Just cant seem to get rid of this debt!

sysadmin

ok, i know its not a massive amount in the grand scheme of things but I just cant seem to get out of this debt.

I'ts coming to the end of the month and im overdrawn by £200, but it will be more like £275 by the time payday comes and have £225 outstanding on a 0% credit card.

So about £500 in debt. Problem is, that its been like this since about christmas. I think the highest it went was £800 in debt.

I've filled in a SOA but with 3 young children money keeps going out and I still want them to do nice things etc as they are only young once.

Our fixed rate mortgage is coming to an end in August and is at roughly 7% i think so hopefully that will come down!

Statement of Affairs and Personal Balance Sheet

Household Information
Number of adults in household........... 2
Number of children in household......... 3
Number of cars owned.................... 2

Monthly Income Details
Monthly income after tax................ 1550
Partners monthly income after tax....... 850
Benefits................................ 200
Other income............................ 0
Total monthly income.................... 2600

Monthly Expense Details
Mortgage................................ 630
Secured/HP loan repayments.............. 0
Rent.................................... 0
Management charge (leasehold property).. 0
Council tax............................. 114
Electricity............................. 54
Gas..................................... 85
Oil..................................... 0
Water rates............................. 29
Telephone (land line)................... 0
Mobile phone............................ 50
TV Licence.............................. 13
Satellite/Cable TV...................... 50
Internet Services....................... 0
Groceries etc. ......................... 230
Clothing................................ 0
Petrol/diesel........................... 240
Road tax................................ 0
Car Insurance........................... 100
Car maintenance (including MOT)......... 0
Car parking............................. 0
Other travel............................ 0
Childcare/nursery....................... 240
Other child related expenses............ 0
Medical (prescriptions, dentist etc).... 0
Pet insurance/vet bills................. 0
Buildings insurance..................... 15
Contents insurance...................... 15
Life assurance ......................... 25
Other insurance......................... 0
Presents (birthday, christmas etc)...... 0
Haircuts................................ 40
Entertainment........................... 0
Holiday................................. 0
Emergency fund.......................... 0
Dropbox ................................ 6
Union .................................. 10
Contact Lenses.......................... 19
Total monthly expenses.................. 1965


Assets
Cash.................................... 0
House value (Gross)..................... 160000
Shares and bonds........................ 0
Car(s).................................. 13000
Other assets............................ 2500
Total Assets............................ 175500


Secured & HP Debts
Description....................Debt......Monthly...APR
Mortgage...................... 124000...(630)......7
Total secured & HP debts...... 124000....-.........-

Unsecured Debts
Description....................Debt......Monthly...APR
Camera.........................650.......31........19
Car............................4300......100.......0
Sofa...........................1400......35........0
Total unsecured debts..........6350......166.......-


Monthly Budget Summary
Total monthly income.................... 2,600
Expenses (including HP & secured debts). 1,965
Available for debt repayments........... 635
Monthly UNsecured debt repayments....... 166
Amount left after debt repayments....... 469

Personal Balance Sheet Summary
Total assets (things you own)........... 175,500
Total HP & Secured debt................. -124,000
Total Unsecured debt.................... -6,350
Net Assets.............................. 45,150

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

dancingfairy

According to the SOA you've put down you should in theory have 469 a month spare after paying your debt repayments. Now I can understand treating your children but 469 a month, every month? O.k so it's probably not that much and some of it probably goes on clothes? and food I suspect is not really that low - any top up shops where you go in for milk and spend 20? yes me too
Seriously though you need to figure out where that 469 a month is going and the easiest ways to do that are a) grab a bank statement/credit card statements and start there for clues and b) start a spending diary.
Once you know what's what you can decide how much you want to spend on the kids vs how much to repay the debts each month.
Best of Luck
df

FireWyrm

OK, I know it's hard but you have to do something about this before it gets worse. As a mother, i know the urge is to do the best for your children, but is being in debt continuously really helping. By the initial enquiry, I suspect you've come to the same conclusion yourself.

I will caution you that there is no easy route and it's going to be unpleasant for a few months. However, if you want to do it, it will make you feel better in the long run.

sysadmin wrote: »

ok, i know its not a massive amount in the grand scheme of things but I just cant seem to get out of this debt.

I'ts coming to the end of the month and im overdrawn by £200, but it will be more like £275 by the time payday comes and have £225 outstanding on a 0% credit card.

Get rid of that card....first.

So about £500 in debt. Problem is, that its been like this since about christmas. I think the highest it went was £800 in debt.

OK, so you've made some in-roads into it already which is always a good start

I've filled in a SOA but with 3 young children money keeps going out and I still want them to do nice things etc as they are only young once.

Yes, but the longer you let this go on, the bigger struggle it will be longterm. Take the pain now, deal with the problem, play later. There will be plenty of time once this is sorted out.

Our fixed rate mortgage is coming to an end in August and is at roughly 7% i think so hopefully that will come down!

Yikes! Your first job should be to find an intependent advisor to help you. Dont go with these 'we'll charge £1000 for advice' types, try an independent one who gets his fee from the mortgage company. I'm not promising, but he may be able to do something to help here.

Statement of Affairs and Personal Balance Sheet

Household Information
Number of adults in household........... 2
Number of children in household......... 3
Number of cars owned.................... 2

Monthly Income Details
Monthly income after tax................ 1550
Partners monthly income after tax....... 850
Benefits................................ 200
Other income............................ 0
Total monthly income.................... 2600 Healthy!

Monthly Expense Details
Mortgage................................ 630
Secured/HP loan repayments.............. 0
Rent.................................... 0
Management charge (leasehold property).. 0
Council tax............................. 114
Electricity............................. 54 High. Shop around for a better deal. Turn off everything you dont have to.
Gas..................................... 85 Do you use a gas cooker? Try cooking stews and stuff to reduce the amount of times you cook a week. Turn off the central heating, it's summer, you dont need it right now. Save this for later in the year and make do with a jumper instead.
Oil..................................... 0
Water rates............................. 29
Telephone (land line)................... 0
Mobile phone............................ 50 Has to be reduced and definately can be unless you are in a contract. Can you go PAYG?
TV Licence.............................. 13
Satellite/Cable TV...................... 50
Ditto. Have you thought about freeview? Can you lower your package?
Internet Services....................... 0
Groceries etc. ......................... 230
This will take dedication, but I feed two adults and two small children on £100 per month. You have one child more than me, so it shouldnt make much difference. Have you seen the Old Style thread on here?
Clothing................................ 0
Petrol/diesel........................... 240
Car share, public transport, reduced mileage, work from home, reduce moterway speed? Any and all of the above will have an impact on this. Anything you can do from cutting out small shopping trips to walking to work or catching the bus will help.
Road tax................................ 0
Car Insurance........................... 100
Yikes! That doesnt sound competitive....try the comparison sites
Car maintenance (including MOT)......... 0
Car parking............................. 0
Other travel............................ 0
Childcare/nursery....................... 240
Im sorry, but is this worth it if you are paying out more of your income and you could be looking after them at home? Something to think about perhaps.
Other child related expenses............ 0
Medical (prescriptions, dentist etc).... 0
Pet insurance/vet bills................. 0
Buildings insurance..................... 15
Contents insurance...................... 15
Life assurance ......................... 25
Other insurance......................... 0
Presents (birthday, christmas etc)...... 0
Haircuts................................ 40
Every month? I havnt been to the hairdresser in months and I cut everyone's hair in the household. OH just needs a shearing regularly with clippers and my girls need their fringes fixed occassionally. This could definately be taken down.
Entertainment........................... 0
Holiday................................. 0
Emergency fund.......................... 0
Dropbox ................................ 6
Union .................................. 10
Your call, but union fees never seem to do much. Only the union seems to profit
Contact Lenses.......................... 19
Are glasses more cost effective in the long run considering you would get several years wear out of them?
Total monthly expenses.................. 1965


Assets
Cash.................................... 0
House value (Gross)..................... 160000
Shares and bonds........................ 0
Car(s).................................. 13000
Other assets............................ 2500
Can this be liquidated?
Total Assets............................ 175500


Secured & HP Debts
Description....................Debt......Monthly...APR
Mortgage...................... 124000...(630)......7
Total secured & HP debts...... 124000....-.........-

Unsecured Debts
Description....................Debt......Monthly...APR
Camera.........................650.......31........19
Can you consider whether you need this camera and whether it might be better to sell it and get a cheap box camera instead?
Car............................4300......100.......0
Sofa...........................1400......35........0
Total unsecured debts..........6350......166.......-


Monthly Budget Summary
Total monthly income.................... 2,600
Expenses (including HP & secured debts). 1,965
Available for debt repayments........... 635
Monthly UNsecured debt repayments....... 166
Amount left after debt repayments....... 469
Considering you have said you are struggling, are you certain that this figure is accurate?

Personal Balance Sheet Summary
Total assets (things you own)........... 175,500
Total HP & Secured debt................. -124,000
Total Unsecured debt.................... -6,350
Net Assets.............................. 45,150

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

lvm

Everything looks not too bad.

Gas and Elec seem a wee bit high though - maybe you're in a big house (I'm about £35 for gas/elec and I'm in a 2 bed flat). If you're not on a fixed rate, try and get one.

Childcare - can you get childcare vouchers through your work (tax benefits)?

Disagree with previous poster on the credit card - it's 0% so you might as well keep it until it the 0% rate ends. In fact, how long do you have it for?

When I first starting dealing with my debt, I found setting myself a budget for the month ahead worked - take out a set amount of cash on payday and you need to only use this for the rest of the month. I now use credit cards for the same thing to build up my credit rating (I have a CC at £260 limit I use for petrol and food only and another CC with £500 limit I use for bigger purchases for the CC protection and for clothes/entertainment) - always pay them in full every month though.

Personally, if you can stick to a budget similar to that above, I'd be keeping your DD at £630 even when you come off your fixed rate unless you have some other higher interest bearing accounts you can use. Make sure you pay off that camera first though.

You should be able to wipe that overdraft in a month or so - budgeting is the key!

Good luck!

FireWyrm

lvm wrote: »

Disagree with previous poster on the credit card - it's 0% so you might as well keep it until it the 0% rate ends. In fact, how long do you have it for?

I meant, get rid of it as in with scissors, the debt can wait until you have squared up more pressing matters.

sysadmin

@firewyrm

Thanks for that, I'll try to comment on what you've said (albeit in a different colour lol)

ok, i know its not a massive amount in the grand scheme of things but I just cant seem to get out of this debt.

I'ts coming to the end of the month and im overdrawn by £200, but it will be more like £275 by the time payday comes and have £225 outstanding on a 0% credit card.

Get rid of that card....first.
The card is 0% until december whereas im paying £1 per day on my OD

So about £500 in debt. Problem is, that its been like this since about christmas. I think the highest it went was £800 in debt.

OK, so you've made some in-roads into it already which is always a good start
Yup getting there

I've filled in a SOA but with 3 young children money keeps going out and I still want them to do nice things etc as they are only young once.

Yes, but the longer you let this go on, the bigger struggle it will be longterm. Take the pain now, deal with the problem, play later. There will be plenty of time once this is sorted out.
Agreed, so id like to sort this sooner rather than later

Our fixed rate mortgage is coming to an end in August and is at roughly 7% i think so hopefully that will come down!

Yikes! Your first job should be to find an intependent advisor to help you. Dont go with these 'we'll charge £1000 for advice' types, try an independent one who gets his fee from the mortgage company. I'm not promising, but he may be able to do something to help here.
YES, definatly agree hopefully that should come down some what!

Statement of Affairs and Personal Balance Sheet

Household Information
Number of adults in household........... 2
Number of children in household......... 3
Number of cars owned.................... 2

Monthly Income Details
Monthly income after tax................ 1550
Partners monthly income after tax....... 850
Benefits................................ 200
Other income............................ 0
Total monthly income.................... 2600 Healthy!

Monthly Expense Details
Mortgage................................ 630
Secured/HP loan repayments.............. 0
Rent.................................... 0
Management charge (leasehold property).. 0
Council tax............................. 114
Electricity............................. 54 High. Shop around for a better deal. Turn off everything you dont have to.
Think ive muddled the figures up slightly, Think electricity is £85 and gas is £54
Gas..................................... 85 Do you use a gas cooker? Try cooking stews and stuff to reduce the amount of times you cook a week. Turn off the central heating, it's summer, you dont need it right now. Save this for later in the year and make do with a jumper instead.
No, the only gas we have is the combi boiler, everything else is electric
Oil..................................... 0
Water rates............................. 29
Telephone (land line)................... 0
Mobile phone............................ 50 Has to be reduced and definately can be unless you are in a contract. Can you go PAYG?
This is for 2 phones, both in contract
TV Licence.............................. 13
Satellite/Cable TV...................... 50
Ditto. Have you thought about freeview? Can you lower your package?
This cost covers the house phone (never used) 30MB broadband and the top TV package with virgin. I've enquired about lowering the package but i'd only end up saving £1 per month because i'd lose all the discounts i somehow have
Internet Services....................... 0
Groceries etc. ......................... 230
This will take dedication, but I feed two adults and two small children on £100 per month. You have one child more than me, so it shouldnt make much difference. Have you seen the Old Style thread on here?
Am working on this
Clothing................................ 0
Petrol/diesel........................... 240
Car share, public transport, reduced mileage, work from home, reduce moterway speed? Any and all of the above will have an impact on this. Anything you can do from cutting out small shopping trips to walking to work or catching the bus will help.
Problem is we both work too far away from home (10 miles) we're both looking for something nearer
Road tax................................ 0
Car Insurance........................... 100
Yikes! That doesnt sound competitive....try the comparison sites Again, thats for 2 cars
Car maintenance (including MOT)......... 0
Car parking............................. 0
Other travel............................ 0
Childcare/nursery....................... 240
Im sorry, but is this worth it if you are paying out more of your income and you could be looking after them at home? Something to think about perhaps.
we've worked it out but dont think we would be any better off if my OH stayed at home
Other child related expenses............ 0
Medical (prescriptions, dentist etc).... 0
Pet insurance/vet bills................. 0
Buildings insurance..................... 15
Contents insurance...................... 15
Life assurance ......................... 25
Other insurance......................... 0
Presents (birthday, christmas etc)...... 0
Haircuts................................ 40
Every month? I havnt been to the hairdresser in months and I cut everyone's hair in the household. OH just needs a shearing regularly with clippers and my girls need their fringes fixed occassionally. This could definately be taken down.Seriously, er in doors has to go every month. I doubt i;ll get her to sacrifice this! but i will try
Entertainment........................... 0
Holiday................................. 0
Emergency fund.......................... 0
Dropbox ................................ 6
Union .................................. 10
Your call, but union fees never seem to do much. Only the union seems to profit I work in a school so it only takes one child to accuse me of something and i could be in the poop
Contact Lenses.......................... 19
Are glasses more cost effective in the long run considering you would get several years wear out of them?
again as i dont need to wear glasses I dont really know. My OH insists that she want them as she doesnt like wearing glasses
Total monthly expenses.................. 1965


Assets
Cash.................................... 0
House value (Gross)..................... 160000
Shares and bonds........................ 0
Car(s).................................. 13000
Other assets............................ 2500
Can this be liquidated?
Total Assets............................ 175500


Secured & HP Debts
Description....................Debt......Monthly.. .APR
Mortgage...................... 124000...(630)......7
Total secured & HP debts...... 124000....-.........-

Unsecured Debts
Description....................Debt......Monthly.. .APR
Camera.........................650.......31....... .19
Can you consider whether you need this camera and whether it might be better to sell it and get a cheap box camera instead?
Maybe but I'm really into photography and it would be really hard to sell but would if i really needed too
Car............................4300......100...... .0
Sofa...........................1400......35....... .0
Total unsecured debts..........6350......166.......-


Monthly Budget Summary
Total monthly income.................... 2,600
Expenses (including HP & secured debts). 1,965
Available for debt repayments........... 635
Monthly UNsecured debt repayments....... 166
Amount left after debt repayments....... 469
Considering you have said you are struggling, are you certain that this figure is accurate?


it might not be spot on but its pretty accurate
Personal Balance Sheet Summary
Total assets (things you own)........... 175,500
Total HP & Secured debt................. -124,000
Total Unsecured debt.................... -6,350
Net Assets.............................. 45,150

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

sysadmin

FireWyrm wrote: »

I meant, get rid of it as in with scissors, the debt can wait until you have squared up more pressing matters.

I dont actually spend anything on it. I dont even know the pin number. I had 0% on a balance transfer so transfered the £800 to that just after xmas so that it was free to pay off.

Its down to £225 but the OD is now up a bit

sysadmin

lvm wrote: »

Everything looks not too bad.

Gas and Elec seem a wee bit high though - maybe you're in a big house (I'm about £35 for gas/elec and I'm in a 2 bed flat). If you're not on a fixed rate, try and get one.

Yes they seem high and I do try to turn off as much as possible
Childcare - can you get childcare vouchers through your work (tax benefits)?

My dad looks after the kids but we have to pay him as he left his job to do so.

Disagree with previous poster on the credit card - it's 0% so you might as well keep it until it the 0% rate ends. In fact, how long do you have it for?

When I first starting dealing with my debt, I found setting myself a budget for the month ahead worked - take out a set amount of cash on payday and you need to only use this for the rest of the month. I now use credit cards for the same thing to build up my credit rating (I have a CC at £260 limit I use for petrol and food only and another CC with £500 limit I use for bigger purchases for the CC protection and for clothes/entertainment) - always pay them in full every month though.

Personally, if you can stick to a budget similar to that above, I'd be keeping your DD at £630 even when you come off your fixed rate unless you have some other higher interest bearing accounts you can use. Make sure you pay off that camera first though.

You should be able to wipe that overdraft in a month or so - budgeting is the key!

Good luck!

Thanks - hopefully it will be sorted soon!

RAS

Hi

You have not accounted for a number of things in your SOA including clothing, car tax and maintanence which you must need with three kids and two cars.

And if you have that much spare in your budget and not in real life, you need to do one of two things:

Get out the last 6 months statements and allocate every payment to one of the catagories above, then divide by 6 to get a proper idea what you are spending.
Or both keep a full spending diary for the next three months to see where it is going.

sysadmin

RAS wrote: »

Hi

You have not accounted for a number of things in your SOA including clothing, car tax and maintanence which you must need with three kids and two cars.

Or both keep a full spending diary for the next three months to see where it is going.

Thanks

Ok clothing we tend to get when we go food shopping as its normally from asda or tesco etc. My OH is quite good and isnt hung up on designer labels so we tend to pick bits and pieces up when we go shopping.

Both cars are less than 3 years old so fortunately dont need MOT's yet and are still under warranty. As for car tax we just tend to find the money when they are due. but i have them both spread 6 months apart (march and september) so they dont all come at once.

CH27

Keep a detailed spending diary. You will soon see where cash is being frittered away.