debt worries

royjaytiscali.co.uk

i find i am getting further into debt every month and we are using our credit cards to pay for basic things like food and petrol,we both work and i just worry where it will end .we have several credit cards ,car loan etc and our mortgage but neither of us are highly paid.i just wandered if anyone had an opinion as im thinking about bankruptcy or iva??but i dont knnow enough.
thanks for reading

kezia_jay

Hi,
I was surprised that no-one had replied to your post, so I thought I would send a few suggestions.
There are many people on here who have been down the same path as you with debts spiralling out of control and the most important thing is the Light Bulb Moment which you seem to have had. Well done. It gets easier from here. Have you read some of the debt-free diaries on here? They are very inspirational.
Bankruptcy or an IVA should only be considered as a last resort and you are probably no where near there yet. You should do a Statement of Affairs to see what you are spending and see where you can cut costs.
Hopefully more people will come along to give you more advice and support. Good Luck.

Mikeone

Hi Roy

Welcome to DFW! You should be able to find lots of help and support here.

Bankruptcy/IVA are two of the ways of dealing with problem debts, but there are many more. To know the best route to take, you will need to make a full assessment of where you stand at the moment. Complete a full Statement of Affairs (referred to here as SOA) so that you can see how much you earn, how much you own and how much you owe. The SOA should also show you areas in which you can cut spending.

SOA Template: http://www.makesenseofcards.com/soacalc.html

You can get excellent free advice from one of the many debt charities (CCCS, Citizens Advice, Christians Against Poverty etc). They will usually ask you to make an SOA and then offer advice to help you. With your permission, they can speak to your creditors on your behalf.

Absolutely DO NOT use a service which charges you. There is nothing you can pay for which you can't get for free elsewhere.

You may find that you don't need to go bankrupt, and that a Debt Management Plan would be suitable.

Of course, this forum is a useful source of advice and support. If you post your SOA, we can help you find ways to get through the financial mire.

Good luck!

royjaytiscali.co.uk

[tt]Statement of Affairs and Personal Balance Sheet
Household Information
Number of adults in household........... 3
Number of children in household......... 1
Number of cars owned.................... 2
Monthly Income Details
Monthly income after tax................ 757
Partners monthly income after tax....... 1000
Benefits................................ 120
Other income............................ 200
Total monthly income.................... 2077
Monthly Expense Details
Mortgage................................ 630
Secured/HP loan repayments.............. 369
Rent.................................... 0
Management charge (leasehold property).. 0
Council tax............................. 115
Electricity............................. 62
Gas..................................... 10
Oil..................................... 0
Water rates............................. 31.51
Telephone (land line)................... 40
Mobile phone............................ 10
TV Licence.............................. 11
Satellite/Cable TV...................... 5
Internet Services....................... 0
Groceries etc. ......................... 200
Clothing................................ 20
Petrol/diesel........................... 200
Road tax................................ 30
Car Insurance........................... 46
Car maintenance (including MOT)......... 30
Car parking............................. 0
Other travel............................ 0
Childcare/nursery....................... 0
Other child related expenses............ 0
Medical (prescriptions, dentist etc).... 5
Pet insurance/vet bills................. 0
Buildings insurance..................... 24
Contents insurance...................... 0
Life assurance ......................... 40
Other insurance......................... 20
Presents (birthday, christmas etc)...... 10
Haircuts................................ 0
Entertainment........................... 4
Holiday................................. 20
Emergency fund.......................... 0
Total monthly expenses.................. 1932.51

Assets
Cash.................................... 0
House value (Gross)..................... 145000
Shares and bonds........................ 0
Car(s).................................. 7000
Other assets............................ 0
Total Assets............................ 152000

Secured & HP Debts
Description....................Debt......Monthly...APR
Mortgage...................... 43000....(630)......0
Hire Purchase (HP) debt ...... 13000....(369)......0
Total secured & HP debts...... 56000.....-.........-
Unsecured Debts
Description....................Debt......Monthly...APR
mbna...........................1470.59...26........1.46
virgin.........................2275.52...25........1.43
tesco..........................1517.96...30........0
m&s............................200.......15........18.9
hsbc...........................1000......18........18.9
Total unsecured debts..........6464.07...114.......-

Monthly Budget Summary
Total monthly income.................... 2,077
Expenses (including HP & secured debts). 1,932.51
Available for debt repayments........... 144.49
Monthly UNsecured debt repayments....... 114
Amount left after debt repayments....... 30.49
Personal Balance Sheet Summary
Total assets (things you own)........... 152,000
Total HP & Secured debt................. -56,000
Total Unsecured debt.................... -6,464.07
Net Assets.............................. 89,535.93
[/tt]
well this is near enough accurate and it says we have £49 per month left over!!!!thanks for your replies- any suggestions welcome!!!

Tixy

Hi

Well the good news is that this says you have money left over each month, the bad news is you are obviously not finding this to be the case.

royjaytiscali.co.uk wrote: »

[tt]Statement of Affairs and Personal Balance Sheet
Household Information
Number of adults in household........... 3 who is the 3rd adult? do they contribute to the household?
Number of children in household......... 1
Number of cars owned.................... 2
Monthly Income Details
Monthly income after tax................ 757
Partners monthly income after tax....... 1000
Benefits................................ 120 have you checked you are getting all the benefits that you can especially tax credits?
Other income............................ 200 what is this from?
Total monthly income.................... 2077
Monthly Expense Details
Mortgage................................ 630 is this fixed rate? is it repayment or interest only?
Secured/HP loan repayments.............. 369
Rent.................................... 0
Management charge (leasehold property).. 0
Council tax............................. 115
Electricity............................. 62 this looks a little high do you use elec heating (as the gas cost is so low)? have you checked recently that you are with the cheapest supplier and best tariff?
Gas..................................... 10
Oil..................................... 0
Water rates............................. 31.51
Telephone (land line)................... 40
Mobile phone............................ 10
TV Licence.............................. 11
Satellite/Cable TV...................... 5
Internet Services....................... 0
Groceries etc. ......................... 200
Clothing................................ 20
Petrol/diesel........................... 200 is this all essential? mostly commuting? do you always fill up at the cheapest station and try to drive 'fuel efficently'?
Road tax................................ 30
Car Insurance........................... 46 good price for 2cars but do always check for the best deal at renewal time.
Car maintenance (including MOT)......... 30
Car parking............................. 0
Other travel............................ 0
Childcare/nursery....................... 0
Other child related expenses............ 0
Medical (prescriptions, dentist etc).... 5
Pet insurance/vet bills................. 0
Buildings insurance..................... 24
Contents insurance...................... 0
Life assurance ......................... 40 have you checked recently if this is the best deal for you?
Other insurance......................... 20
Presents (birthday, christmas etc)...... 10 great if you only spend this amount but is it really enough? £120 for the whole year?
Haircuts................................ 0 do you not pay for these?
Entertainment........................... 4 is this really enough? no meals out? trips to cinema or similar?
Holiday................................. 20 is this being saved for a specific holiday?
Emergency fund.......................... 0
Total monthly expenses.................. 1932.51

Assets
Cash.................................... 0
House value (Gross)..................... 145000
Shares and bonds........................ 0
Car(s).................................. 7000
Other assets............................ 0
Total Assets............................ 152000

Secured & HP Debts
Description....................Debt......Monthly...APR
Mortgage...................... 43000....(630)......0
Hire Purchase (HP) debt ...... 13000....(369)......0 is this secured on one of the cars? is £13k the orig balance or what is still left?
Total secured & HP debts...... 56000.....-.........-
Unsecured Debts
Description....................Debt......Monthly...APR
mbna...........................1470.59...26........1.46 this will be the monthly interest not APR
virgin.........................2275.52...25........1.43 and this
tesco..........................1517.96...30........0 when does the promo run out?
m&s............................200.......15........18.
hsbc...........................1000......18........18.9
Total unsecured debts..........6464.07...114.......-

Monthly Budget Summary
Total monthly income.................... 2,077
Expenses (including HP & secured debts). 1,932.51
Available for debt repayments........... 144.49
Monthly UNsecured debt repayments....... 114
Amount left after debt repayments....... 30.49
Personal Balance Sheet Summary
Total assets (things you own)........... 152,000
Total HP & Secured debt................. -56,000
Total Unsecured debt.................... -6,464.07
Net Assets.............................. 89,535.93
[/tt]
well this is near enough accurate and it says we have £49 per month left over!!!!thanks for your replies- any suggestions welcome!!!

If you are still finding you are needing to use your cards then I would suggest a spending diary would help yuo identify where else your money is going. As the above stands you wouldn't qualify for an IVA and bankruptcy certainly wouldn't be right for you as your assets exceed your liabilites by nearly £90k (selling the house would be prefereable to bankruptcy but I don't even think that will be necessary).

thecableguy12

would a dro be an option.... just because of the expendible income?:)

thecableguy12

may need to consider loosing the hp for the cars? any input?

Tixy

thecableguy12 wrote: »

would a dro be an option.... just because of the expendible income?:)

Not with £80k of assets, on a DRO it needs to be less than £500 (?) in assets.

thecableguy12 wrote: »

may need to consider loosing the hp for the cars? any input?

Problem is if the HP balance is still £13k and the cars are only worth £7k they could be difficult to get rid of as they would still have the debt to pay. Unless either of the cars could be voluntarily terminated anytime soon.

Want2Bdebtfree_3

Hi - Am new to the site but joined for moral support and fresh ideas as I got myself in a sticky mess thought I could get out of it for a couple of years and did not realise was getting further in it! Last year I had to do an IVA, it was embarassing and upsetting to think I had been so silly to get in such a mess. You at least realise there is a problem and can do something about it now. Speak to a debt company as those suggested above. If you house is worth so much more than your mortgage one option could be to extend your mortgage to cover the car loan and cards. Then you are just paying at one low rate although long term you would pay more... then cut all your cards up so you are not tempted to use them again. CASH only. Seek some advice though its best and you will feel better for it.

royjaytiscali.co.uk

thankyou- you have certainly given me somethings to find out about.life insurance for example -it never occured to me to shop around!!!how daft is that?
i forgot to mention we have a caravan this is part of the hp,we owe about 5000 on it but i think we have come to the conclusion its got to go-so we are thinking about selling it.any cash left over can then go on credit cards etc.we are going away on hols in it in august (in uk)so i think we will do it after that.it will also save us the insurance and storage on it.
i feel a lot more positive now -thanks for that:beer: