Not so much of a lightbulbt moment, more a sick feeling in the gut!!

mrs_bellamy

As the title says, its not so much a lightbulb moment, more of a sick feeling in the pit of my stomach that makes me want to cry when I think about it. I am in a hole and digging myself in deeper by the day.

My SOA is as follows;

Monthly Incomings:

My salary - £933.33
Child Benefit - £64
Tax credits - £46

Total - £1,043.33

Monthly Outgoings:

Council Tax - £111
Gas - £39
Electric - £35
TV License - £10.99
Broadband - £11.00
Phone - £38
Food - £320
Car Insurance - £32.58
Petrol - £80
contact lenses - £19.50
mobile - £35.00
water - £35.27
pocket money - £15

Total: £782.34

My debts are;

Abbey nat loan £133.58 per month ends Sep '07
halifax c/c £1500 min payment £30
Cap one c/c £1400 min payment £27
Dorothy perkins £527 min payment £23

I have been paying £100 to each of the cards, but by the end of the month I am skint and spending on them to get through.

No allowance for xmas/birthdays/tax/mot etc are made as I have never budgeted for them and just kind of 'muddle' through and spend on cards.

So sorry to go on, but I really dont know where to go with this, I cant sleep at night and everytime I think about it I want to burst into tears.

Thanks in advance, Mrs B x

whatatwit

Welcome and well done for posting your SOA.
The more experienced posters will be along soon to give fantastic advice.
Just a couple of things that will no doubt get mentioned.
Are you a single parent, and if so are you getting the reduction on your council tax?
Also how many are you feeding on your food budget, that will probably need to be trimmed, there are some great meal plans and ideas on the Old Style board.


Now this is off your chest, you will deal with debts and hopefully sleep at night.

immoral_angeluk

Hi and welcome!
£320 seems a lot for food every month.. do you have a family to pay for as well? Have you tried reducing your shopping budget and buying value foods etc? They really are just as good as the brand names!
Could you reduce your mobile phone tariff or get rid of it altogether?
Have you checked uswitch.co.uk to see if you could get your gas/electric any cheaper?
Could you use public transport to get to work and buy a pass? This more often than not works out much cheaper than using the car...
Have you looked around for any cheaper phone/broadband deals?
Also the contact lenses... glasses are much cheaper.. so could you change to glasses? Even just in the short term while you sort your finances out?

Also you don't budget for lunches, spending money etc so it would be a good idea to set yourself a budget and keep a spending diary... it's amazing to see where all that money goes!!!

Broken_hearted

Cut the cards up you can't afford to live on them.

cattie1

the only things I can see are the food budget which is quite high for 2 or 3 people, and the mobile fone-could this be cut down? e.g. price plan changed?
I'm not great with advice I full admit I'm better with the hugs and trying to make people feel better!
so here's a hug for you and believe me I know how you feel.:grouphug:
Is cutting up trhe credit cards an option? It would save you money in the long run, but I understand you need them at the moment to buy things.
Can you make smaller payments to credit cards so that the money you have left over from the £100 can be used to but the other things you need?
good luck. we are all here to help whenever you need it.xxx

Broken_hearted

Sorry cattie but I don't buy into the idea that people need credit cards, if you can't afford to live without them then you certainly can't afford to have one. I've been there, where I was paying the mortgage with the credit card.

mrs_bellamy

Hello there. Hope you realise you guys just made me cry!!! Didnt realise how alone I have been feeling, I guess.

The food is for 3, a cat, a rat and a lizard. I seem to buy a lot of cheap own brands, but have a fear or running out of food, so ALWAYS buy too much, or the wrong sort. (I do still run out of the stuff I need though)

Mobile contract expires 12th December, so am thinking of keeping the phone and buying a sim card and going PAYG. What do you guys do?

I am not sure if I can cut up the cards yet, I feel they are a crutch in some way (I KNOW how that sounds, I Know I am pathetic, buts its the truth). Same with glasses. Too used to showing the world the the non-DFW me I guess.

oramgepekoe

Is it 2 adults and I child? Can your partner work?

jackieb

Hello and welcome to the site.

Is that £46 a month child tax credit? Your salary is quite a bit less than mine and even we get £42 a month. Could you be entitled to more?

Your phone bill seems to be a bit high. Are you paying £38 a month?

[Deleted User]

Are you sure you are getting all the benefits and tax credits you are entitled to? If you have not had them looked at for a while it definitely is worth getting it done. If you are not sure contact Citizenns Advice and they will help you check.

If you are the only adult then you could get a discount on your council tax.

Your situation is not actually that bad. You are managing but finding it hard and then spending at the end of the month. With a few changes, which should be quite painless, you could have enough money to last ALL the month.

From your outgoings (and as another poster pointed out) I can see that you need to forget about contact lenses for a while - you can get a pair of glasses for around £20 online (as long as you have your prescription) - there are loads of threads on this.

Also - do you NEED a mobile AND a landline?

You can access the internet via your local library - or you may have internet at work which you can use in your break? Possibly this can cut down on you having to have a landline and broadband, especially if you dont get much use from broadband. Otherwise - as another poster said - look for a different mobile deal. There are loads now whereby you get a 12 month contract with 12months CASHBACK on the rental - plus you get free minutes/texts. (Again, loads of threads on this in the mobile phone part of MSA).

Check if it is worth you switching your gas/electric and car insurance - you may find them cheaper.

Food - have a look at the Old Style section of MSE for literall hundreds of ideas on cooking on a budget and yet still eating well. There are lots of menus and food planners too. You may be able to cut your food bill.

mrs_bellamy

sorry didnt explain. Partner works. He pays the mortgage and I pay everything else. He knows we are not flush with cash, he has his own debts and is not in a position to help (and I dont think I would ask)

As its payday, Its also shopping today. i usually do a months cupboard shop then weekly fresh shop. is this gonna be the best way?