Am I in the right place? Had my meltdown moment.

Flowerbomb_2

Hi everyone, please be kind.

My husband and I both have ok jobs and reasonable incomes but we're both rotten with money. We're living paypacket to paypacket with no control of our debts.

We don't seem to squander much these days and are trying to reign things in but decisions we've made in the past are really holding us back (125% mortgage anyone?:(:embarasse)

If I could go back to twentysomething us and steer us in the right directions that would be great - but I can't. Where do I start? I'm ebaying like a mad person, trying to cut back on the food bill yet I still don't seem to have enough to pay my debts and I'm getting charges on my storecards (which I'm trying painfully to get rid of.)

Help...is this the right place to do my Income and Expenditure sheet thingy? What else do I need to do?

Tixy

Hi and welcome, yes you have come to the right place

Yes doing an income & expenditure will be very useful (to you and for us to help you), we use this form here- http://www.makesenseofcards.com/soacalc.html - if you complete and post the results on here that will be a good start.

Another useful tip is to start keeping spending diaries for a couple of months, where you write down everything you spend (even 60p on a newspaper or a bar of chocolate etc) this will mean that in a month you can compare what you thought you spent (as per the statement of affairs) to what you are actually spending, and then should help you identify if there is something you are 'wasting' money on without thinking about it.

Another thing that often helps people get on top of their finances is to sign up for online banking (if you don't have it at the moment) and to get into the habit of checking your account every couple of days or so, so that you don't forget about DDs or go overdrawn by accident.

Flowerbomb_2

Also, can you direct me towards template letters for contacting credit companies to advise that we're struggling.

Sorry, cross posted. Thanks for the link.

Tixy

This link has a suggested template letter you can send out whilst sorting yourself out - http://forums.moneysavingexpert.com/showpost.php?p=21937969&postcount=51
Personally I would say wait until you've completed your statement of affairs before you send it out, as it may not be necessary if people can suggest other ways to tackle your finances. Another thing to consider before you send it is whether your current account is with the same bank as any of your credit cards - if it is then hold fire on sending the letter to start as they could start dipping into you account to pay your credit card payments. If this is the case then you'll probably need to open a new bank account with another bank so that your wages are safe from your creditors.

Flowerbomb_2

That's a fantastic tool isn't it?! Ok, here's the low down. It doesn't look as bad as I initially thought and already I can see a few areas we can shave cash off, for example the car insurance is so high because they're waiting on us posting proof of no claims. Hopefully this will mean we've paid up for the year as we've paid 6 months now at that price when it should be half of it. I know that we should have done it already. Neither of us are very organised but I think one of us going to have to be now.

Next, Littlewoods, Student Loans and Scottish Power I'm in arrears with. Where do I start with them? Scottish Power should take precedence shouldn't it? I wont be using the catalogue accounts again EVER but should I send them a letter?

I haven't put anything in for TV license as my mum pays it for me.


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................ 1443
Partners monthly income after tax....... 1733
Benefits................................ 0
Other income............................ 0
Total monthly income.................... 3176

Monthly Expense Details
Mortgage................................ 753
Secured/HP loan repayments.............. 322
Rent.................................... 0
Management charge (leasehold property).. 0
Council tax............................. 125
Electricity............................. 100
Gas..................................... 100
Oil..................................... 0
Water rates............................. 0
Telephone (land line)................... 60
Mobile phone............................ 100
TV Licence.............................. 0
Satellite/Cable TV...................... 20
Internet Services....................... 20
Groceries etc. ......................... 250
Clothing................................ 60
Petrol/diesel........................... 100
Road tax................................ 20
Car Insurance........................... 66
Car maintenance (including MOT)......... 20
Car parking............................. 0
Other travel............................ 150
Childcare/nursery....................... 0
Other child related expenses............ 60
Medical (prescriptions, dentist etc).... 10
Pet insurance/vet bills................. 10
Buildings insurance..................... 20
Contents insurance...................... 20
Life assurance ......................... 45
Other insurance......................... 21
Presents (birthday, christmas etc)...... 25
Haircuts................................ 0
Entertainment........................... 100
Holiday................................. 0
Emergency fund.......................... 25
Total monthly expenses.................. 2602


Assets
Cash.................................... 0
House value (Gross)..................... 115000
Shares and bonds........................ 0
Car(s).................................. 8000
Other assets............................ 0
Total Assets............................ 123000


Secured & HP Debts
Description....................Debt......Monthly...APR
Mortgage...................... 122000...(753)......4.75
Hire Purchase (HP) debt ...... 16000....(322)......14.9
Total secured & HP debts...... 138000....-.........-

Unsecured Debts
Description....................Debt......Monthly...APR
Credit Card....................190.......6.........29.9
Store Cards....................750.......31........29.9
Next...........................330.......30........30.1
Scottish Power.................1200......200.......0
Student Loan...................6000......90........0
Littlewoods....................1000......250.......0
Total unsecured debts..........9470......607.......-


Monthly Budget Summary
Total monthly income.................... 3,176
Expenses (including HP & secured debts). 2,602
Available for debt repayments........... 574
Monthly UNsecured debt repayments....... 607
Amount short for making debt repayments. -33

Personal Balance Sheet Summary
Total assets (things you own)........... 123,000
Total HP & Secured debt................. -138,000
Total Unsecured debt.................... -9,470
Net Assets.............................. -24,470

Created using the SOA calculator at
Reproduced on Moneysavingexpert with permission, using other browser

Am grateful for all feedback.

Flowerbomb_2

Should I post the SOA as a separate topic?

Flowerbomb_2

Sorry I think I've also messed up the Scottish Power arrears / monthly repayment. My monthly repayment isn't going to be #200 on top of the arrears. Let me fix that.

RAS

Flowerbomb wrote: »

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................ 1443
Partners monthly income after tax....... 1733
Benefits................................ 0
Other income............................ 0
Total monthly income.................... 3176

Monthly Expense Details
Mortgage................................ 753
Secured/HP loan repayments.............. 322
Rent.................................... 0
Management charge (leasehold property).. 0
Council tax............................. 125
Electricity............................. 100 - this is very high. Start by reading the meter. Are you in credit? If not, we need to llok at how to reduce this
Gas..................................... 100 - ditto
Oil..................................... 0
Water rates............................. 0
Telephone (land line)................... 60 - this should be about £12? Reduce you calls.
Mobile phone............................ 100 - this is massive how many? Can you reduce the packages
TV Licence.............................. 0
Satellite/Cable TV...................... 20 - get rid of this and go freeview
Internet Services....................... 20 - get a phone/internet deal and reduce this
Groceries etc. ......................... 250 - OK
Clothing................................ 60 - this is high
Petrol/diesel........................... 100
Road tax................................ 20
Car Insurance........................... 66 - get that letter out
Car maintenance (including MOT)......... 20
Car parking............................. 0
Other travel............................ 150
Childcare/nursery....................... 0
Other child related expenses............ 60 - what is this?
Medical (prescriptions, dentist etc).... 10
Pet insurance/vet bills................. 10
Buildings insurance..................... 20 - this could be cheaper combined with conbtents?
Contents insurance...................... 20
Life assurance ......................... 45 - this is high. What are you gettting?
Other insurance......................... 21 - what is this?
Presents (birthday, christmas etc)...... 25
Haircuts................................ 0
Entertainment........................... 100 - this is very high - given your debts you need to pare this to the bone - say £20 - for a few months
Holiday................................. 0
Emergency fund.......................... 25 - how much is in here?
Total monthly expenses.................. 2602


Assets
Cash.................................... 0
House value (Gross)..................... 115000
Shares and bonds........................ 0
Car(s).................................. 8000
Other assets............................ 0
Total Assets............................ 123000


Secured & HP Debts
Description....................Debt......Monthly...APR
Mortgage...................... 122000...(753)......4.75
Hire Purchase (HP) debt ...... 16000....(322)......14.9
Total secured & HP debts...... 138000....-.........-

Unsecured Debts
Description....................Debt......Monthly...APR
Credit Card....................190.......6.........29.9
Store Cards....................750.......31........29.9
Next...........................330.......30........30.1
Scottish Power.................1200......200.......0 - this is the priority
Student Loan...................6000......90........0
Littlewoods....................1000......250.......0
Total unsecured debts..........9470......607.......-

Check the catalogue APRs?


Monthly Budget Summary
Total monthly income.................... 3,176
Expenses (including HP & secured debts). 2,602
Available for debt repayments........... 574
Monthly UNsecured debt repayments....... 607
Amount short for making debt repayments. -33

Personal Balance Sheet Summary
Total assets (things you own)........... 123,000
Total HP & Secured debt................. -138,000
Total Unsecured debt.................... -9,470
Net Assets.............................. -24,470

Created using the SOA calculator at
Reproduced on Moneysavingexpert with permission, using other browser

Am grateful for all feedback.

A few thoughts above.

Tixy

No, its best to keep all on one thread.
Right I'll look through your SoA and see what initital thoughts and comments are (don't take them personally they are just suggestions etc).

Get that no claims proof off straight away as you say.

Flowerbomb wrote: »

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................ 1443
Partners monthly income after tax....... 1733
Benefits................................ 0 child benefit here?
Other income............................ 0
Total monthly income.................... 3176

Monthly Expense Details
Mortgage................................ 753
Secured/HP loan repayments.............. 322
Rent.................................... 0
Management charge (leasehold property).. 0
Council tax............................. 125
Electricity............................. 100 is this including paying off some arrears or is this for current use? do you know how much is going towards arrears? and what the total of the arrears are?
Gas..................................... 100 as above
Oil..................................... 0
Water rates............................. 0 do you not have this? or is it with council tax in scotland?
Telephone (land line)................... 60 can you combine with satellite tv and or internet and find a cheaper deal overall? what sort of calls are you making for it to be this high? have you looked for a different tariff or considered something like skype to keep costs down?
Mobile phone............................ 100 is this for 2 phones or do the kids have them as well? are you in contract? if not can you find a cheaper deal, if you are can you ask if they'll drop you to a lower tariff?
TV Licence.............................. 0
Satellite/Cable TV...................... 20 combine or consider ditching and using freeview?
Internet Services....................... 20 try to combine with phone
Groceries etc. ......................... 250 possibly some savings here but its not too bad, maybe aim for £200?
Clothing................................ 60 I know kids clothes/uniforms etc add up but try to keep to just essentials for a while.
Petrol/diesel........................... 100
Road tax................................ 20
Car Insurance........................... 66
Car maintenance (including MOT)......... 20
Car parking............................. 0
Other travel............................ 150 what is this? is it the cheapest way of buying? eg is it a season ticket and if not would it be cheaper?
Childcare/nursery....................... 0
Other child related expenses............ 60
Medical (prescriptions, dentist etc).... 10
Pet insurance/vet bills................. 10
Buildings insurance..................... 20
Contents insurance...................... 20 have you shopped around for B&C? if not then do next renewal as I think you should be able to get quite a bit cheaper based on your house value.
Life assurance ......................... 45 have you checked if these are good value recently? might be worth shopping around to see if you can save by switching
Other insurance......................... 21 what is this (again have you shopped around in the last year?)
Presents (birthday, christmas etc)...... 25
Haircuts................................ 0 ? is this right?
Entertainment........................... 100
Holiday................................. 0
Emergency fund.......................... 25
Total monthly expenses.................. 2602


Assets
Cash.................................... 0
House value (Gross)..................... 115000
Shares and bonds........................ 0
Car(s).................................. 8000
Other assets............................ 0
Total Assets............................ 123000


Secured & HP Debts
Description....................Debt......Monthly...APR
Mortgage...................... 122000...(753)......4.75
Hire Purchase (HP) debt ...... 16000....(322)......14.9 is this £16k on the £8k car? or was £16k the original amount?
Total secured & HP debts...... 138000....-.........-

Unsecured Debts
Description....................Debt......Monthly...APR
Credit Card....................190.......6.........29.9
Store Cards....................750.......31........29.9
Next...........................330.......30........30.1
Scottish Power.................1200......200.......0 are you paying off £200 for arrears and £200 for current use each month or is it £200 overall?
Student Loan...................6000......90........0 is this oldstyle or newstyle?
Littlewoods....................1000......250.......0
Total unsecured debts..........9470......607.......-


Monthly Budget Summary
Total monthly income.................... 3,176
Expenses (including HP & secured debts). 2,602
Available for debt repayments........... 574
Monthly UNsecured debt repayments....... 607
Amount short for making debt repayments. -33 hopefully you can make up this shortfall with a few changes and sorting out things like the car insurance.

Personal Balance Sheet Summary
Total assets (things you own)........... 123,000
Total HP & Secured debt................. -138,000
Total Unsecured debt.................... -9,470
Net Assets.............................. -24,470

Flowerbomb_2

Ok, sorry for waffling on. Have looked at the notes for newbies and amended / added a few things to the sheet (my work lunches and diet coke bill for example - sixty quid a month?!)

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................ 1443
Partners monthly income after tax....... 1733
Benefits................................ 0
Other income............................ 0
Total monthly income.................... 3176

Monthly Expense Details
Mortgage................................ 753
Secured/HP loan repayments.............. 322
Rent.................................... 0
Management charge (leasehold property).. 0
Council tax............................. 125
Electricity............................. 62.5
Gas..................................... 62.5
Oil..................................... 0
Water rates............................. 0
Telephone (land line)................... 60
Mobile phone............................ 100
TV Licence.............................. 0
Satellite/Cable TV...................... 20
Internet Services....................... 20
Groceries etc. ......................... 300
Clothing................................ 60
Petrol/diesel........................... 100
Road tax................................ 20
Car Insurance........................... 66
Car maintenance (including MOT)......... 20
Car parking............................. 5
Other travel............................ 150
Childcare/nursery....................... 0
Other child related expenses............ 60
Medical (prescriptions, dentist etc).... 10
Pet insurance/vet bills................. 10
Buildings insurance..................... 20
Contents insurance...................... 20
Life assurance ......................... 45
Other insurance......................... 21
Presents (birthday, christmas etc)...... 25
Haircuts................................ 0
Entertainment........................... 100
Holiday................................. 0
Emergency fund.......................... 25
Lunches and diet coke................... 60
Total monthly expenses.................. 2642


Assets
Cash.................................... 0
House value (Gross)..................... 115000
Shares and bonds........................ 0
Car(s).................................. 8000
Other assets............................ 0
Total Assets............................ 123000


Secured & HP Debts
Description....................Debt......Monthly...APR
Mortgage...................... 122000...(753)......4.75
Hire Purchase (HP) debt ...... 16000....(322)......14.9
Total secured & HP debts...... 138000....-.........-

Unsecured Debts
Description....................Debt......Monthly...APR
Credit Card....................190.......6.........29.9
Store Cards....................750.......31........29.9
Next...........................330.......30........30.1
Scottish Power.................1200......200.......0
Student Loan...................6000......90........0
Littlewoods....................1000......250.......0
Total unsecured debts..........9470......607.......-


Monthly Budget Summary
Total monthly income.................... 3,176
Expenses (including HP & secured debts). 2,642
Available for debt repayments........... 534
Monthly UNsecured debt repayments....... 607
Amount short for making debt repayments. -73

Personal Balance Sheet Summary
Total assets (things you own)........... 123,000
Total HP & Secured debt................. -138,000
Total Unsecured debt.................... -9,470
Net Assets.............................. -24,470

Created using the SOA calculator at makesenseofcards.com
Reproduced on Moneysavingexpert with permission, using other browser.

Tixy

Flowerbomb wrote: »

Sorry I think I've also messed up the Scottish Power arrears / monthly repayment. My monthly repayment isn't going to be #200 on top of the arrears. Let me fix that.

Thats good, so in theory that means you should be able to meet your minimum repayments and still have a bit left over to make additional payments each month.

For the scottish power - do you pay on monthly direct debit usually or have you always paid on quarterly bills?

Oops - sorry I keep cross posting with you!