My Statement of affairs

maskerade

Statement of Affairs and Personal Balance Sheet
Household Information
Number of adults in household........... 1
Number of children in household......... 0
Number of cars owned.................... 1
Monthly Income Details
Monthly income after tax................ 1811
Partners monthly income after tax....... 0
Benefits................................ 0
Other income............................ 0
Total monthly income.................... 1811
Monthly Expense Details
Mortgage................................ 0
Secured/HP loan repayments.............. 0
Rent.................................... 350
Management charge (leasehold property).. 0
Council tax............................. 0
Electricity............................. 0
Gas..................................... 0
Oil..................................... 0
Water rates............................. 0
Telephone (land line)................... 0
Mobile phone............................ 26
TV Licence.............................. 0
Satellite/Cable TV...................... 0
Internet Services....................... 0
Groceries etc. ......................... 100
Clothing................................ 20
Petrol/diesel........................... 50
Road tax................................ 7.5
Car Insurance........................... 53
Car maintenance (including MOT)......... 20
Car parking............................. 0
Other travel............................ 0
Childcare/nursery....................... 0
Other child related expenses............ 0
Medical (prescriptions, dentist etc).... 33.35
Pet insurance/vet bills................. 5
Buildings insurance..................... 0
Contents insurance...................... 0
Life assurance ......................... 0
Other insurance......................... 0
Presents (birthday, christmas etc)...... 10
Haircuts................................ 5
Entertainment........................... 50
Holiday................................. 0
Emergency fund.......................... 0
Total monthly expenses.................. 729.85

Assets
Cash.................................... 600
House value (Gross)..................... 0
Shares and bonds........................ 0
Car(s).................................. 1500
Other assets............................ 0
Total Assets............................ 2100

No Secured nor Hire Purchase Debts
Unsecured Debts
Description....................Debt......Monthly...APR
Loan...........................6048......224.......0
Credit Card....................1500......50........0
Total unsecured debts..........7548......274.......-

Monthly Budget Summary
Total monthly income.................... 1,811
Expenses (including HP & secured debts). 729.85
Available for debt repayments........... 1,081.15
Monthly UNsecured debt repayments....... 274
Amount left after debt repayments....... 807.15
Personal Balance Sheet Summary
Total assets (things you own)........... 2,100
Total HP & Secured debt................. -0
Total Unsecured debt.................... -7,548
Net Assets.............................. -5,448

This is my worst case scenario. I try to spend less on groceries/entertainment etc.

I guess I'm just looking for reassurance that I'm doing OK. I got into the debt when I was at my most ill (chronic depression) and I used to have obsessive phases.

I am a lodger so my rent is all inclusive. I have a boyfriend but we don't live together.

My car insurance includes breakdown cover and its the cheapest I could get using two comparison websites.

My medical includes contact lenses and a prescription certificate.

I do my best to walk where I can and I shop around for food bargains; I get most things at local shops and in the discount section or the A**i near work. My OH is a bit of a pain in this respect; he works for a large food retailer and is a bit of a snob about food even though if I didn't tell him he'd never have known where it all came from! He's finally got the hint that I'm not giving him lifts back to his when he's been to mine (we live a mile apart and I always walk to and from his).

For background, I'm 26, went to uni and own one cat.

[Deleted User]

Statement of Affairs and Personal Balance Sheet
Household Information
Number of adults in household........... 1
Number of cars owned.................... 1

Monthly Income Details
Monthly income after tax................ 1811
Total monthly income.................... 1811

Monthly Expense Details
Rent.................................... 350
Mobile phone............................ 26 Do you use all the minutes and texts you recieve as part of the contract? Are you stuck in a contract, If in contract see if you can drop a tariff, if out of contract see if you can switch to a SIM only deal or PAYG - there are some good deals out there for £10 pm
Groceries etc. ......................... 100 Is this for one or for two? You could possible cut back a little if necessary - meal plan, batch cook etc.
Clothing................................ 20
Petrol/diesel........................... 50
Road tax................................ 7.5
Car Insurance........................... 53
Car maintenance (including MOT)......... 20
Medical (prescriptions, dentist etc).... 33.35 If this is prescriptions, see if a pre-paid certificate would work out cheaper for you.
Pet insurance/vet bills................. 5
Presents (birthday, christmas etc)...... 10
Haircuts................................ 5
Entertainment........................... 50
Total monthly expenses.................. 729.85

Assets
Cash.................................... 600 What interest are you earning on this?
Car(s).................................. 1500
Total Assets............................ 2100

No Secured nor Hire Purchase Debts
Unsecured Debts
Description....................Debt......Monthly...APR
Loan...........................6048......224.......0 You need to know the APR?
Credit Card....................1500......50........0 Also you need to know the APR of this one?, Or is it a 0% deal, if so when does it end? And what will the APR revert to.
Total unsecured debts..........7548......274.......-

Monthly Budget Summary
Total monthly income.................... 1,811
Expenses (including HP & secured debts). 729.85
Available for debt repayments........... 1,081.15
Monthly UNsecured debt repayments....... 274
Amount left after debt repayments....... 807.15 Do you have this left at the end of te month? If so pay it towards the debt with the highest APR (I suspect your credit card.), If you don't have this then keep a spending diary, as you are missing something, or spending money somewhere without realising it. Note down everything from rent to bread and ilk and everything in between.

Personal Balance Sheet Summary
Total assets (things you own)........... 2,100
Total HP & Secured debt................. -0
Total Unsecured debt.................... -7,548
Net Assets.............................. -5,448

Hi,
It seems that you are in a great position to have a surplus of more than £800 at the end of every month. Pay this towards the debt that is costing you the most in interest (highest APR) in addition to the minimum payment you are already paying (I suspect the CC unless you are on some kind of deal). If you have stopped spending on the CC, then this debt could be gone in 2 months, and you will then only have to worry about the loan.

Find out if you are allowed to make penalty free overpayments towards the loan. If so, then once CC is gone pay the previous CC minimum payment (£50), and your monthly surplus (£807) towards the loan in addition to the current minimum you pay (£224), then this debt will also be clear very quickly.

HTH

D9

Mowgli87

807.15 surplus?! I bet 99% of people here wish they were in that position, I certainly do

In reality, do you have this left over? If not, make a spending diary and find out where its going. Its an aweful lot of money to fall into a black hole. If you do, overpay on your debts. Even if you spent half of that surplus on debts per month, you would be debt free in about 18 months. Not a bad place to be!

maskerade

Hi,

Thank you!

I think the loan is 8% APR but I'll check tonight. The credit card is 0%.

The cash is because there's a risk I may be made redundant and so I want a little reserve. I think it's only earning about 3% but that's because it is easy access.

I am stuck in the mobile contract but it is much better than it was. Used to be around £45 a month; I picked this one because it has unlimited texts and internet which I use a lot - don't use all the minutes but I couldn't find one which had 50 minutes but unlimited texts. Guess mobile phone companies don't cater for antisocial grumps like me There is also only coverage for o2 and vodaphone where I live - Orange/Tesco etc don't work

The medical breaks down as £10.85 prescription certificate and the remainder is contact lenses. I used to buy contacts on the internet for much cheaper but that site has closed down. I have an astigmatism so they're toric lenses which are a bit pricier.

The groceries includes cosmetics and toiletries etc but I still think it could be lower. If it was just me it'd probably be about half that cos I don't really eat much but I have noticed I seem to be feeding my OH far more than he cooks for me Given it'd only be a difference of £30 a month I'm not sure how to bring it up really My spending on food is a bit variable - yesterday I spent a fiver in Co-op buying loads of prawns etc that were reduced to 45p to clear. I hadn't planned on getting any but I know I'll use them in the next month so it seemed better to buy them at 20% of their usual cost...

I think I can make extra payments on the loan penalty free but I'll check.

Thanks for your advice - I seem to just be making excuses above but I don't mean to!

It stresses me out; I'm an accountant so I'm meant to be good with money My OH has a similar amount of debt from when he went travelling and he just doesn't care about it. Don't know how he does it.

I think I will start a spending diary; I usually have about £700 left over so the rest must be going somewhere. I know last month it went on new lenses for my glasses and train tickets to visit my Nana.

maskerade

Hi Mowgli,

I know I should be grateful Until 6 months ago I earnt minimum wage and had a 50 mile round trip to work so I've not had this for long. I tend to get really stressed by it cos its all related to mental illness.

About £100 falls into a blackhole each month but I think it might just be stuff I've not accounted for on my SOA (as above). I buy a lot of books but they're all £1 from the charity shop I just sold one which turned out to be rare on ebay for £40 so I feel a bit guilty about that for the charity...

[Deleted User]

maskerade wrote: »

Hi,

Thank you!

I think the loan is 8% APR but I'll check tonight. The credit card is 0%.

The cash is because there's a risk I may be made redundant and so I want a little reserve. I think it's only earning about 3% but that's because it is easy access.

I am stuck in the mobile contract but it is much better than it was. Used to be around £45 a month; I picked this one because it has unlimited texts and internet which I use a lot - don't use all the minutes but I couldn't find one which had 50 minutes but unlimited texts. Guess mobile phone companies don't cater for antisocial grumps like me There is also only coverage for o2 and vodaphone where I live - Orange/Tesco etc don't work

The medical breaks down as £10.85 prescription certificate and the remainder is contact lenses. I used to buy contacts on the internet for much cheaper but that site has closed down. I have an astigmatism so they're toric lenses which are a bit pricier.

The groceries includes cosmetics and toiletries etc but I still think it could be lower. If it was just me it'd probably be about half that cos I don't really eat much but I have noticed I seem to be feeding my OH far more than he cooks for me Given it'd only be a difference of £30 a month I'm not sure how to bring it up really My spending on food is a bit variable - yesterday I spent a fiver in Co-op buying loads of prawns etc that were reduced to 45p to clear. I hadn't planned on getting any but I know I'll use them in the next month so it seemed better to buy them at 20% of their usual cost...

I think I can make extra payments on the loan penalty free but I'll check.

Thanks for your advice - I seem to just be making excuses above but I don't mean to!

It stresses me out; I'm an accountant so I'm meant to be good with money My OH has a similar amount of debt from when he went travelling and he just doesn't care about it. Don't know how he does it.

I think I will start a spending diary; I usually have about £700 left over so the rest must be going somewhere. I know last month it went on new lenses for my glasses and train tickets to visit my Nana.

When will the 0% end on the CC? And what will the rate be then? Given that it's not costing you anything now, and the loan is it makes much more sense to pay down the loan before tackling the CC.

But it's also worth thinking about what the CC APR will be when the 0% ends - and what will the balance be then? Given you might be facing redundancy, it might be worthwhile spending half your surplus paying down the loan (assuming it's penalty free), and paying half your surplus into the highest rate savings account you can find (probably an easy access cash ISA), so that you can pay a lump sum towards the CC when the 0% ends, meaning you'll have very little or no interest to pay here (depending on how much you can pay off at the end of the 0%).

If you weren't facing redundancy, I would have suggested overpaying as much as possible to the loan until near the end of 0% card, and then trying to switch 0% card to another 0%, or a lower APR card, before the 0% period ends. Then tackling the cc when the loan's gone. But probably not worth taking the risk in case you find yourself out of work, and unable to switch to a new 0% card.

HTH

D9

Tixy

Looks like you are in a good position and as you say you've hopefully overaccounted for some items such as the groceries.

Have you plugged the figures into the snowball calculator, assuming that most of the £807 could go as additional payments? Do you know if your loan allows overpayments? Worth finding out. If it doesn't then once the cc is clear you could perhaps set up a standing order for say £700 a month to a new savings account and as soon as that reaches the settlement figure on the loan you could pay it all off.

Good luck