i need help with my debt

angela_coleman

hi, i have a £4750 debt, and dont seem to know where to go or what to do, i went to my local cab and they advised me to consider bankruptcy but i really dont want to, i have a terrible credit rating so cant get a loan, so any suggestions would be great

BAILEYS6904

Hiya

Its helpful for us if you can complete an SOA (Statement of Affairs), the link should be on a sticky at the top of the forum.

Once you complete this, we can see incomings and outgoings, and advise further

Well done for posting and dont panic, its amazing what fresh eyes can sometimes see x

BAILEYS6904

http://www.makesenseofcards.com/soacalc.html

Heres the link x

angela_coleman

[tt]Statement of Affairs and Personal Balance Sheet

Household Information
Number of adults in household........... 2
Number of children in household......... 2
Number of cars owned.................... 1

Monthly Income Details
Monthly income after tax................ 1110
Partners monthly income after tax....... 0
Benefits................................ 1264
Other income............................ 0
Total monthly income.................... 2374

Monthly Expense Details
Mortgage................................ 0
Secured/HP loan repayments.............. 0
Rent.................................... 650
Management charge (leasehold property).. 0
Council tax............................. 57
Electricity............................. 173
Gas..................................... 0
Oil..................................... 0
Water rates............................. 67
Telephone (land line)................... 30
Mobile phone............................ 25
TV Licence.............................. 13
Satellite/Cable TV...................... 21
Internet Services....................... 0
Groceries etc. ......................... 520
Clothing................................ 90
Petrol/diesel........................... 86
Road tax................................ 10
Car Insurance........................... 24
Car maintenance (including MOT)......... 6
Car parking............................. 0
Other travel............................ 0
Childcare/nursery....................... 0
Other child related expenses............ 0
Medical (prescriptions, dentist etc).... 14
Pet insurance/vet bills................. 0
Buildings insurance..................... 0
Contents insurance...................... 21
Life assurance ......................... 0
Other insurance......................... 0
Presents (birthday, christmas etc)...... 20
Haircuts................................ 20
Entertainment........................... 0
Holiday................................. 0
Emergency fund.......................... 0
Total monthly expenses.................. 1847


Assets
Cash.................................... 0
House value (Gross)..................... 0
Shares and bonds........................ 0
Car(s).................................. 500
Other assets............................ 0
Total Assets............................ 500

No Secured nor Hire Purchase Debts

Unsecured Debts
Description....................Debt......Monthly...APR
nat west credit cart...........2829......2829......19
bt.............................450.......450.......0
provident......................800.......800.......0
Total unsecured debts..........4079......4079......-


Monthly Budget Summary
Total monthly income.................... 2,374
Expenses (including HP & secured debts). 1,847
Available for debt repayments........... 527
Monthly UNsecured debt repayments....... 4,079
Amount short for making debt repayments. -3,552

Personal Balance Sheet Summary
Total assets (things you own)........... 500
Total HP & Secured debt................. -0
Total Unsecured debt.................... -4,079
Net Assets.............................. -3,579

[/tt]

JournalGirl

angela_coleman wrote: »

[tt]Statement of Affairs and Personal Balance Sheet

Household Information
Number of adults in household........... 2
Number of children in household......... 2
Number of cars owned.................... 1

Monthly Income Details
Monthly income after tax................ 1110
Partners monthly income after tax....... 0
Benefits................................ 1264
Other income............................ 0
Total monthly income.................... 2374

Monthly Expense Details
Mortgage................................ 0
Secured/HP loan repayments.............. 0
Rent.................................... 650
Management charge (leasehold property).. 0
Council tax............................. 57
Electricity............................. 173
Gas..................................... 0
Oil..................................... 0
Water rates............................. 67
Telephone (land line)................... 30
Mobile phone............................ 25
TV Licence.............................. 13
Satellite/Cable TV...................... 21
Internet Services....................... 0
Groceries etc. ......................... 520
Clothing................................ 90
Petrol/diesel........................... 86
Road tax................................ 10
Car Insurance........................... 24
Car maintenance (including MOT)......... 6
Car parking............................. 0
Other travel............................ 0
Childcare/nursery....................... 0
Other child related expenses............ 0
Medical (prescriptions, dentist etc).... 14
Pet insurance/vet bills................. 0
Buildings insurance..................... 0
Contents insurance...................... 21
Life assurance ......................... 0
Other insurance......................... 0
Presents (birthday, christmas etc)...... 20
Haircuts................................ 20
Entertainment........................... 0
Holiday................................. 0
Emergency fund.......................... 0
Total monthly expenses.................. 1847


Assets
Cash.................................... 0
House value (Gross)..................... 0
Shares and bonds........................ 0
Car(s).................................. 500
Other assets............................ 0
Total Assets............................ 500

No Secured nor Hire Purchase Debts

Unsecured Debts
Description....................Debt......Monthly...APR
nat west credit cart...........2829......2829......19
bt.............................450.......450.......0
provident......................800.......800.......0
Total unsecured debts..........4079......4079......-


Monthly Budget Summary
Total monthly income.................... 2,374
Expenses (including HP & secured debts). 1,847
Available for debt repayments........... 527
Monthly UNsecured debt repayments....... 4,079
Amount short for making debt repayments. -3,552

Personal Balance Sheet Summary
Total assets (things you own)........... 500
Total HP & Secured debt................. -0
Total Unsecured debt.................... -4,079
Net Assets.............................. -3,579

[/tt]

I think there's an error there...you're not paying £4079 PER MONTH to service the debt...what is the payment you make monthly?

SteveScooby

You look to be spending loads on electricity and groceries. Check a comparison site to see if you can get your utility bills cheaper.

intranicity

Looks like you have over £500 a month spare, if that is the case, DON'T even consider BR, you should be able to clear the debt in 12 months easily I would have thought

I think clearing Provident first should be the aim as I expect that is the highest APR?

supersavershal

You could really get your grocery bill down, try the old style boards they are great for tips and advice.And you can still eat really healthily.Things are not as bad as you think, sometimes it feels better when you have written it all down and you know exactly where you stand.
You could get the clothing bill down too, have a look on freecycle for bundles of childrens clothes, I bundle my childrens up and put them on there, if they are really good I ebay them.
Do you have anything that you could ebay?

theoretica

If you can stick to this SOA (and maybe add a few savings as suggested above) you should be able to pay off your debts in under a year. (Also consider life assurance and saving for things that break)

Do you know how you got into this debt to stop it happening again?

Is something missing from your SOA? Do you have £525 to put towards your debt each month. If not, some people here have had good results from a savings diary where you write down every penny you spend (while asking yourself do I really need that).

angela_coleman

i know i have money left at the end of all my out goings, but i have called some of the companies i owe the money too to see if i can do a payment plan with them to clear the debt and they dont seem interested, because i have missed a couple of payments with natwest they are now not interested in a plan to sort out the debt

IndigoBlue_2

Your groceries bill is huge, where are you shopping Marks & Spencer? Unbelievable that the CAB suggested bankruptcy, that's possibly the worst thing that you could do, really goes to show that some people don't know what they're talking about even in the most respected positions.

Your debts aren't really that high to even suggest BR. Get some of those costs down, you're spending over £2,000 a year on electricity too, do you not have gas in your home, do you have electric heaters etc?

IB