Cant seem budget??

Turnthisaround

Hi is there anyone who can help us, I want to budget properly and clear my debt problem I am thinking of a consolidation loan, any advice would be great, here is my State of play, its not good
Monthly Incomings:



My salary - £1244.80

Partner’s salary - £1006.8

Benefits - £143.15



Total - £2394.75



Monthly Outgoings



Childcare - £348

Mortgage/Rent - £601 (£57.69 till Dec 06 we are taking a mortgage holiday)

Council Tax - £107

Gas - £20

Electric – £56

TV License £10.99

Sky - £26

Phone - £35

Food - £400

Car Insurance - £ 32

Petrol - £259.80

Life Insurance - £15.13

Water - £20.33

Plumbing cover - £7.8

Pet Insurance - £7.63

Road Tax - £18.33

Maintenance - £20.33



Total - £1985.34 (£1442.30 till Dec 06) ex debt payments below



Now for the debts



Halifax CC £3986.98 (LIMIT 4450) APR 6.95% on £3161 9.9% on £825

American Express CC £3588.03 (LIMIT 4400) APR 14.88%

Nationwide CC £3807.6 (limit 5400) APR 14.88%



Nationwide Loan Outstanding (settlement now) £7021.7 or another 71 payments of £119.71 per month APR 6.7% PA



Overdraught -£1311.33 (LIMIT -£2000) APR 7.25%

tyllwyd

So your monthly income is £2395, and your budgeted outgoings are £1985 (although at the moment you are taking a mortgage holiday and your outgoings are £1442).

So even when you are paying your mortgage, you have £410 for debt repayments plus unbudgeted items, and at the moment you have £953.

That doesn't look so bad - do you keep a track of your spending so that you know where this money is going? In the budget you've posted, food and petrol stand out as very high.

lynzpower

Ok a few thoughts from me

Why are you taking a mortgage holiday, I sense that the interest is still stacking up on this month on month. If I took one, then it would mean 350pcm of MORE debt every month, by not paying my mortgage. What extra debt are you building up here?

YOUR SOA
My salary - £1244.80
Partner’s salary - £1006.8
Benefits - £143.15
Total - £2394.75

Monthly Outgoings
Childcare - £348
Mortgage/Rent - £601 (£57.69 till Dec 06 we are taking a mortgage holiday) ( start paying this again asap is my advice)
Council Tax - £107
Gas - £20 ( this seems quite low, you may need to budget a bit more with the price rises etc)
Electric – £56 ( however this seems really high. https://www.saveenergy.co.uk)
TV License £10.99
Sky - £26 ( you dont need this, you can get a digi box for 26, saving 26pcm)
Phone - £35 ( what does this cover)
Food - £400 ( this is very high. get over to the old style board, and you can save yourself at least 150 pcm I reckon off this
Car Insurance - £ 32 ( have you checked this is the cheapest)
Petrol - £259.80 (:eek: Why is this so high? I take it the car is used for work purposes, can the driver claim anything back from work, mileage, depreciation anything like that)
Life Insurance - £15.13 ( is this the lowest)
Water - £20.33
Plumbing cover - £7.8 ( do you need this?)
Pet Insurance - £7.63 ( do you need this is it the cheapest?)
Road Tax - £18.33
Maintenance - £20.33

Total - £1985.34 (£1442.30 till Dec 06) ex debt payments below
Now for the debts

Halifax CC £3986.98 (LIMIT 4450) APR 6.95% on £3161 9.9% on £825
American Express CC £3588.03 (LIMIT 4400) APR 14.88%
Nationwide CC £3807.6 (limit 5400) APR 14.88%
Nationwide Loan Outstanding (settlement now) £7021.7 or another 71 payments of £119.71 per month APR 6.7% PA
Overdraught -£1311.33 (LIMIT -£2000) APR 7.25%

Ok, can you move your cards to 0% or low life of balance cards? As the payments you are making wont even touch the balances pretty much. Also moving your current account to one with a free ovedraft should save you 120 a year at a guess.

Turnthisaround

lynzpower and twllwyd
Firstly thanks guys for repling so quickly,i just havent been looking at my finances enough.
Mortgage:I wanted to take a mortgage holiday to get on top of the other debts but i didnt think of the long term debt until now. My partner now works or a bank and can get APR 4.75% perhaps I can move.
Gas/electric: we use very little just for the oven
everything else is electric.
Sky: Will do.
Phone: This is talk/talk phone and broadband my partner calls internationally a lot as well so i think its quite good?.
Food: Will do.
Petrol: I live 27 miles away from work and we run 2 cars I dont think the company will help me with costs too low in the company.
The rest. will do.
Debts: Are low life of balance cards the better option or would clearing the balance into a loan work out cheaper?? to be honest in the past we have taken low transfer cards and still spent on them, I dont know if I trust our ability not to spend.
twllwyd, I will start listing what we are spending on.
Thanks again i will get this sorted,, with some help

Smashing

Is there really a need for 2 cars? Can your partner claim petrol costs? Could you organise a rideshare or use public transport?

There's a thread in old style at the moment about saving gas and electric for the coming winter which might give you some tips.

International calls - necessary? Could you use online messaging to keep in touch?

I dont know if I trust our ability not to spend

I think it is important to address, otherwise you are in danger of getting into the same situation again once the sense of urgency wears off.

leni

What I do with low life balance cards or 0% cards is transfer the balances BUT I NEVER activate the cards and cut them in half straight away and keep them in a poly pocket with the statements!

Your debts might be too high to get a CC with such a high limit! i.e. your debts are almost £20k. Getting a few cards might not be a good idea because as you said, "I dont know if I trust our ability not to spend" so lots of cards might up the temptation and increase the credit available to you!

Considating might be an option - £470 a month over 4 years would see your debts gone!

SAP_Saver

Check a few comparison websites for getting cheaper products!
uswitch.com
confised.com
the petrolprices website
moneysupermarket.com

your elec is high... energy saving bulbs! turn off things your not using! swich supplier. Petrol is very high! Food is massive! I have seen people on this site living off of £50 a month for mother and two kids! so it can be done!

good luck

lynzpower

Overpaying loans isnt as eay as overpaying cards.

As I see it consolidating into a loan is worse than reducing the interest on your cards. It means that the cycle of overspending is not broken ( here speaks the voice of experience) and that "one easy payment" doesnt stay one for long as the cards get racked up agian as the overspending continues.

Start a spending diary.

MAybe call the CC cos and blag you might be getting a 0% deal elsewhere, and can they match it. often they agree, particularly if you are almost maxed.

Get selling, and use the proceeds of whatever you sell to your most expensive debt. Overpayment ( ie not the minimum) should improve your credit rating with your creditors.

lynzpower

Also , we ONLY have electric in this house, no gas and we pay about 40pcm, if not less, use the save energy site it really is worth it

msmicawber

Just a few thoughts:

Do you use low energy light bulbs? I got some free from my local Council and bought the others cheap at Lidl and found that that, and acting like an ARP warden made quite a difference to my annual electricity bill.

Your petrol bill is massive - I have a big old car and find that careful driving has upped the miles per gallon i.e. where possible, drive in 5th gear, but don't increase speed after that; don't keep speeding up, then slamming on the brakes for traffic lights, etc., just try and keep as even a speed as possible; avoid short journeys (walk or cycle), and try and combine journeys (e.g. shop on your way home from work). I, too, used to do a 50 mile round trip for work each day, but didn't run up such a high petrol bill.

Phone calls - have a look at the directdial.com web site and I'm sure you could get those charges down.

Child care costs - could you or your partner get help with this through your work? There are schemes where childcare costs are paid before your salary is taxed, which could help get them down.

Food - how many are you feeding for £400pm? I suspect you could get this down by meal planning, savvy shopping, etc. - see the old style board.

Turnthisaround

Thanks Guys,
We are going to sit down tonight over a cup of tea and put together a plan based on your posts many many thanks.I will post what we decide tomorrow.
But I think our main problem is we have to stop using credit.