Please help....

dianadoesnt

Hello everyone.
I have lurked for quite a while and have been impressed by the advice given on here.

I am in some debt, and while i know that my situation is not as serious as many others, i feel that i need some inspiration (or a swift virtual kick up the backside) to stop me frittering my money away and to tackle my debts.

I desperately want to pay off my credit cards, save up some money and move. It is my dream-but i seem to sabotage myself at every turn. I turned 50 earlier this year and feel that i will remain in this situation for ever unless i stop being pathetic and weak willed.

Please find below my SOA-i dont have huge outgoings and i do often make extra payments on my credit cards-but then i will go and spend money on really stupid (expensive) things that end up sitting, unused in my cupboard.

Please feel free to say whatever you like (however harsh) -what helped you to kick the spending habit and knuckle down and pay off your debts?

The stupid thing is that i hate shopping and avoid going shopping-but often i find myself online and i see something and think 'Oh wouldnt that be useful/attractive/pleasurable/life changing' etc etc-then of course it just ends up gathering dust.

Many Thanks
Diana

Statement of Affairs and Personal Balance Sheet

Monthly Income Details
Monthly income after tax................ 1200
Partners monthly income after tax....... 0
Benefits................................ 0
Other income............................ 0
Total monthly income.................... 1200

Monthly Expense Details
Mortgage................................ 0
Secured/HP loan repayments.............. 0
Rent.................................... 380
Management charge (leasehold property).. 0
Council tax............................. 63
Electricity............................. 20
Gas..................................... 10
Oil..................................... 0
Water rates............................. 15
Telephone (land line)................... 25
Mobile phone............................ 5
TV Licence.............................. 0
Satellite/Cable TV...................... 0
Internet Services....................... 0
Groceries etc. ......................... 100
Clothing................................ 5
Petrol/diesel........................... 80
Road tax................................ 15
Car Insurance........................... 50
Car maintenance (including MOT)......... 20
Car parking............................. 0
Other travel............................ 0
Childcare/nursery....................... 0
Other child related expenses............ 0
Medical (prescriptions, dentist etc).... 0
Pet insurance/vet bills................. 57
Buildings insurance..................... 0
Contents insurance...................... 5
Life assurance ......................... 0
Other insurance......................... 0
Presents (birthday, christmas etc)...... 10
Haircuts................................ 0
Entertainment........................... 20
Holiday................................. 0
Emergency fund.......................... 0
Total monthly expenses.................. 880


Assets
Cash.................................... 0
House value (Gross)..................... 0
Shares and bonds........................ 0
Car(s).................................. 2000
Other assets............................ 0
Total Assets............................ 2000

No Secured nor Hire Purchase Debts

Unsecured Debts
Description....................Debt......Monthly...APR
MBNA...........................2200......26........0
Barclaycard....................1900......44........0
Tesco..........................1300......26........17.9
Total unsecured debts..........5400......96........-


Monthly Budget Summary
Total monthly income.................... 1,200
Expenses (including HP & secured debts). 880
Available for debt repayments........... 320
Monthly UNsecured debt repayments....... 96
Amount left after debt repayments....... 224

Personal Balance Sheet Summary
Total assets (things you own)........... 2,000
Total HP & Secured debt................. -0
Total Unsecured debt.................... -5,400
Net Assets.............................. -3,400

DOUGLAS_JACK

Hi,the stuff gathering dust price it up and sell it on ebay,pay to credit cards,regards DJ.

dianadoesnt

Thanks for that- have never sold on Ebay (have bought lots though )
Good suggestion and will certainly get on to it.
Diana

MFWannabe

dianadoesnt wrote: »

Hello everyone.
I have lurked for quite a while and have been impressed by the advice given on here.

I am in some debt, and while i know that my situation is not as serious as many others, i feel that i need some inspiration (or a swift virtual kick up the backside) to stop me frittering my money away and to tackle my debts.

I desperately want to pay off my credit cards, save up some money and move. It is my dream-but i seem to sabotage myself at every turn. I turned 50 earlier this year and feel that i will remain in this situation for ever unless i stop being pathetic and weak willed.

Please find below my SOA-i dont have huge outgoings and i do often make extra payments on my credit cards-but then i will go and spend money on really stupid (expensive) things that end up sitting, unused in my cupboard.

Please feel free to say whatever you like (however harsh) -what helped you to kick the spending habit and knuckle down and pay off your debts?

The stupid thing is that i hate shopping and avoid going shopping-but often i find myself online and i see something and think 'Oh wouldnt that be useful/attractive/pleasurable/life changing' etc etc-then of course it just ends up gathering dust.

Many Thanks
Diana

Statement of Affairs and Personal Balance Sheet

Monthly Income Details
Monthly income after tax................ 1200
Partners monthly income after tax....... 0
Benefits................................ 0
Other income............................ 0
Total monthly income.................... 1200

Monthly Expense Details
Mortgage................................ 0
Secured/HP loan repayments.............. 0
Rent.................................... 380
Management charge (leasehold property).. 0
Council tax............................. 63
Electricity............................. 20 - really? seems incredibly low
Gas..................................... 10 - really? seems incredibly low
Oil..................................... 0
Water rates............................. 15
Telephone (land line)................... 25
Mobile phone............................ 5
TV Licence.............................. 0
Satellite/Cable TV...................... 0
Internet Services....................... 0
Groceries etc. ......................... 100
Clothing................................ 5
Petrol/diesel........................... 80
Road tax................................ 15
Car Insurance........................... 50 - this seems very high; check comparison sites to see if you can get cheaper
Car maintenance (including MOT)......... 20
Car parking............................. 0
Other travel............................ 0
Childcare/nursery....................... 0
Other child related expenses............ 0
Medical (prescriptions, dentist etc).... 0
Pet insurance/vet bills................. 57 - this seems very high?
Buildings insurance..................... 0
Contents insurance...................... 5
Life assurance ......................... 0
Other insurance......................... 0
Presents (birthday, christmas etc)...... 10
Haircuts................................ 0
Entertainment........................... 20
Holiday................................. 0
Emergency fund.......................... 0
Total monthly expenses.................. 880


Assets
Cash.................................... 0
House value (Gross)..................... 0
Shares and bonds........................ 0
Car(s).................................. 2000
Other assets............................ 0
Total Assets............................ 2000

No Secured nor Hire Purchase Debts

Unsecured Debts
Description....................Debt......Monthly...APR
MBNA...........................2200......26........0
Barclaycard....................1900......44........0
Tesco..........................1300......26........17.9
Total unsecured debts..........5400......96........-


Monthly Budget Summary
Total monthly income.................... 1,200
Expenses (including HP & secured debts). 880
Available for debt repayments........... 320
Monthly UNsecured debt repayments....... 96
Amount left after debt repayments....... 224

Personal Balance Sheet Summary
Total assets (things you own)........... 2,000
Total HP & Secured debt................. -0
Total Unsecured debt.................... -5,400
Net Assets.............................. -3,400

Hi
I've made some comments above in your soa. It looks very good though to be honest; as you have stated you just need to get rid of those cards and to stop spending. Reference the items that you have bought and are now gathering dust; sort them out and put them on ebay. Perfect day for doing this as weather is so dreadful! With the money you make pay it straight off the cards; put as much as you can towards highest interest first
Are the MBNA and Barclaycards really 0%? If so what are the credit limits on these? Do you have enough available to be able to transfer the Tesco cc to?

dianadoesnt

Hello
almost up to limit on Barclaycard and MBNA, and have just been approved for RBS 0% to transfer Tesco balance.

The gas and electric are true-i am very good at being frugal in that respect and i do live in quite a small flat.

The car insurance, well, i live in a rather, 'tough' area of Manchester and i spent literally days trying to find a cheaper quote-some insurers refused to insure me at all due to my postcode (hence my desire to move) Bear in mind that i am a 50 year old woman with 10 NCB, driving license for 30 years and an old (slow) car.

Re the pet insurance-i cant change now as he has been quite ill this last couple of years. Not only has this hiked up the premiums, but it means that if i changed insurers there would be lots of exclusions.

Thankyou for your response
Diana

Sparkerly

If you don't fancy e-baying, have you thought of doing a car boot?

What we did was gather everything together and do a car boot, then the things that didn't sell we put on e-bay. We found that after e-bay and paypal costs we got more at the car boot for the smaller items such as cd's and dvd's. Also for larger items it alot easier at a car boot than trying to package and post things.

As for buying things online, if you see something you think you need, don't buy it straight away, but leave it overnight and you may find that the initial need isn't as strong.

Also you say you want to move - do you have a picture of the dream location - if so load it to your computer background, that way every time you switch the computer on you will see it and hopefully it will inspire you to not spend.

Good luck

dianadoesnt

Thanks for your suggestions, Sparkerly
I am going to do Ebay-i do have lots of stuff sitting in my cupboards, so should make some money.
Will also give car boots a go-there are more taking place now as the weather gets (allegedly) better.
I do have a dream part of the country that i would like to move to so will certainly find a nice photo to inspire me!
Diana

rdchick

Try writing a spending diary, when you see what you're really spending money and that should hopefully deter you from wanting to spend it xxx

dianadoesnt

Guess what- i have a few notebooks/diaries that i bought and never used, so will get one out and start doing that.
thanks for the suggestion
Diana

HRV

I think your SOA looks really healthy- as long as it's truthful.

I know what you mean about car insurance- I too drive a insurance group 2 car with 9 years no claims, car parked on drive, never made any sort of claim and yet I cant get my insurance any lower than about 40 quid a month- its mad isnt it.

The thing with ebay- takes a bit of effort to set up but definately worth it- I would suggest doing a paypal account too as most people like to pay this was now. I dont mean this in a patronising way but it may be useful to get someone to help you if youre not too confident with ebay- the way you list things/ the title/catergory can really impact the amount you get (OH wins lots of things cheap as he's good at finding things listed badly IYSWIM)
Once the ebay is alls et up you've got a really way to make cash back quickly- I ve sold all sorts of things I didnt think I could- there's a thread on here somewhere about that

dianadoesnt

Well, i just looked over my SOA and i guess it does look low compared to others..so lets have a look;
Statement of Affairs and Personal Balance Sheet

Monthly Income Details
Monthly income after tax................ 1200
Partners monthly income after tax....... 0
Benefits................................ 0
Other income............................ 0
Total monthly income.................... 1200

Monthly Expense Details
Mortgage................................ 0
Secured/HP loan repayments.............. 0
Rent.................................... 380
Management charge (leasehold property).. 0
Council tax............................. 63
Electricity............................. 20-this is true
Gas..................................... 10-this is also true
Oil..................................... 0
Water rates............................. 15-i am on a meter
Telephone (land line)................... 25-includes internet and only make calls after 7 when free whenever possible
Mobile phone............................ 5-use it only in emergencies
TV Licence.............................. 0-dont have a TV
Satellite/Cable TV...................... 0
Internet Services....................... 0-included in phone
Groceries etc. ......................... 100-i'm a vegan
Clothing................................ 5-only buy from Ebay/charity shops and not very often
Petrol/diesel........................... 80-dont use car much & walk to work
Road tax................................ 15
Car Insurance........................... 50
Car maintenance (including MOT)......... 20
Car parking............................. 0
Other travel............................ 0
Childcare/nursery....................... 0
Other child related expenses............ 0
Medical (prescriptions, dentist etc).... 0
Pet insurance/vet bills................. 57
Buildings insurance..................... 0
Contents insurance...................... 5
Life assurance ......................... 0
Other insurance......................... 0
Presents (birthday, christmas etc)...... 10
Haircuts................................ 0-cut and colour my own hair-buy a £10 colour every 8 weeks
Entertainment........................... 20-have coffee with friends about once a week
Holiday................................. 0-do house sitting for friends
Emergency fund.......................... 0
Total monthly expenses.................. 880


Assets
Cash.................................... 0
House value (Gross)..................... 0
Shares and bonds........................ 0
Car(s).................................. 2000
Other assets............................ 0
Total Assets............................ 2000

No Secured nor Hire Purchase Debts

Unsecured Debts
Description....................Debt......Monthly...APR
MBNA...........................2200......26........0
Barclaycard....................1900......44........0
Tesco..........................1300......26........17.9
Total unsecured debts..........5400......96........-


Monthly Budget Summary
Total monthly income.................... 1,200
Expenses (including HP & secured debts). 880
Available for debt repayments........... 320
Monthly UNsecured debt repayments....... 96
Amount left after debt repayments....... 224

Personal Balance Sheet Summary
Total assets (things you own)........... 2,000
Total HP & Secured debt................. -0
Total Unsecured debt.................... -5,400
Net Assets.............................. -3,400

What i do spend money on are things like;
1/ A Kindle-which i have hardly used and prefer to choose from my large book selection (use my library too)
2/ Bought a lap top- even though i had a desk top and was in debt
3/Digital radio-even though i had a perfectly good radio
4/Food proccessor-used it once
You get the picture?!
Thanks for all suggestions and please keep them coming
Diana