have a surplus this month of...lets say..£100 your overdraft will go down to -1300
Then pay off the money left from your July credit card payment, as you won't need to pay so much, so that's another £100
Down to -1200
Then August you might be able to pay £250, by looking at your surplus
So then September, October, November...Debt Free By Christmas!!!!!!

Now that's something to aim for, If you then open a savings account you could save
(With the surplus)
£250 x 12 Months

£3000 by next Christmas, stick it in a cash isa and you'll get tax free interest!!

Good Luck!

mystra

ecoelle wrote: »

I think you SOA looks wonderful! Well done. I actually think you may be in a better position than you thought, by doing thi SOA it's a chance to see how the land lies and it looks good. So 2 months to pay off the credit card, then in the second month the extra £100 (only paying £85 in July so will have some left) can go off your overdraft.

If you have a surplus this month of...lets say..£100 your overdraft will go down to -1300
Then pay off the money left from your July credit card payment, as you won't need to pay so much, so that's another £100
Down to -1200
Then August you might be able to pay £250, by looking at your surplus
So then September, October, November...Debt Free By Christmas!!!!!!

Now that's something to aim for, If you then open a savings account you could save
(With the surplus)
£250 x 12 Months

£3000 by next Christmas, stick it in a cash isa and you'll get tax free interest!!

Good Luck!

oooh you make it sound so much better than it feels... but maybe that because i am an ex-spendaholic trying to go cold turkey lol

I do have a Cash ISA as it happens.. it has a grand total of 95p in lol but it ready and waiting for when i can save again!

Cheers!

t4mof

mystra wrote: »

Thanks for the advice
As for the surplus.... hmm probably none at all really but at the same time i can guess what i have spent it on, one off trips back to stoke in the car (had to bring my pet goldfish home so couldn't do that on a train lol) and i also went to a wedding which required a posh frock that i didn't own (my friends aren't the same size or i would have happily borrowed)

I am really concious of every penny i spend now, if you ask me where my surplus went at the end of this month I'd be able to tell you lol but of course there will be a surplus left over if it kills me lol

The image of a goldfish on a train made me smile.

It is all about knowing where every penny goes. I'm on my banking website every night and I update my budget sheet with everything that has gone out that day and keep a measure against what I've budgeted for.

I will have a surplus left this month and for the first time I will be able to make an extra payment onto my MBNA card - it'll probably send their systems into overdrive :rotfl: MBNA have never had more than the minimum payment from me in 11 years :eek: