finally facing reality...

ZeroSum101

Statement of Affairs and Personal Balance Sheet[/b]
Monthly Income Details
Monthly income after tax................ 1730
Partners monthly income after tax....... 0
Benefits................................ 0
Other income............................ 0
Total monthly income.................... 1730
Monthly Expense Details
Mortgage................................ 526
Secured/HP loan repayments.............. 0
Rent.................................... 0
Management charge (leasehold property).. 0
Council tax............................. 60
Electricity............................. 40
Gas..................................... 55
Oil..................................... 0
Water rates............................. 0
Telephone (land line)................... 18
Mobile phone............................ 15
TV Licence.............................. 12
Satellite/Cable TV...................... 0
Internet Services....................... 0
Groceries etc. ......................... 180
Clothing................................ 20
Petrol/diesel........................... 130
Road tax................................ 10
Car Insurance........................... 25
Car maintenance (including MOT)......... 30
Car parking............................. 0
Other travel............................ 0
Childcare/nursery....................... 0
Other child related expenses............ 0
Medical (prescriptions, dentist etc).... 13.46
Pet insurance/vet bills................. 0
Buildings insurance..................... 13.35
Contents insurance...................... 0
Life assurance ......................... 8.86
Other insurance......................... 0
Presents (birthday, christmas etc)...... 20
Haircuts................................ 0
Entertainment........................... 50
Holiday................................. 0
Emergency fund.......................... 0
Total monthly expenses.................. 1226.67

Assets
Cash.................................... 0
House value (Gross)..................... 150000
Shares and bonds........................ 0
Car(s).................................. 4000
Other assets............................ 2000
Total Assets............................ 156000

Secured & HP Debts
Description....................Debt......Monthly...APR
Mortgage...................... 128000...(526)......4.9
Total secured & HP debts...... 128000....-.........-
Unsecured Debts
Description....................Debt......Monthly...APR
barc...........................12045.....276.......0
hali...........................3984......40........0
virg...........................6288......87........2
ubv............................1558......40........14
nw.............................4193......96........0
Total unsecured debts..........28068.....539.......-

Monthly Budget Summary
Total monthly income.................... 1,730
Expenses (including HP & secured debts). 1,226.67
Available for debt repayments........... 503.33
Monthly UNsecured debt repayments....... 539
Amount short for making debt repayments. -35.67
Personal Balance Sheet Summary
Total assets (things you own)........... 156,000
Total HP & Secured debt................. -128,000
Total Unsecured debt.................... -28,068
Net Assets.............................. -68

MyLastFiver

Not a hopeless situation by any means. What are your £2000 of "Other Assets"? Can you liquidate whatever it is, and use the cash to pay off the "ubv" debt? This will leave you able to make min payments on all the others.

Use the change to buy a bike, and save yourself £50ish per month in petrol costs :-)

The other thing that stands out is groceries. If you are living alone, you can easily halve that £180 you currently spend.

RAS

Trawl round the house and find everything you no longer use. Flog it on e-bay or amazon, at car boot sales and you can start to turn this round. Pay off UBV first as that has the highest interest rate.

ZeroSum101

thanks very much MyLastFiver, i need to look into eating cheaply for one person...that one will be tough for me!
Can't do much about the petrol, use car for work purposes.
Asset for £2000 was a gift, i'm reluctant to cash in on.

ZeroSum101

Thanks RAS, I have loads of books.
Will start to tackle UBV.

MyLastFiver

OK then. I second RAS's advice about the Ebay trawl.

Your £50 spend per month on entertainment is pretty sensible - you clearly don't have many nights out clubbing :-) - but is there a way to bring this down any further? When me and the wife were skint, our Friday nights were a DVD (Lovefilm, £15 per month) and a bottle of whatever was on offer in the Co-Op. If you wanted to be a real penny pincher, there are plenty of free movie sites on the internet (legal!) plus whatever's on the telly. Staying in all the time can be boring, but it isn't for ever, and the feeling isn't as bad as the feeling that you're spending more than your income.

You currently spend £240 per year on presents. Could you possibly halve this without offending anyone?!

Do you have to use the car *for* work, or just *to and from* work? If just for commuting purposes, then I would still recommend you consider cycling some of the journeys. Even if it's just 2 or 3 times per week, the bike will pay for itself quickly then continue to save you money. And cycling is an awesome way to get fit. See this guy for some inspiration: http://theamazing39stonecyclist.wordpress.com/

If you have to drive from place to place as part of your job, any chance of getting a travel allowance from your employer (if you have one?)

£240 per year on clothing. Did you know you can get brand new ex- Marks & Spencer shirts on Ebay for £3.99 each? Or pure cotton ones for £7.99? I never go anywhere else for my shirts now. Suits from Matalan for £40, or else google "Suits You" for serious bargains.

lvm

£95 for gas and elec every month? Are you paying arrears or not providing your reading? I would assume you're getting estimated bills. I live on my own (2 bed flat) and pay £46 in total but I'm £102 in credit so should be bringing the DD down to about £31-£35.

Definitely worth looking into...

ZeroSum101

hey MLF, i've never tried ebay for clothes! good idea. Yeah, not a clubber, go out with work about twice a year. love film might be worth it!

ZeroSum101

yeah, havent provided a reading for gas yet and its 55/pcm ... electric is metered, i def could lower this one
thanks

pennypusher

Do you have a spare room you could rent out for some more money each month?

See if you can cut down your Gas and Electricity usage. Turn the heating and water down and have them on for less time. Go over on to the Old Style board to see how to get your Grocery shopping down a little. Can you share transport on the way to work or cut down on your trips outside of work.

Can you get rid of your car and get a cheaper one, that's cheap on petrol and parts. Go payg for your mobile and save a bit there.

Can you get overtime or is getting a second job a possibility.

Your interest rates for your debts don't look right, check the % and pay off the highest rate first. Especially check Barc and NW.

If you're still struggling make an appointment with the debt free charities and get help from them. Good luck.

MyLastFiver

ZeroSum101 wrote: »

hey MLF, i've never tried ebay for clothes! good idea.

http://stores.ebay.co.uk/1066-sales

Try these. I have no connection with them other than as a satisfied customer.