** Wish I was a money fairy **

Housework*Fairy

Am currently hyperventilating with anxiety at the moment, I think it might be my light bulb moment (again).

By the way I have been registered here under another user-name but I just could not bring myself to post under that name. There have been so many debt diaries that I started and that fell by the wayside, that I am simply too embarrassed to start another one.

As well as already having a quite large amount of debt already outstanding, the last few months I buried my head in the sand and have just been spending on a credit card like crazy including booking a holiday for next year.

On paper we do have money left over after debts, shopping etc but the reality is that there is never money left-over, I always finish the month more overdrawn than I did when I started it, and that is despite using credit cards.

I think my lightbulb moment occurred when I just checked HSBC to find we are only £72 away from the overdraft limit and we wont get paid for another four days. (we were £200 away from it at the end of last month...). However I've also been 'borrowing' from the bills account, and I put a week's shopping on the credit card so God knows where it has been going....

So, I'm going to just keep a spending diary on here.....for a few days or weeks or even months, just to try and keep track on where the money goes. I have so much to pay out for between now and Xmas that I don't think I can make much of an in-road into our debts but I can at least try and put some money aside to pay for the things that need to be paid for, rather than max out yet another credit card....

So, new me, new diary....

Too embarrassed to list debts individually but there's 2 overdrafts, 1 catalogue, 6 credit cards totalling around £14500.

Lemon_Tree

never be ashamed to come back on here! we all make mistakes and it's rare that anyone's journey goes smoothly the whole time, what matters most is that you've come back, seen what the problem is before you were £72 OVER your o/draft limit

heatherykins

Thanks for starting your diary. It's an all too familiar story for me - I seem to be on-track and doing well and then I fall by the way side. Health reasons led me to lose my focus and to be kinder to myself, which then cost money. In any case, we're all here for the same thing and it's reassuring to know that it's not just us.

Good luck

FullTimeBadMan

Cut up all the credit cards and cancel the holiday.

Itsadogslife_2

Well done for comng back and facing up to your problems - that's probably one of the hardest parts, the next is sticking to it

Housework*Fairy

Back again, sorry I haven't been on since I started my diary but things have been mega hectic and I couldn't get near a computer.

Things have gone from bad to worse.

I looked into cancelling the holiday, but as we had booked flights only through Jet2 (renting an apartment privately), they wont refund any money.

Today my husband's car conked out again. It had been in the garage last week because it kept cutting out and the garage said it was a faulty fuel sensor so with towing cost £224 to fix (on a credit card of course). Today it conked out again but he managed to get it to the garage again. After running diagnosis they said it was a faulty fuel pipe which is a specific fault on our car (Vectra) and upon googling this I found a watchdog article from 2009. The garage said they will get back to us with a price for repair but does anyone know if Vauxhall will be likely to 'help' (anything is worth a try).

My credit card bill came today and to my horror I had spent more on it than I had thought. I had also put the above car repair, and my car insurance on it, and it had pushed me over the limit. In order to get it back under the limit I have had to pay £467 which I have had to do with another credit card.

I've finally come clean to my husband about our problems, he had no idea of the extent of it.

This is the first time in my adult life that I have no available lines of credit other than what is in my current account as all cards are maxed. I know there is no point in trying to get a loan and I need to start tackling our credit cards.

I'm so stressed out and worried.

Itsadogslife_2

I would advise speaking to one of the debt advice companies that MSE recommends as it sounds as though you could do with some advice about the best way forward :money:

mooomin

Housework*Fairy wrote: »

I looked into cancelling the holiday, but as we had booked flights only through Jet2 (renting an apartment privately), they wont refund any money.

I've finally come clean to my husband about our problems, he had no idea of the extent of it.

This is the first time in my adult life that I have no available lines of credit other than what is in my current account as all cards are maxed. I know there is no point in trying to get a loan and I need to start tackling our credit cards.

I'm so stressed out and worried.

Have you paid for the apartment too? If not, just write off the flights money, you'll still be "up" in the long term as you'll be saving the money you would have spent on food, accommodation and the invariable extras you have when you go on holiday. You could also find out if there's a charge for changing the name on the ticket, you might be able to sell them to someone you know?

It's good that you've told Mr Fairy. How has he taken the news? Is he on board with any changes you have to make?

Have you been paid yet? Can you post a SOA for us so we can make suggestions as to where you can save money?

As you will know, things like meal planning can make a huge difference to your budget. Make a meal plan for the next week and post it here if that helps. Tick off each one as you manage to stick to it, celebrate the wee achievements like that.

There are still quite a few weeks until the C-word. Could you try and make it cash-neutral by using cashback sites, Ebay and Amazon? There is plenty of time for the mind-numbing world of customer surveys (I can PM you plenty of links if you want them) I manage to buy myself a new Kindle in three months of market research so that might help with your Christmas costs. Write a list of who you're buying for then start striking people off - it's tough for a lot of people right now and I'm sure if you warn people early that they're not getting gifts from you then they'll be grateful that they don't have to buy for you

Chin up missus, you'll be fine with us all here supporting you

Housework*Fairy

An SOA, I need to do an SOA....

mooomin

Housework*Fairy wrote: »

An SOA, I need to do an SOA....

Yes. Yes you do

Include every blooming thing as well, even the things you don't think matter. So, apart from bills remember things like haircuts, kids clubs, dentists, haircuts, magazines.

I did my SOA the other day as an exercise in terrorising myself off Ebay. It's worked so far....

Housework*Fairy

Statement of Affairs and Personal Balance Sheet

Household Information
Number of adults in household........... 2
Number of children in household......... 2
Number of cars owned.................... 2

Monthly Income Details
Monthly income after tax................ 1104
Partners monthly income after tax....... 1181
Benefits................................ 175.8
Other income............................ 0
Total monthly income.................... 2460.8

Monthly Expense Details
Mortgage................................ 465
Secured/HP loan repayments.............. 0
Rent.................................... 0
Management charge (leasehold property).. 0
Council tax............................. 83 (paid over 12 months)
Electricity............................. 41 (recently increased from £32)
Gas..................................... 70 (recently reduced from £91)
Oil..................................... 0
Water rates............................. 39.8(paid over 12 months)
Telephone (land line)................... 13
Mobile phone............................ 84 (2 x £35 + DS1 at £14)
TV Licence.............................. 12.37
Satellite/Cable TV...................... 40 (please see below)
Internet Services....................... 15
Groceries etc. ......................... 350
Clothing................................ 0
Petrol/diesel........................... 240
Road tax................................ 31.5
Car Insurance........................... 110
Car maintenance (including MOT)......... 0
Car parking............................. 0
Other travel............................ 0
Childcare/nursery....................... 0
Other child related expenses............ 0
Medical (prescriptions, dentist etc).... 5
Pet insurance/vet bills................. 0
Buildings insurance..................... 11.7
Contents insurance...................... 10
Life assurance ......................... 21.32
Other insurance......................... 0
Presents (birthday, christmas etc)...... 0
Haircuts................................ 10
Entertainment........................... 50
Holiday................................. 0
Emergency fund.......................... 0
(Unnamed monthly expense)............... 0
Gym..................................... 36
Weight watchers......................... 19.99
Total monthly expenses.................. 1758.68


Assets
Cash.................................... 0
House value (Gross)..................... 125000
Shares and bonds........................ 0
Car(s).................................. 2000
Other assets............................ 0
Total Assets............................ 127000


Secured & HP Debts
Description....................Debt......Monthly...APR
Mortgage...................... 89000....(465)......2.5
Total secured & HP debts...... 89000.....-.........-

Unsecured Debts
Description....................Debt......Monthly...APR
Natwest 1......................4300......86........16.9
Natwest 2......................900.......18........16.9
HSBC...........................1950......47........14.9
Catalogue......................300.......20........20
Tesco..........................2100......50........16.9
Halifax 2......................3200......37........12.9
Halifax 1......................3200......37........12.9
Total unsecured debts..........15950.....295.......-


Monthly Budget Summary
Total monthly income.................... 2,460.8
Expenses (including HP & secured debts). 1,758.68
Available for debt repayments........... 702.12
Monthly UNsecured debt repayments....... 295
Amount left after debt repayments....... 407.12

Personal Balance Sheet Summary
Total assets (things you own)........... 127,000
Total HP & Secured debt................. -89,000
Total Unsecured debt.................... -15,950
Net Assets.............................. 22,050

Created using the SOA calculator at.
Reproduced on Moneysavingexpert with permission, using other browser.

I pay to Virgin £66 which is mates rates and I get the top broadband, phone and TV packages (whatever they are) plus an extra set top box and sky sports. Football on TV does keep my sons and husband occupied at the weekend.

I don't put anything away for the car but if I were putting away, then those are the totals I would have to put aside.

What I have (ha) tried to do is have the bills money taken from one account, and then I use another for spends. Stuff like clothes and birthdays I just take money from the spends account to pay for it. Of course it hasn't worked. I get terribly confused about budgeting.

Out of the leftover money I also pay the following
Mum £20 (this is for her feeding my kids after school before I get home)
DS1 bus fare (£22) - 90p per day
DS1 & DS2 football club = £24 per month
DS1 & DS2 athletics club = £16 per month
DS2 after school football = £10 per month
Newspaper bill = £14 (I owe three months - eek)
My lunches = £22 (I work in a hospital and get a 2 course hot meal for £1 per day)

I'm sure there is loads I will have forgotten.

Also up to £1100 overdrawn in one account, and up to £1800 in the other.

Oh Fuhk. That's up to £18500 already, so much for the guesstimate of £14.5k.