I'm new and could use some advice!

skyvicky123

adjusted this post

josephine82

Hi Vicky

Firstly, do you see that surplus at the end of the month? If not then you need to start a spending diary to see where every penny is going, so you can really start to make cutbacks and start paying extra off some of your debts.

Telephone (landline).................... 20
Satellite/Cable TV...................... 23
Internet Services....................... 20

Can you bundle these together so they are cheaper? £63 is quite a lot- we pay £35 for everything with sky.

Groceries etc. ......................... 400

You could probably shave £50-£75 off this and still be able to afford fresh meat- you need to get good at spotting the bargains and buying cheaper brands where possible to make savings.

Clothing................................ 100

Could this go to essentials only for a while?

cigarettes.............................. 200

Obviously, giving up smoking would be good for you and your wallet. Do you know that you can get free help on the NHS? Might be worth a visit to the GP to see how they can help.

Entertainment........................... 0

You should probably budget something here even if it is a weekly take away or cinema visit.

I reckon if you can do the spending diary, have a think about some of the things above, you should be able to find some extra cash each month are start making dents in those debts!

Good luck!

elfen

Just having a look and there's a few things that could be looked at

skyvicky123 wrote: »

Statement of Affairs and Personal Balance Sheet
Household Information
Number of adults in household........... 2
Number of children in household......... 1
Number of cars owned.................... 1
Monthly Income Details
Monthly income after tax................ 2550
Partners monthly income after tax....... 1110
Benefits................................ 81
Other income............................ 0
Total monthly income.................... 3741
Monthly Expense Details
Mortgage................................ 1180
Secured/HP loan repayments.............. 286
Rent.................................... 0
Management charge (leasehold property).. 0
Council tax............................. 129
Electricity............................. 75
Gas..................................... 50
Oil..................................... 0
Water rates............................. 59
Telephone (land line)................... 20
Mobile phone............................ 30
TV Licence.............................. 12
Satellite/Cable TV...................... 23
Internet Services....................... 20
Groceries etc. ......................... 400 - could this be cut at all?
Clothing................................ 100 - could this be cut? Buy 2nd hand from ebay or charity shops?
Petrol/diesel........................... 200
Road tax................................ 12
Car Insurance........................... 45
Car maintenance (including MOT)......... 20
Car parking............................. 0
Other travel............................ 0
Childcare/nursery....................... 0
Other child related expenses............ 40
Medical (prescriptions, dentist etc).... 10
Pet insurance/vet bills................. 0
Buildings insurance..................... 12.5
Contents insurance...................... 12.5
Life assurance ......................... 28
Other insurance......................... 0
Presents (birthday, christmas etc)...... 20
Haircuts................................ 10
Entertainment........................... 0
Holiday................................. 0
Emergency fund.......................... 0
cigarettes.............................. 200 - who's the smoker? Could you smoke tobacco (roll ups) instead? Or stop?
Total monthly expenses.................. 2994

Assets
Cash.................................... 0
House value (Gross)..................... 165000
Shares and bonds........................ 0
Car(s).................................. 8000
Other assets............................ 0
Total Assets............................ 173000

Secured & HP Debts
Description....................Debt......Monthly...APR
Mortgage...................... 189000...(1180).....6.79
Secured Debt.................. 30000....(286)......10.9
Total secured & HP debts...... 219000....-.........-
Unsecured Debts
Description....................Debt......Monthly...APR
mbna vw........................2200......77.5......22.9
mbna cw........................2700......100.......0
egg vw.........................1000......25........19.9
car loan.......................10000.....205.4.....10.9
creation sofa..................3000......62.5......0
Total unsecured debts..........18900.....470.4.....-

Monthly Budget Summary
Total monthly income.................... 3,741
Expenses (including HP & secured debts). 2,994
Available for debt repayments........... 747
Monthly UNsecured debt repayments....... 470.4
Amount left after debt repayments....... 276.6
Personal Balance Sheet Summary
Total assets (things you own)........... 173,000
Total HP & Secured debt................. -219,000
Total Unsecured debt.................... -18,900
Net Assets.............................. -64,900

It says you have over £200 left a month, do you see this? Or are you struggling, if so you need to start a spending diary and put EVERYTHING down into it, so you know where the money is going? Could you use the surplus against one of the MBNA debts (the 22.9%)

dbushes

Hey skyvick123,

Just a quick note to say hi and that I am newbie too.

I know you will be able to achieve your DF status now that you have a plan of action.

Looking forward to hearing the stories of your continual successes along the way.

ilovecheese

Just some advice on the smoking, I know how hard it is to give up, so could you both switch to roll ups intead?

A 50gm pouch of tobacco costs about £12.00 if you rolled your own (and made them quite thin) you could save about £150.00 a month.

We go to Belgium (get a free ferry crossing from work) and buy 10 months supply of tobacco in one go (£400.00) so this equates to £40.00 a month for both of us, as we use two pouches a week.

Of course I know it would better if we gave up completely, however if we were still smoking "normal" cigarrets it would cost nearly £300 per month instead of £40 - big difference!!

skyvicky123

Hi,

thanks for all the advice guys.

At the minute all the money goes every month, but I know where we fritter it away on take aways and unnecessary purchases so hoping that by thinking more about every spend I will be able to put a stop to this.

I think a spending diary would be a good idea, i'm going to try to start that asap.

Both my partner and I smoke. I plan to move over to roll ups and then give up from there (as I hate them so smoke less and less!) I daren't push my partner any more about the smoking as he is stubborn and won't do it unless it's his decision. He hates rollies and drives a lot for his job so prefers real ones.

I know I can spend less on clothes, just budgeting for the next couple of months tho as my partner needs a new suit for work, and my daughter who is nearly 2 is due a growth spurt!

I do try and spend less on food, and when I have time I try to plan meals as much as possible. I definitely spend less when I do this so will make a concerted effort!

We're not in the position where we are struggling to pay anything, but i'm just concerned by the level of the debt. Ideally I would like to buy a bigger house eventually but with the debts, and the negative equity it will be impossible.

I'm going to get my partner to ring sky about an all-in-one deal for phone/broadband/sky as he handles that side of things. Don't you still have to pay separatey for line-rental though?

My long term plan is to start with clearining the debts, then start a pension for my partner and I, then start over-paying on the mortgage. Very long term I know, but that's my goal!

slummymummyof3

Car insurance is very steep......when is your renewal? Use comparison sites and then check out the cash back sites to see if you can earn cash back as well.

You could reduce your food shopping bill quite substantially if you have Aldi or Lidl nearby AND still have plenty of meat!

Throw any extra cash at the vw MBNA and Egg cards as they are the highest apr - why are you paying £100 to the 0%?

josephine82

Hi Vicky

You can get BT line rental (£12) and then TV and broadband and calls from Sky (about £20), or if available, you can get landline rental through Sky too, which is about £10 I think.

Find out if anyone you know is on sky and they will be able to refer you, you will get a free box or something and they will get vouchers or whatever the deal is at the time you sign up :j
x

Hannah_10

Suggest to him to roll a load the night before and put them in a baccy tin- every bit as convenient as pre-mades then (only without the irritating plastic on the packet and your fags never get wet in the rain either.

skyvicky123

Thanks for all the ideas guys!

...slummymummy, yes car ins is expensive, cos I changed my car but can't change my policy provider as due 5 yr NCD in Oct so hanging on to then or I will lose the full year.

Will get onto sky about those deals, we normally threaten to leave every 6 months or so and they give us some free channels for a while!

Have suggedted the baccy thing, but he just really hates them. I think that he will try and give up if he sees me doing it and if I do't bug him about it too much!!

Think £100 is the min pyt on the other mbna card, but haven't had a bill yet as new BT so will only pay min otherwise and direct money elsewhere!

I do shop at aldi and lidl whn i'm being organised. I am a bit impulse buyer though so the safest thing for me is often i/net shopping!

Horace

To stop impulse purchases in the supermarket - take a shopping list with you and stick to it, if its not on the list then don't buy it.

As kids grow so quick look at freegle or even in charity shops for clothes as they will be almost new.