Needing help with debt

lizzydrippin

I am posting my SOA for advice can anyone help or is it to late?
I was made redundant earlier this year, I now have another job but not as well paid and with more expenses I now have to travel, also my job is only temporary
I have been through some very black times, still finding things really tough but trying to face reality my 2 children at home are in there teens one just going in to sixth form, my other child has just finished uni and moved out.
Can I get on top of this debt it was manageble until redundancybut it is now out of control help please




Number of adults in household........... 2
Number of children in household......... 2
Number of cars owned.................... 1

Monthly Income Details
Monthly income after tax................ 750
Partners monthly income after tax....... 1680
Benefits................................ 130
Other income............................ 0
Total monthly income.................... 2560

Monthly Expense Details
Mortgage................................ 0
Secured/HP loan repayments.............. 0
Rent.................................... 0
Management charge (leasehold property).. 0
Council tax............................. 135
Electricity............................. 91
Gas..................................... 0
Oil..................................... 80
Water rates............................. 0
Telephone (land line)................... 95
Mobile phone............................ 47
TV Licence.............................. 0
Satellite/Cable TV...................... 0
Internet Services....................... 0
Groceries etc. ......................... 650
Clothing................................ 100
Petrol/diesel........................... 200
Road tax................................ 18
Car Insurance........................... 0
Car maintenance (including MOT)......... 35
Car parking............................. 8
Other travel............................ 50
Childcare/nursery....................... 0
Other child related expenses............ 0
Medical (prescriptions, dentist etc).... 0
Pet insurance/vet bills................. 17
Buildings insurance..................... 0
Contents insurance...................... 0
Life assurance ......................... 0
Other insurance......................... 0
Presents (birthday, christmas etc)...... 20
Haircuts................................ 15
Entertainment........................... 15
Holiday................................. 0
Emergency fund.......................... 0
Total monthly expenses.................. 1576


Assets
Cash.................................... 0
House value (Gross)..................... 0
Shares and bonds........................ 0
Car(s).................................. 5000
Other assets............................ 0
Total Assets............................ 5000

No Secured nor Hire Purchase Debts

Unsecured Debts
Description....................Debt......Monthly...APR
credit card AA.................7500......140.......22.95
credit card Tesco..............2840......65........23.95
credit card NW.................3636......110.......17.9
loan...........................6336......181.......7.9
credit card BC.................753.......6.........6.9
Total unsecured debts..........21065.....502.......-


Monthly Budget Summary
Total monthly income.................... 2,560
Expenses (including HP & secured debts). 1,576
Available for debt repayments........... 984
Monthly UNsecured debt repayments....... 502
Amount left after debt repayments....... 482

Personal Balance Sheet Summary
Total assets (things you own)........... 5,000
Total HP & Secured debt................. -0
Total Unsecured debt.................... -21,065
Net Assets.............................. -16,065

Created using the SOA calculator at https://www.makesenseofcards.

lizzydrippin

have hopefully paid off the tesco cc with the barclaycard one at a cheaper interest rate but is it really possible to get on top of all this debt
forgot to mention that i always end up with a £1400 overdraft by the end of the pay mnth

Tixy

Hi Lizzy.
It can be hard to get used to a reduced budget but it looks like there are areas you can make some savings.

lizzydrippin wrote: »

Electricity............................. 91 have you shopped around for this recently to check you are on the cheapest deal? do you have arrears as it looks very high.
Water rates............................. 0 do you pay this or is it part of council tax?
Telephone (land line)................... 95 which is this so high? what calls are you making? does this include anything else (internet) shop around for a cheaper deal
TV Licence.............................. 0 don't you have this
Satellite/Cable TV...................... 0
Internet Services....................... 0
Groceries etc. ......................... 650 very high - some manage on £200-250 for a family your size. Aim to get to say £350 to start. Does it include anything other than food/cleaning/toiletries (eg such as cigs)
Clothing................................ 100 this is high, can you reduce for a bit whilst you get back in control
Car Insurance........................... 0 you need to budget for this
Contents insurance...................... 0 don't you have this?
Life assurance ......................... 0 do you pay anything for this?

Unsecured Debts
Description....................Debt......Monthly...APR
credit card AA.................7500......140.......22.95
credit card Tesco..............2840......65........23.95 target this first,
credit card NW.................3636......110.......17.9
loan...........................6336......181.......7.9
credit card BC.................753.......6.........6.9
Total unsecured debts..........21065.....502.......-


Monthly Budget Summary
Total monthly income.................... 2,560
Expenses (including HP & secured debts). 1,576
Available for debt repayments........... 984
Monthly UNsecured debt repayments....... 502
Amount left after debt repayments....... 482 do you have this £482 left and are you using it for debt repayments? if you can put this and a say £200 more from grocery savings you can start to make a big dent in your debts.

Hopefully if you can get on top of your debts a bit more you should start to feel better about other things as well? Have you stopped all spending on the cards?

Superbiatch

Your SOA shows you have almost £500 left a month after paying everything - is that correct? if not then a spending diary is needed to find out where its going.

I assuming you have no mortgage or rent to pay?

Also, you could easily halve that grocery budget for four people by batch cooking and dropping brands, maybe even shopping in Aldi/Lidl etc.

lizzydrippin

I haven't been budgeting till now i've been ignoring the debt and spending money as though I really had it using the credit card for so called emergencies at the end of the pay month, I have been in complete denial about the problem because I have been able to pay the minimum payments. I have also been suffering from depression bought on by my redundancy. For some reason it all just hit me and I relised it had got to stop ,so the SOA is a result of that not something I have been doing

lizzydrippin

Oh and I forgot to say that I don't have a telly and the phone includes internet also we live in tied accommodation so no rent hope that makes more sence

Tixy

Its very easy to overspend when you are not feeling well. Have you been to your GP regarding your depression? Are you enjoying your new job? If you are not getting satisfaction from work is there something else you are interested in that you could do as a 'hobby' or in the evenings?

Is OH on board with realising you need to change your spending habits as a family?

The kids sound old enough to understand and to help you all pull together. Are they aware that you need to watch money a bit more careful? Have you explained the paycut and the debts that grew whilst you were out of work?

Do you think you can now stick to a budget? do you know what works for you best? such as leaving all your credit cards at home and just taking a debit card? or just taking a few quid cash when you go to work.
Have you kept a spending diary in the past? have you started again now? - that always helps me cut back or stay on top of what I spend.

lizzydrippin

I have tried to get on top of my debts in the past but failed I took out a loan to pay of a card but respent on the card
Have said something about it to my hubby but I have been burying my head in the sand until now and spending money on things I don't really need so i feel like a hypocrite suddenly saying actually we have a problem and i know it didn't sink in as he was talking about out oct holiday.
I feel the hardest thing will be the fact my children will suffer because I couldn't control my spending.
I thought I would be able to hold out until they left home. no longer possible

dancingfairy

Hi - I'm sure your children won't suffer. It doesn't make you any less of a mum to them - it doesn't undo all the years of looking after them, cooking,cleaning, looking after them when they are ill etc. All it is a blip and you've spent more money than you've had - you're not alone - there's thousands of people on here who've been there (and lots that have come out of the other side too). Even countries like Greece, Ireland and even Britain have got themselves in a pickle and we are meant to have super intelligent people running the country.
The biggest thing is picking yourself up from this mess now. It can be done and just becasue you've struglled in the past is no reason to give up now. You really need to:
1) try and live to the budget you've posted.
2) keep a spending diary and see where money is going and
3) try and have a frank discussion with your husband. It may be that a cheap holiday is not out of the question but perhaps it will be a cheaper holiday than normal?

I know it's not the most moneysaving way but perhaps you could aim to clear the card with the smallest balance first? You should be ableto clear that within a couple of months if you focus on it.
Best of Luck
df

DarnIt_3

There are two ways to tackle this incase things become bad.

First, pay more off your debts and when you are in a sticky situation the min payment will be less and should help you a little.

The second, get way ahead on your household bills. So pay double phone, electric etc for a few months so you can take a payment break.

Your shopping does seem very high for a family of four, where do you shop. I have a family of six with three cats and my shopping bills are around £500-£600 and I shop expensively (M&S and Sainsburys) You could reduce this by £50 a month until you are at around £400. Use the money to pay extra off the cards, that way after a few months you could pay very large chunks off your debts.

You are in a position where you know what is coming and can prepare.