debt free diary.a new leaf.

ani*fan

Please don't give up hope. Like you said yourself, everything we learn here adds to our ability to pay down the debt. If you weren't on here and getting so well clued up, the debt may have got EVEN BIGGER! :eek:

Thankfully it hasn't.

Just pm-ed you.

greenanne

evening all.
just thought i'd have a quick catch up.i was going to come sooner but i got caught up in sherlock holmes.
i've been working most of the weekend.i got my time sheet signed for the week and i've done 30 hours just with the agency.i should be rolling in it.just think if i didn't have any debt i could be putting all this money towards a fantastic holiday,or a new car:(
never mind.i've got some work booked in for next week so that's 2 more pay days before the end of the month.i'm hoping that lots of extra this month will get me off to a good start for the year.
i have been seriously thinking about opening a new bank account.i've seen nationwide advertising and i go in there as i put £50 savings there every month.[it usually stays there about 2 weeks then i have to draw it back out]while i'm in there i may ask about a cc as well
have a good monday everyone.:)

666paw

Hi Greenanne

Glad to hear your feeling better. Your putting in some hours at the moment but don't forget to take a bit of time out for yourself.

I agree with Ani regarding the new account, that would be a big help and then pays as much as you can each month to clear the o/d.

Hope you hear something soon about the bank charges and lets hope it goes your way. It would be great if you could get it all back but even something would be good.

Take care

666

greenanne

thanks for that 666paw.
the main thing that has always put me off opening a new account just for the standing orders is that i don't earn enough money every month to cover my standing orders.i do when i get agency work but that goes in in dribs and drabs every week.any way it was achually the halifax i had seen advertising if you open an account with them they will pay £100 into it.i've made an appointment to see about opening one on thursday.she said i had to bring a bank statement with me.i wish i'd asked why now because i don't see what my current bank account has to do with them and i don't really want them to see the state of my overdraft.i'm also not sure if i should delay changing over untill i hear something about the bank charges i'm claiming.
work was really pants today.i hate being made to do things i don't want to do,it gives you a horrible feeling of being out of control of your life.i find myself getting so worked up about what is probably not very important.on a plus i had a lovely walk on the common with my dog today.it was chilly but the sun was so lovely,and he had a great time.
i must admit i did treat myself and i bought some palmers cocoa butter moisturiser.it was on offer in asda and i'm getting so wrinkley:D
i'd better get of to my bed now:)

ani*fan

I hope your appointment with the bank goes well. It seems like a good move.

I wonder if there's any way at all you could reduce your DDs so that your wage covers them all without the agency work? If you post an SOA I promise we regulars on your thread will go easy on you. We may even be able to help.

Best of luck and let us know how you get on.

greenanne

greenanne wrote: »

Statement of Affairs and Personal Balance Sheet
Household Information
Number of adults in household........... 1
Number of children in household......... 0
Number of cars owned.................... 1
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................................ 482.4
Secured/HP loan repayments.............. 0
Rent.................................... 0
Management charge (leasehold property).. 0
Council tax............................. 96
Electricity............................ 27
Gas..................................... 27
Oil..................................... 0
Water rates............................. 14
Telephone (land line)................... 10
Mobile phone............................ 15
TV Licence.............................. 12.37
Satellite/Cable TV...................... 0
Internet Services....................... 10
Groceries etc. ......................... 80
Clothing................................ 05
Petrol/diesel........................... 100
Road tax................................ 10
Car Insurance........................... 25.31
Car maintenance (including MOT)......... 20
Car parking............................. 1.00
Other travel............................ 0
Childcare/nursery....................... 0
Other child related expenses............ 0
Medical (prescriptions, dentist etc).... 5
Pet insurance/vet bills................. 5
Buildings insurance..................... 10.88
Contents insurance...................... 0
Life assurance ......................... 0
Other insurance......................... 0
Presents (birthday, christmas etc)...... 10
Haircuts................................ 0
Entertainment........................... 10
Holiday................................. 10
Emergency fund.......................... 50
Total monthly expenses.................. 1035.96

Assets
Cash.................................... 0
House value (Gross)..................... 140000
Shares and bonds........................ 0
Car(s)..................................250
Other assets............................ 0
Total Assets............................ 140250

Secured & HP Debts
Description....................Debt......Monthly...APR
Mortgage...................... 64327.6..(482.4)....4.49
Total secured & HP debts...... 64327.6...-.........-
Unsecured Debts
Description....................Debt......Monthly...APR
barclaycard....................716.34....60........21.9
nbna...........................1530.62...25........0
barclayloan....................4100......118.....26.9
Total unsecured debts..........6346.96...203
.....-

Monthly Budget Summary
Total monthly income.................... 1,150
Expenses (including HP & secured debts). 1035.96
Available for debt repayments........... 114.04
Monthly UNsecured debt repayments....... 203.00
Amount short for making debt repayments. -88.96
Number of adults inReproduced on Moneysavingexpert with permission, using IE browser.Statement of Affairs and Personal Balance Sheet
neysavingexpert with permission, using IE browser.

so i did go back to my soa last night which i havn't looked at for a long time.i've updated afew things that i've changed,and corrected some bits that i'd filled in wrong.it doesn't look as bad as it used to.my normal monthly wage usually is about £850 to £1000,never the same amount.the rest is agency.this month i have lots more agency money so the extra is coming of the od which is good but as the od is just under £2000 it's still just skimming the top.the £50 doesn't really get saved as i usually need the cash during the month.mobile is payg.not sure what else to tell you.bank cancelled my appointment i have to reschedule for next week.
thankyou for taking the time to look through it.:)

greenanne

well i've been out today for the first time in ages.
went to the pictures with a friend to see war horse which was very good.then went to the harvester and had a nice meal.it didn't break the bank either.back to work tomorrow.:)

greenanne

evening all.
had a good day today,not managed a nsd but i'm going to try and get some at the weekend.i've got a long weekend of work ahead so i'm trying to get organised.i'm going to put a chicken casserole in the slow cooker tomorrow morning to eat on sunday,and i've got pasta for tomorrow.i know if i don't get this ready i'll end up eating crisps and toast all weekend.
i got a letter from the tax office today saying my tax code has changed because last year i underpaid.so to get it back i'm paying 20% tax on my normal job as well as my agency work.i don't see how this can be right.i wish i knew more about tax,or i could employe an accountant just to look at everything to see if it is right.
i've started doing my online training for the agency.all training has to be updated every year.it's very boring and time consuming but it has to be done.i've done two subjects,only 11 to go !!!
have a good weekend everyone.:)

ani*fan

Hi Greenanne

Well done on posting your soa. :T I've had a look at it and it seems to be already trimmed right back. I have a couple of ideas though.

Does this include a single person's dicount for council tax? 25% off.

You can get payg mobile for £5-£10, evidently. I'm looking into this right now and will let you know if I get anywhere.

Other than those wee things, I can't see anything else that could be cut back on except your car. (And this is sore, cos NO WAY would I manage without my car.) But it does look as though you can't afford to drive right now. Is there any way you could manage without your car? You don't need to sell it, just take it off the road until you've cleared a bit of debt. That's over £150 a month right there, minus your bus fares. Which gets you solvent, stops the bank charges and gets you some extra to pay down the overdraft.

Your mortgage is quite high...do you have a big house and space to rent out a room? Even just for 6 months or so? Is it nearly time to negotiate a new cheaper deal on your mortgage?

Maybe worth checking out the 'up your income' thread. There's loads of ideas on there.

And in the meantime, a movie and a meal in my neck of the woods costs more than £10 (month's entertainment budget). I hate to say it, especially when you haven't been out in ages, but is it possible you're going over in other areas too, and that this soa is a conservative guess at what gets spent?

What happens to the £50?

Sorry to not have been more help. Hopefully my post will bump this up for others to look at. Think it's time I had another look at mine too. Yikes!

Have a lovely sunday.

AFx

greenanne

hi ani*fan
thanks for looking over my soa and for the idea of looking through it myself.
i do get single person allowance for my council tax.i only changed my mortgage just over a year ago so i think it's a bit soon to change again.i do have a spare room.this is advertised on the 'crashpadder site and i have had people stay in the past.
as for the car,as i work out in the community for my main job there is no way i could do the job without a car.
maybe some of the smaller things in the soa are guesses,but i think over 12 months they are pretty spot on.
as for the £50 i usually spend it on shopping or other things that pop up [last month i had to put a new tyre on the car],anything to try and stop me having to take money out the bank.