panicking newbie

crazybeautiful

new to this site. i've recently become unemployed and am panicking about everything!

*warning i write alot*

i dont know how i'm going to have enough money to live on, pay rent/bills. and i have debts to pay off aswell. help!

please help with anything , advice on paying debt, living cheaper ? and how do i stop myself getting in debt AGAIN.

hate myself for being stupid

i've been in serious debt before, i paid off just under £20,000 in 4 years by working 2 jobs and living with my parents. this debt was due to my ex, having joint credit card which only he used. credit card co made me liable for all debt as i was the original/main card holder, and paying for house stuff in my name (him saying he'd pay half..).

i've been debt free for 4 years. moved cities. moving back in with my parents isnt an option as i live miles from them now. moving at all isnt an option, no money for a deposit.

within the last year, since i moved, i have accumalated a £1000 overdraft, £1300 of credit card debt, and £500 laptop debt (obviously not exact figures but close enough). I know this isnt much debt compared to before, but im panicking and im so annoyed that i got into debt again. i thought last time was my ex, well it was, before him i had no debts at all, but this time its all me. do i have no self control, or am i just stupid? i didnt used to be like this.

im going to university full time this september, and hoping i can be debt free before then so i will only have my student loans (which are necessary) once i finish studying.

any advice much appreciated.

Hannah_10

Ok first off, give your self esteem a break, knocking it is what advertisers get paid for. You need to be your own mate on this and not call yourself names. If you want to feel crap read a beauty magazine, otherwise ups you gets girl, it's happened to us all.

Addressing the rest of the post, please do a Statement of Affairs (SOA) by clicking this dead easy link. Format it for MSE (there is a nifty little button for that) and post it here. If you want every single item on there scrutinised for effienciency and every debt considered then that's where to start.

niccatw

What Hannah_10 said! How you get there doesn't matter, where you're going next is what you want to focus on! And it's easier to do that when you're kind to yourself. And wow, if you can pay of £20 in 4 years, then you can achieve whatever you want to achieve because you obviously know how to focus!

What's you current incomings and outgoings? Follow Hannah's dead easy link and we'll see what we can do to help.

crazybeautiful

thanks. yea i was very determined to pay off that previous debt so all things linked to my ex were gone (including moving away). i just worked and did nothing else. now im in different city, renting my own place, commuting, seeing friends, having a life etc.

im guessing my travel will be cheaper as not commuting everyday? but obviously i need to get to jobs interviews (hopefully i get some!) and go out. similar with food. i eat ready meals, meals out and addicted to starbucks when i was working. i dont really know how to cook :embarasse

my SOA

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.................... 0
Monthly Income Details
Monthly income after tax................ 553
Partners monthly income after tax....... 0
Benefits................................ 0
Other income............................ 0
Total monthly income.................... 553
Monthly Expense Details
Mortgage................................ 0
Secured/HP loan repayments.............. 0
Rent.................................... 400
Management charge (leasehold property).. 0
Council tax............................. 10
Electricity............................. 10
Gas..................................... 10
Oil..................................... 0
Water rates............................. 10
Telephone (land line)................... 10
Mobile phone............................ 30
TV Licence.............................. 0
Satellite/Cable TV...................... 0
Internet Services....................... 10
Groceries etc. ......................... 150
Clothing................................ 20
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 ......................... 0
Other insurance......................... 0
Presents (birthday, christmas etc)...... 20
Haircuts................................ 10
Entertainment........................... 50
Holiday................................. 0
Emergency fund.......................... 0
Total monthly expenses.................. 860

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
credit card....................1300......28........20.83
overdraft......................1000......0.........18.28
laptop.........................480.......50........0
owed a friend..................250.......0.........0
Total unsecured debts..........3030......78........-

Monthly Budget Summary
Total monthly income.................... 553
Expenses (including HP & secured debts). 860
Available for debt repayments........... -307
Monthly UNsecured debt repayments....... 78
Amount short for making debt repayments. -385
Personal Balance Sheet Summary
Total assets (things you own)........... 0
Total HP & Secured debt................. -0
Total Unsecured debt.................... -3,030
Net Assets.............................. -3,030
Created using the SOA calculator at makesenseofcards
Reproduced on Moneysavingexpert with permission, using IE browser.

Hannah_10

One quick one before I start, how old are you, if I may be so nosey? I promise I have a good reason to ask. It's got nohing to do with the kicking you are already giving yourself quite unfairly either before you panic

crazybeautiful

i turned 30 last month

Hannah_10

Good, you should be able to get housing benefit. I'll get on with the SOA [STRIKE]savaging[/STRIKE] checking now then. Expect thorough, I do love a good overspend.

Hannah_10

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.................... 0
Monthly Income Details
Monthly income after tax................ 553 Problem number 1 is this is plain not high enough, lets see what we can do with it.
Partners monthly income after tax....... 0
Benefits................................ 0 Use https://www.entitledto.org to check your benefits (redirects to Turn To Us site) I reckon you should get housing benefit, council tax benefit and mabe some tax credit too.
Other income............................ 0 Read this article, there will almost certainly be something you can do. Bettaware anyone?
Total monthly income.................... 553

Monthly Expense Details
Mortgage................................ 0
Secured/HP loan repayments.............. 0
Rent.................................... 400 This is a massive problem, it's just too high for what you have coming in. How would you feel about moving?
Management charge (leasehold property).. 0
Council tax............................. 10 Unless you share with a lot of housemates this is far too low. I would think £100 here is low, so £10 is probably wrong.
Electricity............................. 10 I'm not sure about this one either. I would expect about £25 here.
Gas..................................... 10 You sure? £15 would be good, £10 sounds like it might be wrong again.
Oil..................................... 0
Water rates............................. 10 That might be right. Probably isn't though, round numbers usually aren't.
Telephone (land line)................... 10 If this is right then good. If it's not right then like everything else, it needs to be checked and put in right on a new more accurate SOA.
Mobile phone............................ 30 There is lowering potential in this. Changing networks, or even just threatening to, going SIM only, changing to PAYG and just plain using it less are all things that work for other people. I would like to see £20 or less here, you can do it.
TV Licence.............................. 0 If you have a TV you need to pay this by law (unless someone else in the house does already). The amount is £12.12p a month by calendar month.
Satellite/Cable TV...................... 0
Internet Services....................... 10 Ooh that's alright if it's correct. Is it?
Groceries etc. ......................... 150 You might be suprised to hear there is even a bit of potential in this one, £120 is fairly painless with a bit of help from the old style board.
Clothing................................ 20 Lots of people put zero here when they first start addressing thier debts and that's unsustainable. Having a figure here is good, but look to reducing it. £10 a month and being shockingly frugal is better than the monthly overspend you have. Overspends are a kind of financial crisis, all the more so because you don't see them clearly.
Petrol/diesel........................... 0
Road tax................................ 0
Car Insurance........................... 0
Car maintenance (including MOT)......... 0
Car parking............................. 0
Other travel............................ 120 Is there any scope to reduce this? Can you cycle or walk more? Or get lifts? Have you cnsidered the cheapest way (eg bus not train) and combining hobby travel with work (like goign to your mates when you were already in town for work, not making a special trip).
Childcare/nursery....................... 0
Other child related expenses............ 0
Medical (prescriptions, dentist etc).... 0 Paracetomol? Renees? Dentists check ups? New glasses every two years?
Pet insurance/vet bills................. 0
Buildings insurance..................... 0
Contents insurance...................... 0 If your income goes up have a rethink on this. Many people consider it essential, and fairly so.
Life assurance ......................... 0
Other insurance......................... 0
Presents (birthday, christmas etc)...... 20 I'm sorry but you are going to have to be a proper tight git for a bit. Babysitting "IOU's" are free to you. We've got a giveaways board and a competitions board- see what you can come by there (my sister does this, she's off to Orlando soon c/o a magazine comp).
Haircuts................................ 10 If your career involves looking smart and you have shortish hair then this is a sod to reduce, but with a scary overspend looming reduce you must. Got any mates in the trade who would swap a chop for a bit of lawn mowing/dog walking/ car washing? Can you get the students at the local college to? Could you get away with going a bit less often or seeing a junior stylist? £10 a month isn't a lot, but you're in dire straits, every penny matters now.
Entertainment........................... 50 I know I am about to sound like cow of the year but, you can't afford it. £10 here will see you through, £20 is generous, but £50 just can't be justified. In fact being honest, with an overspend £0 is the right figure here, but I am hoping we can up your income to address that.
Holiday................................. 0
Emergency fund.......................... 0
Total monthly expenses.................. 860

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
credit card....................1300......28........20.83
overdraft......................1000......0........ .18.28
laptop.........................480.......50....... .0
owed a friend..................250.......0.........0
Total unsecured debts..........3030......78........-

The amounts you're paying, are they the minimums?

Monthly Budget Summary
Total monthly income.................... 553
Expenses (including HP & secured debts). 860
Available for debt repayments........... -307
Monthly UNsecured debt repayments....... 78
Amount short for making debt repayments. -385
Personal Balance Sheet Summary
Total assets (things you own)........... 0
Total HP & Secured debt................. -0
Total Unsecured debt.................... -3,030
Net Assets.............................. -3,030

I haven't addressed the debts because you can't right now. We need to either increase your income by £307 a month or decrease your outgoings just to get you on an even keel. Until we can get income and expenditure to match you're going further into debt just living. £10 a day currently. A faor bit more if you do the exact maths and includethe interest on debts.

crazybeautiful

thanks!

i live in a house with 4 others. all bills are paid by landlord and then we pay him. different every month/quarter but around £70-80 a month each. so i have divided for the SOA. i pay £400 to rent my room (im in london). im going to move in september into university halls so moving now and then again in september isnt practical (plus would need deposit which i dont have).

1 of my housemates has a tv in their room but the house doesnt and i dont.

no i dont have any insurance.

yes the debt payments are the minimal payments. and im permanently in my overdraft and up to the limit at the end of the month.

yes i should have added something in medical. £20? for glasses, dentist etc.

i have long hair but yes need to look neat for work (customer service/retail. face to face with customers)

i will find out tomorrow if im entitled to more benefits. thanks for this!

yes i definitely need more money coming in! will look at ways to make more.


£120 is my monthy tube train pass.

entertainment. i have a unlimited cinema card which is £18 a month. its under a contact so i cant cancel this (a single cinema ticket if bought seperate is £8, i go every week so save money here). my friends all have cards aswell and we go together. the rest is nights in pubs/at gigs with friends. (i can reduce this)