Advice and motivation for SOA please!

outta_the_tunnel

Thanks for the response LianneH. Car boot sales and ebay are next on the agenda. Also awaiting £150 from topcashback.

I like your response it makes it seem very achievable in a short space of time

Going to look into house insurance today as that's up for renewal next month. Hopefully another opportunity for some cashback!

dancingfairy

Hi - if you paid off the post office debt you would still have some emergency savings but it would allow you to pay an extra 20 a month to the other debt.
Also you might have 2 council tax free months (feb and mar?)
Groceries - head over to moneysavingoldsytle board on here for cheap recipes to see if you can shave a little off (personally I think 200 is good but if you wanted a challenge ....).
Would the overpayment on the mortgage be better used in the short term to clear the credit cards? I don't know on this one though.
Mobile could maybe be shaved depending on what contract you're in - can you downgrade at all?
Prescriptions - if one of you has a lot of prescriptions look at getting a prepayment certificate or see if your doc will prescribe 3 months at a time or something.
Have you spoken to an independent mortgage broker or was this just someone at your bank? An independent should let you know what sort of ratios you should be looking at/what's around at the moment.
Personally I think you are doing really well - my suggestions are only if you want to really squeeze everything further
Best of Luck
df

outta_the_tunnel

dancingfairy wrote: »

Hi - if you paid off the post office debt you would still have some emergency savings but it would allow you to pay an extra 20 a month to the other debt.
Also you might have 2 council tax free months (feb and mar?)
Groceries - head over to moneysavingoldsytle board on here for cheap recipes to see if you can shave a little off (personally I think 200 is good but if you wanted a challenge ....).
Would the overpayment on the mortgage be better used in the short term to clear the credit cards? I don't know on this one though.
Mobile could maybe be shaved depending on what contract you're in - can you downgrade at all?
Prescriptions - if one of you has a lot of prescriptions look at getting a prepayment certificate or see if your doc will prescribe 3 months at a time or something.
Have you spoken to an independent mortgage broker or was this just someone at your bank? An independent should let you know what sort of ratios you should be looking at/what's around at the moment.
Personally I think you are doing really well - my suggestions are only if you want to really squeeze everything further
Best of Luck
df

Thanks dancing fairy - I was thinking of clearing the PO card so that I can focus solely on one debt as I think that would get me motivated. I have a picture of the MBNA credit card made up or 4000 little squares. Everytime I pay a pound off I get to colour one in. It makes me think about spending on little things and has been working really well.

Council tax does has free months so that will get paid straight to debt. Mobile currently being reviewed. Once contract expires I'll drop to absolute minimum. Prescriptions is for contact lenses, as I have a surplus I have asked them to suspend payments for 6 months so that will be another £15 a month free.

Finally, a friend of mine is a mortgage advisor and working away to see what is possible. Wage rise would be the ideal solution, but limited scope in the current climate

Thanks again for your comments, all taken on board.

dancingfairy

Keep a change pig -all loose change should be put in it. If you take say 10 pounds out for food shopping and have any change it all goes in the change pig and then cash it in every so often. It's also good if you find the odd coin when out and about and the kids will love feeding the pig for you
df

outta_the_tunnel

I feel a papier mache project coming on this weekend!! Got some change in a vase on the side in the kitchen so will count that up when I get in tonight

pennypusher

Hi you could try cutting down on your Gas and Electricity. You can get an energy meter to see what you are spending on and how much it costs you. Some of the energy companies give them away free of charge or I've heard you can get them from some libraries. You can also Google energy savings and follow those ideas. ie only fill the kettle with enough water for a cup of tea, only use the washing machine when full, close the curtains as soon as it gets dark etc.

Do you have room for a lodger for a short while to help pay off your debts?

Can you car share for work and save fuel or use the car less by combining two journeys into one?

Can you do overtime at work or can you work from home - you don't say what your job is so it's difficult to advise. Could you do odd jobs when you don't have the boys, gardening etc.

Would it be worth selling your car and getting an older/smaller one?

Hope these ideas help.

outta_the_tunnel

pennypusher wrote: »

Hi you could try cutting down on your Gas and Electricity. You can get an energy meter to see what you are spending on and how much it costs you. Some of the energy companies give them away free of charge or I've heard you can get them from some libraries. You can also Google energy savings and follow those ideas. ie only fill the kettle with enough water for a cup of tea, only use the washing machine when full, close the curtains as soon as it gets dark etc. Just changed suppliers to fix tariff so need to pay the amount shown until they have assessed readings, this should however build up a credit based on last years consumption

Do you have room for a lodger for a short while to help pay off your debts? I did have a lodger for 2 years, but the situation started to become an issue due to the shared care arrangements with the boys and lodger coming back late at night with guests!! I really want the boys to think of the house as their home so unless things get desperate I'm not keen to go down this route again.

Can you car share for work and save fuel or use the car less by combining two journeys into one? Starting riding to work two days per week as hoping to compete in a few triathlons next year! It is a 24 mile round trip but soon done and saves £3 per day

Can you do overtime at work or can you work from home - you don't say what your job is so it's difficult to advise. Could you do odd jobs when you don't have the boys, gardening etc. No overtime unfortunately but there is chance of a bonus so must work hard. Only free time I have is every other saturday, but will look into odd jobs and utilising those days better.

Would it be worth selling your car and getting an older/smaller one? Not an option unfortunately as contract requires certain type of vehicle and I need to travel the country with work so has to be semi-reliable. There is an option of a company car, but would lose a hefty chunk of salary and liable for tax. Better option at this stage is to run my own vehicle. Bonus is that the car is paid for has just been serviced and MOT'd

Hope these ideas help.

Thanks for the comments, really appreciated. I'm going to get going with the electricity energy meter again and set some goals. Hopefully I can use it as an opportunity to educate the boys on thinking about using power too!!

pennypusher

Do you get your contact lenses online - I believe it's cheaper that way.

You could go PAYG for your mobile, or check out other mobile phone packages.

Is your Council Tax for a single person?

Do you need all the Insurances that you have. Who would benefit if you were to die on your Life Insurance and is it worth it? Why haven't you got Contants Insurance I would have thought you need that. When it's time to renew each one go online and compare quotes.

LianneH

I know you have kinda covered this... but why is the CSA so high? Its as if you are paying for the boys twice ie their house and activites and then their CSA? I just can't get my head around it! have you spoke to a benefits advisor to ensure that this calculation is accurate? also who receives the boys child benefit and if its not you then again thats like another double hit!

BTW I think you are doing an amazing job with these debts and providing for the boys!

outta_the_tunnel

pennypusher wrote: »

Do you get your contact lenses online - I believe it's cheaper that way.

You could go PAYG for your mobile, or check out other mobile phone packages.

Is your Council Tax for a single person?

Do you need all the Insurances that you have. Who would benefit if you were to die on your Life Insurance and is it worth it? Why haven't you got Contants Insurance I would have thought you need that. When it's time to renew each one go online and compare quotes.

Thanks Pennypusher, you've hit on something here. Researched contact lenses online as you suggested and I can get them delivered for a third of the price! I have been paying £15 per month so another £10 a month that can now be targeted at debt..whoop whoop

Looks like I can get mobile bill down to £10 too so will be able to save another £25 a month come November.

Council tax is for single person

House insurance is a building & contents policy. But shopping round as its up for renewal in Nov and should be able to get some cashback!

Thanks for the suggestions, you've identified some stuff that I hadn't thought of and helped to shave my budget