Time to manage my debts

doe

Hello all,

Been seperated for 4 years and have had to manage 2 homes which meant i have to take out 2 mortgages. This have meant my finances have been out of control. I have now decided to confront it and become debt free.
I have in the last week sold the house i live in at a loss and moved into a houseshare where i don't pay any bills. I have savaged about £7k from my initial deposit which is now sitting in a savings account as i hope to buy again in the near future.
My contribution to my childs upkeep is the mortgage on their house which i pay in full. I am hoping to come to some arrangement with my ex to reduce the payment to £500 as she now works full time.

Am i better off paying off some of the CC as the savings is not earning any interest and some of my cards are back on 19% APR.

Your valuable advice will be greatly appreciated. I have included my SOA below.

Thanks


Statement of Affairs and Personal Balance Sheet
Household Information
Number of adults in household........... 1
Number of children in household......... 1
Number of cars owned.................... 1
Monthly Income Details
Monthly income after tax................ 2140
Partners monthly income after tax....... 0
Benefits................................ 80
Other income............................ 0
Total monthly income.................... 2220
Monthly Expense Details
Mortgage................................ 648
Secured/HP loan repayments.............. 0
Rent.................................... 450
Management charge (leasehold property).. 0
Council tax............................. 0
Electricity............................. 0
Gas..................................... 0
Oil..................................... 0
Water rates............................. 0
Telephone (land line)................... 0
Mobile phone............................ 30
TV Licence.............................. 0
Satellite/Cable TV...................... 0
Internet Services....................... 0
Groceries etc. ......................... 50
Clothing................................ 0
Petrol/diesel........................... 50
Road tax................................ 10
Car Insurance........................... 20
Car maintenance (including MOT)......... 45
Car parking............................. 0
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 ......................... 45
Other insurance......................... 0
Presents (birthday, christmas etc)...... 0
Haircuts................................ 0
Entertainment........................... 40
Holiday................................. 0
Emergency fund.......................... 0
Total monthly expenses.................. 1388

Assets
Cash.................................... 7000
House value (Gross)..................... 160000
Shares and bonds........................ 0
Car(s).................................. 2000
Other assets............................ 0
Total Assets............................ 169000

Secured & HP Debts
Description....................Debt......Monthly...APR
Mortgage...................... 132000...(648)......4.99
Total secured & HP debts...... 132000....-.........-
Unsecured Debts
Description....................Debt......Monthly...APR
santander loan.................10152.....282.......7
santander card.................5049......80........0
egg............................3084......78........17.9
overdraft......................2000......0.........0
yorkshire card.................370.......30........0
virgin.........................8000......155.......18.9
mint card......................4324......92........16.9
Total unsecured debts..........32979.....717.......-

Monthly Budget Summary
Total monthly income.................... 2,220
Expenses (including HP & secured debts). 1,388
Available for debt repayments........... 832
Monthly UNsecured debt repayments....... 717
Amount left after debt repayments....... 115
Personal Balance Sheet Summary
Total assets (things you own)........... 169,000
Total HP & Secured debt................. -132,000
Total Unsecured debt.................... -32,979
Net Assets.............................. 4,021
Created using the SOA calculator at www.makesenseofcards.com.
Reproduced on Moneysavingexpert with permission, using IE browser.

Tixy

Hi

doe wrote: »

Hello all,

Been seperated for 4 years and have had to manage 2 homes which meant i have to take out 2 mortgages. This have meant my finances have been out of control. I have now decided to confront it and become debt free.
I have in the last week sold the house i live in at a loss and moved into a houseshare where i don't pay any bills. I have savaged about £7k from my initial deposit which is now sitting in a savings account as i hope to buy again in the near future.
My contribution to my childs upkeep is the mortgage on their house which i pay in full do you actually own a stake in that house still? or is it in ex's name but you just pay it? . I am hoping to come to some arrangement with my ex to reduce the payment to £500 as she now works full time.

Am i better off paying off some of the CC as the savings is not earning any interest and some of my cards are back on 19% APR. Yes.

Your valuable advice will be greatly appreciated. I have included my SOA below.

Thanks


Statement of Affairs and Personal Balance Sheet
Household Information
Number of adults in household........... 1
Number of children in household......... 1 is this the child who lives with ex or a different child?
Number of cars owned.................... 1
Monthly Income Details
Monthly income after tax................ 2140
Partners monthly income after tax....... 0
Benefits................................ 80
Other income............................ 0
Total monthly income.................... 2220
Monthly Expense Details
Mortgage................................ 648
Secured/HP loan repayments.............. 0
Rent.................................... 450 this is all in rent/costs for your house share?
Management charge (leasehold property).. 0
Council tax............................. 0
Electricity............................. 0
Gas..................................... 0
Oil..................................... 0
Water rates............................. 0
Telephone (land line)................... 0
Mobile phone............................ 30
TV Licence.............................. 0
Satellite/Cable TV...................... 0
Internet Services....................... 0
Groceries etc. ......................... 50 is this all you are spending? its pretty low if it is, most people aim for £60-80 per person
Clothing................................ 0 may need to budget a small amount here - particularly with children
Petrol/diesel........................... 50
Road tax................................ 10
Car Insurance........................... 20
Car maintenance (including MOT)......... 45
Car parking............................. 0
Other travel............................ 0
Childcare/nursery....................... 0
Other child related expenses............ 0
Medical (prescriptions, dentist etc).... 0 do you need to budget a small amount here?
Pet insurance/vet bills................. 0
Buildings insurance..................... 0
Contents insurance...................... 0
Life assurance ......................... 45 this looks quite high, have you shopped around recently to see if it is competative?
Other insurance......................... 0
Presents (birthday, christmas etc)...... 0 need to budget something here (whatever you spend annually divided by 12, so you don't use credit at xmas to buy things)
Haircuts................................ 0 do you do this at home?
Entertainment........................... 40
Holiday................................. 0
Emergency fund.......................... 0
Total monthly expenses.................. 1388

Assets
Cash.................................... 7000
House value (Gross)..................... 160000 do you own 50% Of this legally?
Shares and bonds........................ 0
Car(s).................................. 2000
Other assets............................ 0
Total Assets............................ 169000

Secured & HP Debts
Description....................Debt......Monthly...APR
Mortgage...................... 132000...(648)......4.99
Total secured & HP debts...... 132000....-.........-
Unsecured Debts
Description....................Debt......Monthly...APR
santander loan.................10152.....282.......7
santander card.................5049......80........0 when does this end?
egg............................3084......78........17.9
overdraft......................2000......0.........0 is this really 0%?
yorkshire card.................370.......30........0
virgin.........................8000......155.......18.9
mint card......................4324......92........16.9
Total unsecured debts..........32979.....717.......-

Monthly Budget Summary
Total monthly income.................... 2,220
Expenses (including HP & secured debts). 1,388
Available for debt repayments........... 832
Monthly UNsecured debt repayments....... 717
Amount left after debt repayments....... 115 do you have this spare each month? what are you using it for? you should pay it off the most expensive debt.

Personal Balance Sheet Summary
Total assets (things you own)........... 169,000
Total HP & Secured debt................. -132,000
Total Unsecured debt.................... -32,979
Net Assets.............................. 4,021
Created using the SOA calculator at www.makesenseofcards.com.
Reproduced on Moneysavingexpert with permission, using IE browser.

Is it an informal arrangement regarding the child support/mortgage payment? Do you still own a share in the property?if so have you agreed what will happen in the event of the house being sold?

doe

Tixy wrote: »

Hi



Is it an informal arrangement regarding the child support/mortgage payment? Do you still own a share in the property?if so have you agreed what will happen in the event of the house being sold?

Hi and thanks for the quick response.
Its an informal arrangement and has been that way for 4 years. The house is in both our names though the deposit is all mine. We initially agreed that if the place is sold at a profit i get my deposit back. But that goalpost has since shifted. so its not likely i will be getting anything if the house is sold.

I will also answer your other questions below:


is this the child who lives with ex or a different child?
same child
this is all in rent/costs for your house share?
Yes
is this all you are spending? its pretty low if it is, most people aim
I probably spend a bit more.
do you do this at home? Clean shaven



do you own 50% Of this legally? Yes



santander card.................5049......80........0 when does this end? This ends in 15 months


overdraft......................2000......0........ .0 is this really 0%? Yes. moved my current account from the halifax to santander which offered a 12 month interest free overdraft.


Thanks once again

Tixy

Is your benefits child benefit? Do you get this rather than your ex then? (Thats why I wondered if there was another child).

I would focus on paying off the virgin card with savings and any overpayments you can. Then you will have that £155 to snowball to your next highest debt (do you know about the snowball calculator - same site as your SoA,and will give a debt free date as things stand at the moment).

Once the virgin card has been clear for a month or 2 you could then phone up and ask if they have any BT offers, if they will do you another 0% deal or even a low life of balance you could then shift your mint card or mint and egg.
At least then you might minimise the interest you pay.

Do you know about opting out of any interest rate increases? If any write to you to put up the standard rate you can opt out within 30days and carry on paying as you are - though the account is stopped for further spending.

fermi

movingcities2010 wrote: »

Hello All,

Im not sure if this is where I should be posting, but I am finding this forum a bit confusing
I just need a little bit of advice...
I am about to move cities to live with my boyfriend and although I have a new job, its going to pay be considerably less than what I am on now.
I have about 25K worth of debts on loans and credit cards and have been able to pay the monthly amounts on these with what I earn now.
When I move, I think its going to be a very different story and im not sure what the best plan is.
My payments are nearly £800 a month at the moment and I really need to half them if possible. Do you think a DMP is the best plan for me? Or do I keep trying to maintain my payments as best I can.
My boyfriend and I really want to get a mortgage in a few years and I really dont want to screw my credit rating.
Im a bit confused to the best way to deal with it.

Thanks for the help in advance

Hi.

This would better if asked in it's own thread.

I'll move your post into one, and be back with a link.

Edit: here https://forums.moneysavingexpert.com/discussion/2590261

doe

Tixy wrote: »

Is your benefits child benefit? Do you get this rather than your ex then? (Thats why I wondered if there was another child).

I would focus on paying off the virgin card with savings and any overpayments you can. Then you will have that £155 to snowball to your next highest debt (do you know about the snowball calculator - same site as your SoA,and will give a debt free date as things stand at the moment).

Once the virgin card has been clear for a month or 2 you could then phone up and ask if they have any BT offers, if they will do you another 0% deal or even a low life of balance you could then shift your mint card or mint and egg.
At least then you might minimise the interest you pay.

Do you know about opting out of any interest rate increases? If any write to you to put up the standard rate you can opt out within 30days and carry on paying as you are - though the account is stopped for further spending.

Thanks. forgot about the child benefit. It comes into my account and i pay it into my kid's savings account. But i have last week stopped the transfer for the time being. I forgot to mention my bank loan has 3 years left to run.


Will look to follow your advice as i was thinking along those lines but couldn't get my head round the idea of no savings(U would think the interest rates would Persuade me:) ) I have learnt something new today.


Thanks once again.

doe

Tixy wrote: »

Is your benefits child benefit? Do you get this rather than your ex then? (Thats why I wondered if there was another child).

I would focus on paying off the virgin card with savings and any overpayments you can. Then you will have that £155 to snowball to your next highest debt (do you know about the snowball calculator - same site as your SoA,and will give a debt free date as things stand at the moment).

Once the virgin card has been clear for a month or 2 you could then phone up and ask if they have any BT offers, if they will do you another 0% deal or even a low life of balance you could then shift your mint card or mint and egg.
At least then you might minimise the interest you pay.



Do you know about opting out of any interest rate increases? If any write to you to put up the standard rate you can opt out within 30days and carry on paying as you are - though the account is stopped for further spending.

Just used the snowball calculator. It worked out it will take me 41 months to clear my debts which makes me happy.
Probably a schoolboy question, But why does it seem to want to pay off the interest free balances transfers first?

Thanks

Tixy

Hmm - it shouldn't, I think. Did you put in how long they were 0% for and then the standard apr? I can't remember if that snowball calc allows you to do that - if it doesn't then look at the one of whatsthecost.com instead.

doe

Tixy wrote: »

Hmm - it shouldn't, I think. Did you put in how long they were 0% for and then the standard apr? I can't remember if that snowball calc allows you to do that - if it doesn't then look at the one of whatsthecost.com instead.

I tot i did but i will have a go again this morning. Thanks

doe

Month 1

£832 available for debt repayments
Secured DebtsPayment(£)No Secured Debt Repayments0Unsecured DebtStart Balance(£)InterestPayment(£)End BalanceSnowball?santander card50490804969noyorkshire card370030340nooverdraft200001001900noegg308442.61783048.61nomint card432456.63924288.63nosantander loan1015257.42829927.4nosantander card4969N/A1704799*snowball*

i have just tried the snowball calculator(also the one on whatsthecost) and both seem to suggest i start paying off the interest free cards first. Is this the norm? i thought i should be paying the ones with interest first. Help!

Thanks