SOA Any advice?

Rhonda1981

Hi All,

I am 29 and in over 26000 in debt. It is all unsecured and I feel like it will never end.

I am currently paying £300 extra to Marks and Spencer on top of the minimum.

I am also getting married in September. I am saving £400 per month towards the wedding.

My fiancee wants to help, but I won't let him. I've said that he should save for emergencies to make sure we have a fall back plan if something major goes wrong.

I don't know what to do. My friend is suggesting I get an IVA or go bankrupt. But I am really worried about the impact on my ability to rent in the near future. My fiancee and I are sharing a house. We plan to move out in August. I know our cost will double, but we need the space.

I know will get better. Any ideas?

Household Information[/b]
Number of adults in household........... 5
Number of children in household.........
Number of cars owned....................

Monthly Income Details
Monthly income after tax................ 1950
Partners monthly income after tax....... 0
Benefits................................ 0
Other income............................ 0
Total monthly income.................... 1950

Monthly Expense Details
Mortgage................................ 0
Secured/HP loan repayments.............. 0
Rent.................................... 202
Management charge (leasehold property).. 0
Council tax............................. 29.5
Electricity............................. 20
Gas..................................... 20
Oil..................................... 0
Water rates............................. 3
Telephone (land line)................... 10
Mobile phone............................ 30
TV Licence.............................. 2.77
Satellite/Cable TV...................... 8.22
Internet Services....................... 0
Groceries etc. ......................... 50
Clothing................................ 30
Petrol/diesel........................... 0
Road tax................................ 0
Car Insurance........................... 0
Car maintenance (including MOT)......... 0
Car parking............................. 0
Other travel............................ 120
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 ......................... 12
Other insurance......................... 0
Presents (birthday, christmas etc)...... 20
Haircuts................................ 0
Entertainment........................... 18
Holiday................................. 0
Emergency fund.......................... 0
Gym..................................... 61
Total monthly expenses.................. 636.49


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

No Secured nor Hire Purchase Debts

Unsecured Debts
Description....................Debt......Monthly...APR
Marks and Spencer..............4400......120.......25.9
Barclaycard....................7750......175.......28.9
Barclays Overdraft.............650.......20........17.88
Alliance and Lec...............1000......20........0
Halifax........................9900......140.......15
Capital One ...................2500......65........13
Total unsecured debts..........26200.....540.......-


Monthly Budget Summary
Total monthly income.................... 1,950
Expenses (including HP & secured debts). 636.49
Available for debt repayments........... 1,313.51
Monthly UNsecured debt repayments....... 540
Amount left after debt repayments....... 773.51

Personal Balance Sheet Summary
Total assets (things you own)........... 0
Total HP & Secured debt................. -0
Total Unsecured debt.................... -26,200
Net Assets.............................. -26,200

[

dmg24

Rhonda1981 wrote: »

I am 29 and in over 26000 in debt. It is all unsecured and I feel like it will never end.

I am currently paying £300 extra to Marks and Spencer on top of the minimum.

I am also getting married in September. I am saving £400 per month towards the wedding.

Is something glaringly obvious not staring you in the face?

MFWannabe

Rhonda1981 wrote: »

Hi All,

I am 29 and in over 26000 in debt. It is all unsecured and I feel like it will never end.

I am currently paying £300 extra to Marks and Spencer on top of the minimum.

I am also getting married in September. I am saving £400 per month towards the wedding.

My fiancee wants to help, but I won't let him. I've said that he should save for emergencies to make sure we have a fall back plan if something major goes wrong. - Why doesn't your fiancee save the £400 a month for the wedding so that will free up £400 extra to pay off your debts.

I don't know what to do. My friend is suggesting I get an IVA or go bankrupt. Really don't think these will be options as you can afford to pay these debts
But I am really worried about the impact on my ability to rent in the near future. My fiancee and I are sharing a house. We plan to move out in August. I know our cost will double, but we need the space. - How will you afford to pay double?

I know will get better. Any ideas?

Household Information[/b]
Number of adults in household........... 5
Number of children in household.........
Number of cars owned....................

Monthly Income Details
Monthly income after tax................ 1950
Partners monthly income after tax....... 0
Benefits................................ 0
Other income............................ 0
Total monthly income.................... 1950

Monthly Expense Details
Mortgage................................ 0
Secured/HP loan repayments.............. 0
Rent.................................... 202
Management charge (leasehold property).. 0
Council tax............................. 29.5
Electricity............................. 20
Gas..................................... 20
Oil..................................... 0
Water rates............................. 3
Telephone (land line)................... 10
Mobile phone............................ 30 - change to lower tarrif or go payg
TV Licence.............................. 2.77
Satellite/Cable TV...................... 8.22
Internet Services....................... 0
Groceries etc. ......................... 50
Clothing................................ 30
Petrol/diesel........................... 0
Road tax................................ 0
Car Insurance........................... 0
Car maintenance (including MOT)......... 0
Car parking............................. 0
Other travel............................ 120
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 ......................... 12 - Why do you have this if you have no children?
Other insurance......................... 0
Presents (birthday, christmas etc)...... 20
Haircuts................................ 0 - Never?
Entertainment........................... 18
Holiday................................. 0
Emergency fund.......................... 0
Gym..................................... 61 - You need to cancel this and free up another £60 a month to pay off debts
Total monthly expenses.................. 636.49


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

No Secured nor Hire Purchase Debts

Unsecured Debts
Description....................Debt......Monthly...APR
Marks and Spencer..............4400......120.......25.9
Barclaycard....................7750......175.......28.9
Barclays Overdraft.............650.......20........17.88
Alliance and Lec...............1000......20........0 - Is this really 0%?
Halifax........................9900......140.......15
Capital One ...................2500......65........13
Total unsecured debts..........26200.....540.......-


Monthly Budget Summary
Total monthly income.................... 1,950
Expenses (including HP & secured debts). 636.49
Available for debt repayments........... 1,313.51
Monthly UNsecured debt repayments....... 540
Amount left after debt repayments....... 773.51

Personal Balance Sheet Summary
Total assets (things you own)........... 0
Total HP & Secured debt................. -0
Total Unsecured debt.................... -26,200
Net Assets.............................. -26,200

[

Hi
I've made some comments above where you could make some cutbacks. There's no point your fiancee saving for emergencies when you are in so much debt and paying so much towards the wedding

[Deleted User]

Number of adults in household........... 5

Monthly Income Details
Monthly income after tax................ 1950
Total monthly income.................... 1950 (Is there any way to increase this - overtime or a second job?)

Monthly Expense Details (Because many of your bills are shared out they are very low - I would think twice about moving until you have paid down your debts)
Rent.................................... 202
Council tax............................. 29.5
Electricity............................. 20 (£100/month if multiplied by 5 seems very high - make sure you're on the best tariff for your area - often online and duel fuel is best)
Gas..................................... 20 (as above)
Water rates............................. 3
Telephone (land line)................... 10(Again, if shared by 5 then this is high - shop around)
Mobile phone............................ 30 (If in contract drop a tariff - if out of contract look at £10/month SIM only deals or go PAYG)
TV Licence.............................. 2.77
Satellite/Cable TV...................... 8.22
Groceries etc. ......................... 50
Clothing................................ 30 (essentials only until debt free)
Other travel............................ 120 (What's this? And can you get it a cheaper season/weekly, monthly ticket? - walk or cycle more often etc)
Life assurance ......................... 12 (Is this necessary at the moment?)
Presents (birthday, christmas etc)...... 20
Haircuts................................ 0 Never?
Entertainment........................... 18
Gym..................................... 61 (Cancel this it's expensive - look at other options)
Total monthly expenses.................. 636.49


Assets
Cash.................................... 0 (I thought you were saving £400 per month? Where is this?)
Total Assets............................ 0

No Secured nor Hire Purchase Debts

Unsecured Debts - you should be prioritising the Barclaycard over marks and spencers as it's costing you more in interest every month. I have put these in the order that you should be paying them off: pay the minimum off everything, and then any surplus you have towards Barclay card until this debt's gone, once this debt has been cleared move on to M & S, and so forth down the list "snowballing your debts"
Description....................Debt......Monthly...APR
1) Barclaycard....................7750......175.......28.9
2) Marks and Spencer..............4400......120.......25.9
3) Barclays Overdraft.............650.......20........17.88
4) Halifax........................9900......140.......15
5) Capital One ...................2500......65........13
6) Alliance and Lec...............1000......20........0 (Is this really 0%, and if so when will the 0% end and what will APR be when it ends)

Total unsecured debts..........26200.....540.......-


Monthly Budget Summary
Total monthly income.................... 1,950
Expenses (including HP & secured debts). 636.49
Available for debt repayments........... 1,313.51
Monthly UNsecured debt repayments....... 540
Amount left after debt repayments....... 773.51 (You have plenty of surplus to be put towards your debts - if future hubby is wanting to help, why not negotiate a lower contribution to the wedding, and throw all spare cash at debts)

Personal Balance Sheet Summary
Total Unsecured debt.................... -26,200
Net Assets.............................. -26,200

Hi, I have put some comments in the SOA above, hopefully that some of them will be of use to you. If it is at all avoidable I would really strongly recommend that you reconsider increasing your living expenses until your debts are gone, or at the very least reduced.

HTH

Domino9

Tixy

Hi Rhonda and welcome

Why are you overpaying the M&S card? I would suggest instead you repay any extra you can afford to Barclaycard as it is costing the most in interest.

You would not be eligible for an IVA or bankruptcy as not only can you afford all your minimum payments but in addition to that you have £773 spare each month.

Your essential outgoings are very low at the moment so now should be an ideal time to be paying as much as you possibly can off your debts.
What were the debts run up on? anything you can now sell to put towards repayments?

How much do you have saved for the wedding so far? Can you scale back the wedding plans? Is OH contributing the same amount? could he afford to contribute more so you save less? Have you looked at the MSE wedding section for tips on how to reduce costs/have a money saving wedding.

It can sometimes help people motivate themselves to cut back on non-essentials - or in your case the wedding to perhaps think of it like this - the highest APR you are paying is 28.9%. Due to the size of your debts is likely to take you at least 3 years to repay these debts (possibly more if you do decide to move and increase your outgoings).
If you say to yourself that every £1 you spend on the wedding will actually cost you £1.50 (the extra being an estimate of the additional interest you will pay on your debts before they are fully repaid) then that might help you to keep costs down.

foxgloves

Just wanted to add re wedding plans. When we got married in 2001, we had a lot of debt so paying out for an astronomically expensive 'do' was never going to be an option. We put aside £2000 to cover absolutely everything.....and we had some change left out of that. We asked our family & friends if they would mind helping out with things, and they were delighted to be involved, so my sister made my dress (we went to an Asian dress fabric shop where there was some beautiful stuff, all very affordable), a friend made my husband's velvet waistcoat, my Mum did table arrangments from a big box of greenery, candles & stuff we gave her, someone else did the order of ceremony (obviously we bought the paper, etc, but it saved a lot on professional costs), a friend who was a guest anyway took the photos, another guest offered to video it, I made the invitations, places names, wedding favours, etc, etc. In fact, the only thing we did spend a fair bit on was the cake (I think now I'd have the confidence to make that myself, but I didn't then) and my bouquet, which had I got married in spring or summer would have been a hand-tied one from my garden. We looked at all the sample menus at the reception venues & they were too formal & expensive. We were surprised when the manager said they exist because so many people have 'no idea how to put a party menu together'. We supplied our own list of things we'd like for a hot buffet & it was lovely. We supplied our own wine & cava which we bought on offer & just paid their corking charge. It was a fab day & all our guests said how much they enjoyed it. I suppose the point I'm making is that the pressure to have a big mega debt-inducing 'do' is so big these days, that I feel people like me need to be saying that it CAN be done on much more of a budget. Certainly if you have debts already, don't be tempted to increase them just to live up to the commercial wedding fairytale. You can have a great day on a sensible level of spends x

Rhonda1981

Hi all,

Thanks for all the advice. Your responses have really helped. I have discussed it with my boyfriend and he will pay for the wedding. I will now put all my money into paying my debts off.

It has been tough agreeing to let him help, because I feel like my debts are my problem. We've agreed that I will pay off debt with his assistance and then I will pay him back.

I will put the £400 I was saving monthly for the wedding towards the barclaycard debt.

I am checking out the wedding section of MSE to reduce the wedding cost. There are some excellent ideas that I will definitely be using.

We currently share a house with 3 other people. I know that moving out will increase our cost, but we don't fancy house sharing after we get married. After we move, I will look to reduce cost on other areas. Travel, gym and telephone contracts are definite options.

Thanks again for the advice.

telboyo

Cancel the big wedding and go down to the local council offices and get it done for FA.

I did this 22 yrs ago and the wife was nagging me every day until she got involved with our daughters wedding, finally after all these years she now sees my point.

mum2one

Rhonda1981 wrote: »

Hi All,

I am 29 and in over 26000 in debt. It is all unsecured and I feel like it will never end.
A lot of us have been there, done that brought the shirt, and still paying off, it will reduce, just seems at the moment its your lightbulb moment has happened, and hense it looks worse.

I am currently paying £300 extra to Marks and Spencer on top of the minimum.

I am also getting married in September. I am saving £400 per month towards the wedding.
Congratulations in advance, x
My fiancee wants to help, but I won't let him. I've said that he should save for emergencies to make sure we have a fall back plan if something major goes wrong.

I don't know what to do. My friend is suggesting I get an IVA or go bankrupt. But I am really worried about the impact on my ability to rent in the near future. My fiancee and I are sharing a house. We plan to move out in August. I know our cost will double, but we need the space.

I know will get better. Any ideas?

Household Information[/b]
Number of adults in household........... 5
Number of children in household.........
Number of cars owned....................

Monthly Income Details
Monthly income after tax................ 1950
Partners monthly income after tax....... 0
Benefits................................ 0
Other income............................ 0
Total monthly income.................... 1950 - sorry to be thick on the first line, but just going on that thats your wages and all these figures are you pay towards the household etc

Monthly Expense Details
Mortgage................................ 0
Secured/HP loan repayments.............. 0
Rent.................................... 202 - yep maybe with the 2 of you will go up, but we can reduce in other ways
Management charge (leasehold property).. 0
Council tax............................. 29.5 - when you get your house, depending on what the council tax is, it may be worth asking to pay over 12 months not 10
Electricity............................. 20 - obviously your in a house share so your be tied to the supplier, worth looking around for when you get somewhere, as then yours and hubby to be, £80 towards fuel (does gas + elec together) shouldn't really add much more.
Gas..................................... 20
Oil..................................... 0
Water rates............................. 3 - appiciate thats going up, we've just had our half yearly water bill £180. May be worth looking at water meter for new property
Telephone (land line)................... 10
Mobile phone............................ 30 -ring your provider, they can generally go down a level, when contract up consider sim only or pay and go
TV Licence.............................. 2.77 - your own home £12. a month
Satellite/Cable TV...................... 8.22 - this is a luxury you don't want to carry over
Internet Services....................... 0
Groceries etc. ......................... 50 - this is a both - future (u + hubby, won't spend £400 a month on groceries, could get down to £200 a month or less) - now - try cutting back, downgrade brands, cook and freeze
Clothing................................ 30 - both now and future buy as you need
Petrol/diesel........................... 0
Road tax................................ 0
Car Insurance........................... 0
Car maintenance (including MOT)......... 0
Car parking............................. 0
Other travel............................ 120 - for now is there any way you can reduce this,
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 ......................... 12
Other insurance......................... 0
Presents (birthday, christmas etc)...... 20
Haircuts................................ 0
Entertainment........................... 18
Holiday................................. 0
Emergency fund.......................... 0
Gym..................................... 61 - That is a luxury you can not afford at the moment, get an exercise dvd for now.
Total monthly expenses.................. 636.49


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

No Secured nor Hire Purchase Debts

Unsecured Debts
Description....................Debt......Monthly...APR
Marks and Spencer..............4400......120.......25.9
Barclaycard....................7750......175.......28.9
Barclays Overdraft.............650.......20........17.88
Alliance and Lec...............1000......20........0 - if this is 0% how long for
Halifax........................9900......140.......15
Capital One ...................2500......65........13
Total unsecured debts..........26200.....540.......-


Monthly Budget Summary
Total monthly income.................... 1,950
Expenses (including HP & secured debts). 636.49
Available for debt repayments........... 1,313.51
Monthly UNsecured debt repayments....... 540
Amount left after debt repayments....... 773.51

Personal Balance Sheet Summary
Total assets (things you own)........... 0
Total HP & Secured debt................. -0
Total Unsecured debt.................... -26,200
Net Assets.............................. -26,200

[

I've made some suggestions, at presently with the house share a lot of the expenditures your stuck with, hense put the future in blue

Purple I've used as for now as changes that you can make.

I can only echo what the others have said, yes it would be good to have the £300 extra going over the M+S card, but your better off aiming for the highest interest, keep the other cards on the minimum payments, and chuck every penny at the Barclaycard, and then when that has finished carry the money forward to the next highest interest. I would say keep an eye on the interest rates as if for one reason one interest rate suddenly over shoots Barclaycard - then swop around.

If you do get a letter saying there increasing the interest rate, and you want to get rid of the card, you can write back, saying no the hijack rate, - this effectively closes the card, - but you continue paying at the rate you were preciously paying at.

Thats really nice of hubby to be to pay the £400 pm towards the wedding and you can concrentrate on the organising of it, and debt busting.
Your soon see a difference with the extras going on it xx