New and need help please :)

goodmorningstarshine

Hi all,
I;m new and really need some help please.
I've posted my SOA below and know i'm in debt but not really sure what to do now.

We have both the barclays loans with my bank so dont really want to p##s them off (and scupper myself) by not paying them, but by the same token the repayments are large.

I also have a virgin c/c which id like to pay off, but they rejected my full and final settlement offer and have now offered me a partial settlement , if i fill in income/expenditure forms.

I dont work at the mo, as our daughter is only 2 1/2 but would love to go back to work full as i know i could be helping with the debt payments.

Am just super stuck and dont know what to do, so any advice would be fantastic

Thanks for reading x x :j



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

Monthly Income Details
Monthly income after tax................ 0
Partners monthly income after tax....... 2170
Benefits................................ 81.2
Total monthly income.................... 2251.20

Rent.................................... 900
Council tax............................. 130
Electricity............................. 60
Gas..................................... 60
Telephone (land line)................... 50
Mobile phone............................ 20
TV Licence.............................. 12.5
Satellite/Cable TV...................... 50
Internet Services....................... 50
Groceries etc. ......................... 300
Clothing................................ 100
Petrol/diesel........................... 100
Road tax................................ 20
Car Insurance........................... 39.48
Other travel............................ 20
Childcare/nursery....................... 150
Presents (birthday, christmas etc)...... 30
Haircuts................................ 40
Entertainment........................... 30
CSA..................................... 300
Total monthly expenses.................. 2461.98

Debts:
[BARCLAY LOAN 1.................£1,177.88... I PAY OFF:£140
BARCLAY LOAN 2.................£7,933.3....I PAY OFF:£240
VIRGIN CREDIT CARD.............1325......
OVERDRAFT 708
waterbill £113.00
TOTAL 11, 257.18

Polly_Wolly_Doodle

Hi, thought i'd have a quick look at your SOA, always brave to post one! I'm not an expert, so bear that in mind!!



Rent.................................... 900 - seems high, how many bedrooms - do you need them, is it possible to move somewhere cheaper?
Council tax............................. 130
Electricity............................. 60
Gas..................................... 60 - again linked to size of house? Could you get a better deal?
Telephone (land line)................... 50
Mobile phone............................ 20
TV Licence.............................. 12.5
Satellite/Cable TV...................... 50 - do you need this? Could cancel for a while and rejoin later?
Internet Services....................... 50 - seems steep when you have tv / mobile etc as well? Plusnet £15
Groceries etc. ......................... 300
Clothing................................ 100
Petrol/diesel........................... 100
Road tax................................ 20
Car Insurance........................... 39.48
Other travel............................ 20
Childcare/nursery....................... 150 - if you aren't working why is this here??
Presents (birthday, christmas etc)...... 30
Haircuts................................ 40
Entertainment........................... 30
CSA..................................... 300 - is this why the house costs seem expensive for 3?
Total monthly expenses.................. 2461.98

Hope that helps xx

DizzyDizzy

goodmorningstarshine wrote: »

Hi all,
I;m new and really need some help please.
I've posted my SOA below and know i'm in debt but not really sure what to do now.

We have both the barclays loans with my bank so dont really want to p##s them off (and scupper myself) by not paying them, but by the same token the repayments are large.

I also have a virgin c/c which id like to pay off, but they rejected my full and final settlement offer and have now offered me a partial settlement , if i fill in income/expenditure forms.

I dont work at the mo, as our daughter is only 2 1/2 but would love to go back to work full as i know i could be helping with the debt payments.

Am just super stuck and dont know what to do, so any advice would be fantastic

Thanks for reading x x :j



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

Monthly Income Details
Monthly income after tax................ 0
Partners monthly income after tax....... 2170
Benefits................................ 81.2
Total monthly income.................... 2251.20

Rent.................................... 900
Council tax............................. 130
Electricity............................. 60 Have you checked recently you are getting the best deal?
Gas..................................... 60 Have you checked recently you are getting the best deal?
Telephone (land line)................... 50
Mobile phone............................ 20
TV Licence.............................. 12.5
Satellite/Cable TV...................... 50 This is a bit high - can you slim this down a bit?
Internet Services....................... 50 This is a bit high - can you slim this down a bit? Or can you get a deal together with Satallite?
Groceries etc. ......................... 300 - Could you trim this down a bit? Don't want to preach but I feed a family of 4 on less than this & 1 is in nappies
Clothing................................ 100 Cut this out for a few months?
Petrol/diesel........................... 100
Road tax................................ 20
Car Insurance........................... 39.48
Other travel............................ 20
Childcare/nursery....................... 150
Presents (birthday, christmas etc)...... 30
Haircuts................................ 40 Cut this out for a few months? Go a bit longer between haircuts?
Entertainment........................... 30
CSA..................................... 300
Total monthly expenses.................. 2461.98

Debts:
[BARCLAY LOAN 1.................£1,177.88... I PAY OFF:£140
BARCLAY LOAN 2.................£7,933.3....I PAY OFF:£240
VIRGIN CREDIT CARD.............1325......
OVERDRAFT 708
waterbill £113.00
TOTAL 11, 257.18

As I said above, I don't want to preach at you but there are a few areas where you can certainly make some cut backs.

What do you want to achieve long term - usually when someone talks about making token payments it means they are starting a debt management plan. In this case you always move your current account away from your creditors accounts so they can't offset any payments etc.

I would not have thought any creditor would put up with token payments for very long - I made my token payments of £1 for three months whilst our dmp was set up.


HTH x

theoretica

The first thing you need to sort out is you are getting more into debt every month:
Income 2251
Outgoings (not including debt repayments) 2462

So you need to shave at least £210 off every month, then more for your debt repayments. The good news is there are lots of places where you can cut down. Do you realise you are paying £182.50 every month for phones/TV/broadband! Childcare, presents, clothing, groceries and utilities, as mentioned by others, could all be looked at.

BKAT_9

you are paying £150 for phone, internet and TV?? This seems awful steep?

Also £150 for childcare? Can I ask what this is for as you outlined you arent working at present so perhaps this can be looked at?

I would say Clothing needs to be stopped - if you have been spending £100 each month you must have a mountain of stuff you could ebay as well?

And Haircuts - is there anywhere cheaper you could go? - Maybe a hairdressing school or such like?

Maybe look at present alternatives as well?

Hit the old style money saving board for thrift tips!

Hope this helps in some way.

Pollycat

Lots of really good comments - especially the point by theoretica about £182.50 per month for phones/TV/broadband.
Is this a mistake? Have you put the quarterly phone/landline amount in?

Groceries high, especially as you aren't working and could be cooking from scratch.
Definitley check out the Old-Style board for tips on menu planning and bulk cooking.

£1200 per year on clothing - are you buying lots of stuff for your daughter?

You should be able to make up the deficit of £210 per month by adressing the above plus haircuts.

Good luck

Cat_Addict

I pay £46 to Sky for my TV, phone and internet. Highly recoomend them. x

downsizer3

Well done for addressing the problem and making a start.
Most pointers have already been mentioned but on the childcare issue - yes, whilst you're not working I'd loose the £150pm but when your child is 3 they are eligable for a certain amount of paid hours per month at nursery. When is your wee one's 3rd birthday? You could maybe go part time then? Have you tried the tax credits website to see if you're eligible - looks like you're borderline?
Other than that - trim down those expenses and jetteson the sky thing - get a freeview box and keep a diary of expenditure. That way you don't spend so much on wee things ( supermarket esp).
Good luck.

DS4215

Are you getting enough benefits? I earn a similar amount and we get ~ £120 a month in benefits (tax credits and child benefit).