Room for one more?

mattlawless

This was my first stab at getting all the information out. I am going to be actively seeking to reduce every single commitment over the next few days/weeks. Hair cuts may be a challenge....

Dentist is a monthly plan that we had to enter into with our dentist when he went private, but at least this covers most of the routine costs too, so not so bad. There are almost no NHS ones around here and those that are were full when I last checked.

CLAPTON

why are you paying 1,404 on your overdraft each month?

mattlawless

1404 is the total debt monthly spend.

CLAPTON

or sorry

so your monthly 'surplus' is 1225 but if you stopped paying the endowment you would have 1525 per month and your monthly debt payments are 1,404.
so maybe you dont need a DMP ?

so seems to me the issue is how do the are the 'real' spending figure compared to the 'payplan' figures ?

I_was_a_fool

Hi there & welcome

Recommend you join quidco & then go through them for changing insurance, banks etc. Your contents/buildings insurance is very high, barclays are paying £125 cashback through quidco just now to switch to them.

Sharon

mattlawless

This is a thought process I wondered about too. I think that it would take at least 7 years to pay off the debts whilst they were still accruing interest - even with a snowball strategy - and all that time I would not be putting any money into paying off the mortgage at the end. Having already cashed in 5 years worth of ISA on the run up to my light-bulb moment, I am concerned to leave it at least as much again...

I suppose it comes down to the disadvantages of running a DMP. Presumably this is simply a credit-rating issue assuming that the agreement is kept up to?

sanfrancisco

As you pay off more and more debt each month, you will be able to change to 0% credit cards, thereby reducing APR%. Don't forget when you remortgage you will not be able to get a good rate, so could pay more in the medium-long term. I personally think you are nuts going for a DMP when you don't need to. You never know when you may need a good credit rating again, when you might want to get a loan. Not all debt is bad. You may need some cash for an operation etc.

bananakinz

Welcome!
What is your actual spending per month? Can you stick with what Paypal recommend? Are you still spending on the cards? The housekeeping per month seems a bit high? A spending diary for a month would help to see where your money is going. Not sure if you need to go on a DMP based on this?

lynzpower

I have to agree with San francisco here. I see no reason to go for a DMP at all.

I would suggest cutbacks in the first instance

My salary - £2,119.00
Partners salary - £1,900.00
Benefits - £126.32

Total - £4,145.32

Monthly Outgoings:

Mortgage £ 477.83
Second Mortgage £ 358.07
Building/Contents Insurance £ 61.44
Life Insurance/pension £ 51.80 ( which is it? pension or life cover, my life cover is half yours if thats what it is) )
Mortgage Endowment Policy £ 300.00 ( again as clapton says do you need this, whats it worth?)
Council Tax £ 127.00
Water Rates £ 26.00
Electricity £ 40.00 check out est.org.uk for energy saving tips & check your supplier)
Gas £ 40.00 ( seems a bit high check you are on the cheapest suplier and change if not)
Telephone £ 40.00 ( whats this can you break it down)
Road Tax/MOT £ 36.00
Car Insurance £ 72.40 ( is this the cheapest!!)
Car Maintenance £ 30.00
Petrol £ 108.25 ( are you getting your petrol from tescos, youll get CC points you can use for money off your shopping _)
Travelling Expenses/Public Transport £ 15.00
Housekeeping £ 480.00 ( for 4! this is high. you sohuld EASILY be able to save 280 quid here every month)
Medical/Dental/Opticians £ 25.90
Haircuts £ 32.00 ( every motnh?)
Clothing £ 80.00 ( every month, seems a lot!! We get ours off ebay, or in the sales, or next clearance, this seems v extravagant TBH)
Hire Purchase (Vehicle) £ 181.50 ( till when)
TV Licence/Rental £ 11.37
Childminding £ 300.00 ( can you get vouchers towards childcare from your employers)
Pets £ 25.00 ( ewhats this for? seems a lot? how many do you have)

you say your figure is 1404, if we minus the 280 as a minumum you can save it takes to 1124

This extra 280 should be snowballed to your debts, higest interest debt first.

I suspect with some "cupbarod shopping" ie using up what you have in, you could go for a while by buying the bare minimum.

Do you have any savings anywhere?
What do you have to sell? kids clothes, dvds, cds, spare furniture ANYthing can be sold to bring in extra money

Also Id call M&S and see if you can move your CC with them to the low life of balance card at 3.odd % in the first instance, lots of us have managed to bring down the interest on our cards with just one phone call.

bank_of_slate

Hi Matt, welcome to the debt free wannabe family!

Definately look at reducing as many utilities and bills as possible, easier with the help of this site!
Can you reduce your housekeeping with writing shopping lists and meal planning?

About the dentist, telephone your Primary Care Trust, have they got a central waiting list for NHS dentists? If not, can they introduce one?

Keep posting, you'll get lots of support & advice on this forum!
We're not here to judge no matter what you post!
...Linda xx