Hello there

on_the_edge_4

I have just realised the total amount of debt i'm in and can't believe it. Thanks to this site I have been to the cccs website and registered. I am currently waiting for the paperwork to come through although I have opened a new bank account with A&L. Will keep you posted with a full SOA and recovery plan.

Rough debt:

Motgage: 97000
2nd secured loan: 40000

Unsecured debt: 33000 paying 1000/month

Bills: 400/month

Living expenses: 450/month

Income: 2600/month

As you can see, it is a horrid downward spiral !!

Any ideas??

CLAPTON

post your full SoA when you're ready

also how much is the house worth?

what is your general situation, OH, children etc

Annie_Fanny

Hey on the edge

Well done for facing your debts and pulling your head out from the sand! It's also fantastic news that you have contacted CCCS.

When you say 'Any ideas' what would you like specific help on? As you know an SOA would help us to help you, i.e. giving you advice on ways to cut back. It would also help to know a little of your background, i.e. do you have kids etc. Is there any way you can get a second income?

Annie
Xx

on_the_edge_4

My SOA

Married, 2 teenagers & 1 dog. House value @160k

Outgoings:

Mortgage: 690
Mortgage policy: 190
Secured loan: 340
Personal loan(1) 330
Personal loan(2) 102
Personal loan(3) 130
Credit cards 450

Gas 87
Electric 45
House insurance 30 (linked with mortgage)
Car insurance 35
Sky 28 (just reduced from 50)
Phone BT 11
Internet 22
Mobile phone x 2 60 (his & hers)
Council tax 115
Food 350

Income:

Earnings 2500
Child benefit 116
Child tax credit 44

No room for lodgers, looking for 2nd job at w/ends as I have a HGV licence. Other half aware of problem and panicking like mad.
My only concern with following cccs debt program is how badly my credit rating will be affected in years to come.

Phew !!

yung

Internet and mobile phone is a bit high there is room for improvement there.

Uniscots97

Hi there, you can do this. First place to look at would be the food bill. Lots of threads on here on how to cut your food bills down to size. Also try turning the heating down a bit and replacing your light bulbs with energy efficient ones. It does make a difference. Good luck.

southernscouser

OK, at the moment you are £415 down! This obviously isn't good plus you have made no allowances for things like birthdays, Christmas, dentist, clothes, things like that! :think:

Also you have inlcuded car insurance but nothing for petrol, tax, service/MOT. Sorry if I'm making things look worse but to go forward you need to work out a full budget.

As Yung says, £120 for mobiles is massively high. Are these used for business or anything?

You can get 2mb Tiscali broadband for £14.99 a month but I'm sure there is even cheaper on the market.

Get yourself over to the oldstyle board and I reckon you could knock at least £100 off your food bill.

I'm not hot on mortgages but what is 'mortgage policy - £190'?

Have you shopped around for the cheapest mortgage?

I think your best bet is with The CCCS but they will ask you to provide these figures aswell so it's good to get them all together.

Mrs_Sparkle

Hi and welcome! You're in the right place for support and advice.

Like the others have already said you can easily knock some cash off your food bill. I used to spend a small fortune on food until I found this site- I can't tell you how much satisfaction I get from keeping my money to myself instead of filling Tescos' tills now.

Well done for taking the first steps and good luck!

toontastic

See I read mobiles as £60 for both so it's £30 each not £60 each I might be wrong though.

southernscouser

toontastic wrote:

See I read mobiles as £60 for both so it's £30 each not £60 each I might be wrong though.

Ahhh I see what you're saying! I read it like that aswell now! :rotfl:

Still make sure you are on the best price plans possible making full use of free minutes/texts.

CLAPTON

a good start with the SoA but it needs some more work

as SS says you have nothing in for car related costs except insurance whereas presumably you have petrol, car tax, mot, RAC/AA, servicing, provision for repairs (take the annual figure and divide by 12 and add to the spending)
also with two teenagers they must cost you something, school, activities any pocket money, clothes, school uniforms, haircuts etc etc. and present,xmas , going out and with a house you must allow some emergency fund for things going wrong (say 30 per month).
Makes it all worse but its essential to find out what you actually really do spend.

on the current situation
what is mortgage policy..is this an endowment, if so can it be stopped and how much is it worth if cashed in?

gas/elect is huge...with teenagers only in the house you can cut back ...more pullovers less heating..change the central heatring clock times to reduce the hours its on and reduce the thermostat. read the actual meter reading and compare with the bills to make sure you are not paying too much...consider moving suppliers assuming you are up to date with payments.
mobiles are too high ...payg

however this wont make up the shortfall in your budget.
you probably need around 400-500 extra a month to break even

Can your OH get a job?