First time post

Magicguitarman_2

Statement of Affairs and Personal Balance Sheet

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

Monthly Income Details
Monthly income after tax................ 1150
Partners monthly income after tax....... 0
Benefits................................ 0
Other income............................ 0
Total monthly income.................... 1150

Monthly Expense Details
Mortgage................................ 0
Secured/HP loan repayments.............. 0
Rent.................................... 300
Management charge (leasehold property).. 0
Council tax............................. 100
Electricity............................. 20
Gas..................................... 0
Oil..................................... 0
Water rates............................. 20
Telephone (land line)................... 10
Mobile phone............................ 30
TV Licence.............................. 0
Satellite/Cable TV...................... 0
Internet Services....................... 15
Groceries etc. ......................... 200
Clothing................................ 0
Petrol/diesel........................... 160
Road tax................................ 6
Car Insurance........................... 43
Car maintenance (including MOT)......... 10
Car parking............................. 0
Other travel............................ 0
Childcare/nursery....................... 0
Other child related expenses............ 0
Medical (prescriptions, dentist etc).... 10
Pet insurance/vet bills................. 0
Buildings insurance..................... 0
Contents insurance...................... 15
Life assurance ......................... 0
Other insurance......................... 0
Presents (birthday, christmas etc)...... 0
Haircuts................................ 0
Entertainment........................... 0
Holiday................................. 0
Emergency fund.......................... 0
Total monthly expenses.................. 939


Assets
Cash.................................... 300
House value (Gross)..................... 0
Shares and bonds........................ 0
Car(s).................................. 0
Other assets............................ 0
Total Assets............................ 300

No Secured nor Hire Purchase Debts

Unsecured Debts
Description....................Debt......Monthly...APR
Credit card 1..................5200......200.......24.5
Credit card 2..................800.......25........18.7
Total unsecured debts..........6000......225.......-


Monthly Budget Summary
Total monthly income.................... 1,150
Expenses (including HP & secured debts). 939
Available for debt repayments........... 211
Monthly UNsecured debt repayments....... 225
Amount short for making debt repayments. -14

Personal Balance Sheet Summary
Total assets (things you own)........... 300
Total HP & Secured debt................. -0
Total Unsecured debt.................... -6,000
Net Assets.............................. -5,700


Hi guys. I am about £300 short this month after having to move house. This has of course affected many things, but I have no idea where I can go from here. Years of what I would term casual credit abuse have left me in a sticky situation.

I'm not sure where to start with all of this, I hope I can work my way out of it but the interest on the cards is crippling and the banks are no help at all.

Any advice as to a starting point (other than reading the guides, which I am doing with a sinking sense of realisation that I'm not going to be able to do 99% of the solutions due to my credit score) would be very very welcome.

Harry

Tixy

Hi and welcome

So is it mainly just this month that you have a significant problem?
I see you have £300 in cash - can you use that to see you through - or is that what is left for your normal spending this month.

I've made a few suggestions below on what you might be able to cut longer term, although they won't all help this month.

Magicguitarman wrote: »

Statement of Affairs and Personal Balance Sheet

Household Information
Number of adults in household........... 1
Number of children in household.........
Number of cars owned....................

Monthly Income Details
Monthly income after tax................ 1150
Partners monthly income after tax....... 0
Benefits................................ 0
Other income............................ 0
Total monthly income.................... 1150

Monthly Expense Details
Mortgage................................ 0
Secured/HP loan repayments.............. 0
Rent.................................... 300
Management charge (leasehold property).. 0
Council tax............................. 100 this looks quite high, do you live alone? are you claiming the 25% discount? have you checked you are in the correct council tax band (you can check this online).
Electricity............................. 20
Gas..................................... 0
Oil..................................... 0
Water rates............................. 20
Telephone (land line)................... 10
Mobile phone............................ 30
TV Licence.............................. 0
Satellite/Cable TV...................... 0
Internet Services....................... 15
Groceries etc. ......................... 200 this seems very high for one person - you should be able to manage on £100 and still eat well and healthily. As a short term measure this month - can you look through your cupboards at everything you have and try to have a very cheap month even if the food isn't great (you can just about manage on £30 a month in the short term)
Clothing................................ 0
Petrol/diesel........................... 160 is this mostly commuting or are there any miles you could reduce? do your drive fuel efficently? fill up at the cheapest place etc?
Road tax................................ 6
Car Insurance........................... 43
Car maintenance (including MOT)......... 10
Car parking............................. 0
Other travel............................ 0
Childcare/nursery....................... 0
Other child related expenses............ 0
Medical (prescriptions, dentist etc).... 10
Pet insurance/vet bills................. 0
Buildings insurance..................... 0
Contents insurance...................... 15 this looks quite high for contents only - might be worth shopping around at renewal
Life assurance ......................... 0
Other insurance......................... 0
Presents (birthday, christmas etc)...... 0
Haircuts................................ 0
Entertainment........................... 0
Holiday................................. 0
Emergency fund.......................... 0
Total monthly expenses.................. 939


Assets
Cash.................................... 300
House value (Gross)..................... 0
Shares and bonds........................ 0
Car(s).................................. 0
Other assets............................ 0
Total Assets............................ 300

No Secured nor Hire Purchase Debts

Unsecured Debts
Description....................Debt......Monthly...APR
Credit card 1..................5200......200.......24.5
Credit card 2..................800.......25........18.7
Total unsecured debts..........6000......225.......-


Monthly Budget Summary
Total monthly income.................... 1,150
Expenses (including HP & secured debts). 939
Available for debt repayments........... 211
Monthly UNsecured debt repayments....... 225
Amount short for making debt repayments. -14

Personal Balance Sheet Summary
Total assets (things you own)........... 300
Total HP & Secured debt................. -0
Total Unsecured debt.................... -6,000
Net Assets.............................. -5,700


Hi guys. I am about £300 short this month after having to move house. This has of course affected many things, but I have no idea where I can go from here. Years of what I would term casual credit abuse have left me in a sticky situation.

I'm not sure where to start with all of this, I hope I can work my way out of it but the interest on the cards is crippling and the banks are no help at all.

Any advice as to a starting point (other than reading the guides, which I am doing with a sinking sense of realisation that I'm not going to be able to do 99% of the solutions due to my credit score) would be very very welcome.

Harry

Also in the short term do you have anything you could sell to raise a bit of money to see you through? if petrol is commuting is there anyone you can lift share with? is there any chance to do paid overtime at work?

These articles might help -
Cheap Petrol & Diesel Cut your fuel spend by a third

Council Tax Rebanding

Magicguitarman_2

Thank you for your reply. The council tax is high, sadly due to the property I have moved into. I'll check the band. I commute a long way, and hardly ever drive anywhere else so this is a little hard to avoid. The food I should have explained, I'm a recently diagnosed coeliac and as such cheap food tends to be extremely hard for me to make. I'm learning, but it is difficult.

I'll look into this though and see where I can go with it. The £300 has yet to pay any of my bills for this month, so for now I have no idea where this is coming from.

EDIT: I missed out the other adult in the house, just a flatmate, no financial or other relation. sorry that lead to confusion!

Magicguitarman_2

OK, so a quick update. I've got the money to live this month, I have been bailed out by my mother and father who, bless them, have little more than me, but none of the debt.

I feel horrid for having to take charity from them, and will repay them as soon as I can, but this is a wake up. I am on the road to being free of this debt now, and I think the next step is sorting out my credit score in order to be able to shift debts and see if I can cut out interest costs.

Here goes.

Debt free by 30?

nancmat

Hi good luck with the money saving, we managed to change to Lloyds for £6 a month contents only. In the meantime maybe look at selling some items on e-bay have a good clear out and keep a spending diary so you can see what you actually spend on things like petrol & food.

Good luck!

allydowd

Magicguitarman wrote: »

Statement of Affairs and Personal Balance Sheet

Description....................Debt......Monthly...APR
Credit card 1..................5200......200.......24.5
Credit card 2..................800.......25........18.7

You need to get these credit card bills down. The APRs are astronomical. At the rate you are paying Credit Card 1 it'll take you 3 years and 2 months to payoff the balance. With this, you will need to pay a total interest of £2,288.95!

If you get a 0% credit card it'll take you 2 years and 2 months to payoff the balance. With this, you will need to pay a total interest of £0 with just a balance transfer fee to pay. This would typically be £100 to £150.

theoretica

You might want to ask on the old style board for advice about eating cheaply gluten-free. I understand (from a relative) that while the stuff specially sold as gluten free is expensive it is possible to eat gluten free at a sensible price if you are not looking for direct replacements to gluten containing products. Mexican cuisine is one starting point. Good luck!

Magicguitarman_2

If I had the credit score to get another card I would. Sadly this is, for now, out of the question. I have to just stay in the black for as long as it takes to bring my 'score' up again.

And Theoricta, could you point to the old style board? I'm not sure what it is?

My transport has chosen this week to have an engine blow out. It'll get fixed under the guarantee but I have to bare the cost of the train for a week. It never rains but it pours eh?

Tixy

Old style board is here Old Style MoneySaving and you might want to check out some of the ideas on the grocery challenge for example - July 2011 Grocery Challenge or post a thread yourself about gluten free cheap ideas. - or just noticed this thread Gluten Free the old style way and this Ideas for gluten free lunches ?

An odd one but have you ever tried lidl nappies? I have seen a few instances on here of people saying they are as good as pampers (I have no kids so have no idea really).

to the engine blow out - hope you get it sorted soon. No chance of catching a lift with a colleague or anything for a week instead of the train?

Magicguitarman_2

The nappies I'll note for if I ever have kids, as far as I know I don't have any at the moment! Thanks for the links, I'll do me some readifying!

Lift might be sorted, but I won't know until Sunday

Thanks everyone. I'm starting my spending diary tonight, I have a rough note of what I've spent this week written on scrap paper. Do people recommend digital or hard copy diaries for this? I can see pro's and con's of both.

Tixy

Magicguitarman wrote: »

The nappies I'll note for if I ever have kids,

Sorry - I think I must have had 2 threads open at once and confused them

Re the spending diary - I tend to have both, a little notebook/diary that I carry with me and fill in, and then a spreadsheet at home, which I catch up with now and then.