At my wits end!

kattyburger

Hi

I have been trying to manage my debts for years but there always seems to be one crisis after another. I think I know the theory but it just hasn't been working.

Can anyone help?

Thanks in anticipation

Statement of Affairs and Personal Balance Sheet[/b]
Household Information
Number of adults in household........... 2
Number of children in household......... 0
Number of cars owned.................... 1
Monthly Income Details
Monthly income after tax................ 1200
Partners monthly income after tax....... 920
Benefits................................ 0
Other income............................ 300
Total monthly income.................... 2420
Monthly Expense Details
Mortgage................................ 0
Secured/HP loan repayments.............. 114
Rent.................................... 525
Management charge (leasehold property).. 0
Council tax............................. 117
Electricity............................. 42
Gas..................................... 42
Oil..................................... 0
Water rates............................. 37
Telephone (land line)................... 10
Mobile phone............................ 40
TV Licence.............................. 12
Satellite/Cable TV...................... 20
Internet Services....................... 15
Groceries etc. ......................... 280
Clothing................................ 40
Petrol/diesel........................... 100
Road tax................................ 11
Car Insurance........................... 36
Car maintenance (including MOT)......... 40
Car parking............................. 10
Other travel............................ 60
Childcare/nursery....................... 0
Other child related expenses............ 0
Medical (prescriptions, dentist etc).... 5
Pet insurance/vet bills................. 20
Buildings insurance..................... 0
Contents insurance...................... 20
Life assurance ......................... 0
Other insurance......................... 0
Presents (birthday, christmas etc)...... 5
Haircuts................................ 10
Entertainment........................... 120
Holiday................................. 80
Emergency fund.......................... 0
Partner mobile.......................... 40
Bank account charges.................... 25
Bike Road Tax........................... 5
Bike Maintenance........................ 15
Bike Insurance.......................... 40
Total monthly expenses.................. 1936

Assets
Cash.................................... 0
House value (Gross)..................... 0
Shares and bonds........................ 0
Car(s).................................. 1800
Other assets............................ 0
Total Assets............................ 1800

Secured & HP Debts
Description....................Debt......Monthly...APR
Mortgage...................... 0........(0)........0
Hire Purchase (HP) debt ...... 6054.....(114)......22.2
Total secured & HP debts...... 6054......-.........-
Unsecured Debts
Description....................Debt......Monthly...APR
Tesco Bonus Card...............2184.07...40........17.5
MBNA Card......................1972.38...47.37.....27.26
Egg Card.......................1996.19...33.72.....19.9
GE Capital/DFS.................1000......197.3.....0
Halifax Overdraft..............250.......0.........0
RBS Overdraft..................591.......10........19.2
Loan to family member..........462.23....80........14.9
Egg Loan.......................846.......122.......7.66
RBS Card.......................380.95....8.........22.5
Barclaycard....................528.98....9.22......14.9
Total unsecured debts..........10211.8...547.61....-

Monthly Budget Summary
Total monthly income.................... 2,420
Expenses (including HP & secured debts). 1,936
Available for debt repayments........... 484
Monthly UNsecured debt repayments....... 547.61
Amount short for making debt repayments. -63.61
Personal Balance Sheet Summary
Total assets (things you own)........... 1,800
Total HP & Secured debt................. -6,054
Total Unsecured debt.................... -10,211.8
Net Assets.............................. -14,465.8
Created using the SOA calculator

Reproduced on Moneysavingexpert with permission, using IE browser.[/font]

Accountant_Kerry

kattyburger wrote: »

Hi

I have been trying to manage my debts for years but there always seems to be one crisis after another. I think I know the theory but it just hasn't been working.

Can anyone help?

Thanks in anticipation

Statement of Affairs and Personal Balance Sheet[/b]
Household Information
Number of adults in household........... 2
Number of children in household......... 0
Number of cars owned.................... 1
Monthly Income Details
Monthly income after tax................ 1200
Partners monthly income after tax....... 920
Benefits................................ 0
Other income............................ 300
Total monthly income.................... 2420
Monthly Expense Details
Mortgage................................ 0
Secured/HP loan repayments.............. 114 what is this?
Rent.................................... 525
Management charge (leasehold property).. 0
Council tax............................. 117
Electricity............................. 42
Gas..................................... 42
Oil..................................... 0
Water rates............................. 37
Telephone (land line)................... 10
Mobile phone............................ 40 this is high, 2 phones?
TV Licence.............................. 12
Satellite/Cable TV...................... 20
Internet Services....................... 15
Groceries etc. ......................... 280 this can easily be cut to £150
Clothing................................ 40
Petrol/diesel........................... 100
Road tax................................ 11
Car Insurance........................... 36
Car maintenance (including MOT)......... 40 a lot a year for 1 car
Car parking............................. 10
Other travel............................ 60 if you have a car and a bike whats this?
Childcare/nursery....................... 0
Other child related expenses............ 0
Medical (prescriptions, dentist etc).... 5
Pet insurance/vet bills................. 20 again could be cheaper
Buildings insurance..................... 0
Contents insurance...................... 20 expensive
Life assurance ......................... 0
Other insurance......................... 0
Presents (birthday, christmas etc)...... 5
Haircuts................................ 10
Entertainment........................... 120 cut to half
Holiday................................. 80 you can't afford a holiday
Emergency fund.......................... 0
Partner mobile.......................... 40 ah so it isn't 2 phones, you should be paying £15 per month each tops
Bank account charges.................... 25 what is this?
Bike Road Tax........................... 5
Bike Maintenance........................ 15
Bike Insurance.......................... 40
Total monthly expenses.................. 1936

Assets
Cash.................................... 0
House value (Gross)..................... 0
Shares and bonds........................ 0
Car(s).................................. 1800
Other assets............................ 0
Total Assets............................ 1800

Secured & HP Debts
Description....................Debt......Monthly...APR
Mortgage...................... 0........(0)........0
Hire Purchase (HP) debt ...... 6054.....(114)......22.2
Total secured & HP debts...... 6054......-.........-
Unsecured Debts
Description....................Debt......Monthly...APR
Tesco Bonus Card...............2184.07...40........17.5
MBNA Card......................1972.38...47.37.....27.26
Egg Card.......................1996.19...33.72.....19.9
GE Capital/DFS.................1000......197.3.....0
Halifax Overdraft..............250.......0.........0
RBS Overdraft..................591.......10........19.2
Loan to family member..........462.23....80........14.9
Egg Loan.......................846.......122.......7.66
RBS Card.......................380.95....8.........22.5
Barclaycard....................528.98....9.22......14.9
Total unsecured debts..........10211.8...547.61....-

Monthly Budget Summary
Total monthly income.................... 2,420
Expenses (including HP & secured debts). 1,936
Available for debt repayments........... 484
Monthly UNsecured debt repayments....... 547.61
Amount short for making debt repayments. -63.61
Personal Balance Sheet Summary
Total assets (things you own)........... 1,800
Total HP & Secured debt................. -6,054
Total Unsecured debt.................... -10,211.8
Net Assets.............................. -14,465.8
Created using the SOA calculator

Reproduced on Moneysavingexpert with permission, using IE browser.[/font]

there are a lot of cutbacks you can make here, you are living well beyond your means and need to cut back a little or get a better paid job.

Dellers

you can not afford a holiday also with the phones and groceries .You can get them much cheaper

kattyburger

any hints and tips on how cos I am obviously doing something wrong!?

firesidemaid

you need to budget and then stick to it! easier than it sounds i know;).

is your OH on board?

each of us finds their own/best way to do things - but if we all give you ideas, hints and tips to try then you can see what works for you.

first of all, look at all your essentials/bills - where can you save money/cut back?

do you make sure that you use comparison sites for deals on insurances etc? then use cashback sites eg. quidco as well:D.

get your petrol etc at the lowest prices, use loyalty schemes and try and combine journeys where you can eg. i go to town, and the supermarket and swimming all in one run.

mobiles! again, use the forums and also www.hotukdeals.co.uk - you can get loads of mins and texts for £10-£15 a month PLUS cashback!

use the oldstyle board to help you with menu and meal-planning ideas and make sure you take your lunches to work too.

we combine our income every month - we budget each month for everything (we do £170 a month for food etc for 2) and don't really drink during the week. we also work out annual bills per month and put that to one side too. whatever is left AFTER you have covered everything else is what you have left for entertainment, holidays etc!

depending on how much is left, you will then prioritise what you want to do with that money most. simples x

firesidemaid

kattyburger wrote: »

Statement of Affairs and Personal Balance Sheet[/b]
Household Information
Number of adults in household........... 2
Number of children in household......... 0
Number of cars owned.................... 1
Monthly Income Details
Monthly income after tax................ 1200 is this the minimum/same every month?
Partners monthly income after tax....... 920
Benefits................................ 0
Other income............................ 300
Total monthly income.................... 2420
Monthly Expense Details
Mortgage................................ 0
Secured/HP loan repayments.............. 114
Rent.................................... 525
Management charge (leasehold property).. 0
Council tax............................. 117is this over 10 or 12 months? if ten, what do you do with money in feb and march?
Electricity............................. 42
Gas..................................... 42
Oil..................................... 0
Water rates............................. 37 are you on a meter?
Telephone (land line)................... 10who with? is this enough?
Mobile phone............................ 40too much
TV Licence.............................. 12
Satellite/Cable TV...................... 20?go freeview
Internet Services....................... 15
Groceries etc. ......................... 280you can save at least £100/month here
Clothing................................ 40this comes after everything else
Petrol/diesel........................... 100
Road tax................................ 11
Car Insurance........................... 36comparison site/cashback
Car maintenance (including MOT)......... 40how old is car? do you put this away?
Car parking............................. 10why/where?
Other travel............................ 60why/where?
Childcare/nursery....................... 0
Other child related expenses............ 0
Medical (prescriptions, dentist etc).... 5
Pet insurance/vet bills................. 20?pet food/vaccs too?
Buildings insurance..................... 0
Contents insurance...................... 20should be £5 a month
Life assurance ......................... 0
Other insurance......................... 0
Presents (birthday, christmas etc)...... 5should be more incl. xmas
Haircuts................................ 10
Entertainment........................... 120comes after
Holiday................................. 80comes after
Emergency fund.......................... 0
Partner mobile.......................... 40£15 max
Bank account charges.................... 25stop eventually
Bike Road Tax........................... 5
Bike Maintenance........................ 15
Bike Insurance.......................... 40
Total monthly expenses.................. 1936

Assets
Cash.................................... 0
House value (Gross)..................... 0
Shares and bonds........................ 0
Car(s).................................. 1800
Other assets............................ 0
Total Assets............................ 1800

Secured & HP Debts
Description....................Debt......Monthly...APR
Mortgage...................... 0........(0)........0
Hire Purchase (HP) debt ...... 6054.....(114)......22.2
Total secured & HP debts...... 6054......-.........-
Unsecured Debts
Description....................Debt......Monthly...APR
Tesco Bonus Card...............2184.07...40........17.5
MBNA Card......................1972.38...47.37.....27.26
Egg Card.......................1996.19...33.72.....19.9
GE Capital/DFS.................1000......197.3.....0
Halifax Overdraft..............250.......0.........0
RBS Overdraft..................591.......10........19.2
Loan to family member..........462.23....80........14.9
Egg Loan.......................846.......122.......7.66
RBS Card.......................380.95....8.........22.5
Barclaycard....................528.98....9.22......14.9
Total unsecured debts..........10211.8...547.61....-

Monthly Budget Summary
Total monthly income.................... 2,420
Expenses (including HP & secured debts). 1,936
Available for debt repayments........... 484
Monthly UNsecured debt repayments....... 547.61
Amount short for making debt repayments. -63.61
Personal Balance Sheet Summary
Total assets (things you own)........... 1,800
Total HP & Secured debt................. -6,054
Total Unsecured debt.................... -10,211.8
Net Assets.............................. -14,465.8
Created using the SOA calculator

Reproduced on Moneysavingexpert with permission, using IE browser.[/font]

you can cut your expenses by £100s a month. also starting throwing the extra at the debts with the highest interest rates. once you pay one off they then might offer you a 0% deal

kattyburger

Thanks. My OH is on board in principle but in reality I struggle to control his spending as we currently have seperate accounts - soon to be rectified.

I guess what I can't get my head around (and this sounds ridiculous out loud!) is how to do a monthly shop. At the moment we shop weekly and I just can't seem to get the cost of the shop below £50 and that is not taking into account things like shampoo and the other bits you occasionally have to stock up on. How do you shop cheaply without compromising on things like fruit and veg? (I am cursed with easy weight gain which would not help my state of mind right now).

We both take lunch to work so try to minimise costs there! I will work on cutting the costs in other areas x

elfen

Food - the easiest one is to drop a brand. So go from big name to own brand, then down to economy if there's no difference in taste (nothing wrong with economy/frozen veg, or economy fruit) Also look on the OS board for tips on meal planning, and only shopping to your menu. Could also do it online so you could buy in bulk over the month and do top-up shops of bread/milk/veg/fruit as and when, on a strict budget....

firesidemaid

we do shop weekly -£40 a week.

try meal planning and breaking things down into 7 bfasts, lunches and dinners.

obv, some weeks you will spend more and some less.

what do you like for bfast? toast, cereal etc.

lunches? leftovers, sarnies, fruit, yogs

meal plan for dinners for the week - and batch cook, making extra portions for the freezer. it's all about the planning - then only buy what you need.

on the old-style board there are loads of recipe ideas and feeding a family fo £25 a week!

buy seasonally and in bulk when really good deals are on.

i have porridge, toast or cereal for bfast. lunches are sarnies (egg, tuna, cheese with salad) or leftovers, yogs on offer (at the moment i buy yeo valley organic on offer plus use money-off coupons on top from when i bought lots when last on offer 35-60p per 4-pack) and bananas and apples as they are cheap/last.

but i try and also get some reduced s/market goodies at end of day.

buy less meat and bulk it out with pulses, beans, veg etc.

you are doing well to attack this now, before your debts get higher x

traycee

Hi kattyburger

Well done on posting, becoming debt free can be bloomin hard work and requires constant focus (perhaps one of the hardest things about it!)

1st get a grip on this meal planning, it has saved us a fortune and can do the same for you.

If you go through your cupboards often you have 90% of the ingredients for a meal (especially just for 2) and so much less stress when you know you have food in for the next meal.

If you can go to the shops less you will spend less.

Can you tell us what are the account limits on each of your debts? Perhaps there might be some scope for you to do some balance transfers and get the rates down on your outstanding debts.

Keep with it, we are all here to help.:)

Traycee

happycrafter_2

I got my monthly shop down to a tee now, took me a few hours but got kids involved in helping to choose meals. I got 4 pieces of paper and drew a table with 7 rows and 3 columns on each sheet. the first column wrote the day and date we started this months plan 15th Monday in the next we had a list of 7 different meals eg chicken dish, mince, sausages,beef,pork, fish, pasta and we filled in the 2nd column with a meal idea (youngest loved doing this part) in the 3rd column i wrote down every ingredient needed to make that dish down to salt, oil, milk etc. now if your a self confessed geek like me u can do this all on a spreadsheet and using the 3rd column turn it in to a pivot table which calculates how many times ingredients are on your meal plan. and OH did giggle at me for working out how to do this
If you dont want to use a spreadsheet then use the 3rd column to write out a tally chart of how many times those ingredients appear on your weekly menu. once that was done I went round my cupboards and crossed off everything I didnt need herbs,salt, oil etc.

I did this and for this month shop i spent £92 in asda and £30 in aldis and all i need to buy weekly/daily is milk bread and fresh veg and fruit which i will get at aldis what ever is on special offer. This also feeds 2 adults a tall 15 year and a 11 year 1 cat and a dog.

sorry for the long explanation but this has helped me reduce my shopping from approx 350-400 a month