Where to begin?

Nancy_PepperPot

I'm hoping that I can get some support. I have had to give up my 20k job due to stress and anxiety and have managed to secure a 6k temporary job which will just about keep our heads above water, but I can't stop worrying about how we'll survive. We will have about £550 left each month after bills and debts for food and petrol for a family of 4.
I know I needed to quit my job because the stress was making me Ill but it seems I've replaced one worry with another.
I have transferred all my expensive debt onto a zero percent c card

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£2100 and have a mnba with --£4100 on it. I have a loan with 4 years to run owing £11000. I have £700 saved in a savings acct for Christmas.
I have tried for a consolidation but stupid me went for a deal with a fantastic rate and was declined then tried my own bank and was also declined (prob too many searches)
I will fill out a statement of affairs and post so you can see how things are but I would sure benefit from some advice right now

Memory_Girl

First of all - go put the kettle on and have a cuppa. You sound in a bit of a panic and trust me there is no financial issue that can't be solved with a good plan and a good cup of tea (not necessarily in that order).

You are bright, computer literate and savvy enough to realise that your old job was killing you - you have made a decision and now we need to help you come up with a plan.

First step is to get a handle on how your budget will look when you reduce your income - so I suggest popping up to the top of the page and filling in the SOA template to give you a realistic look at your position. Then take a deep breath and pot it up here and the peeps here will help you pick through it with a fine tooth comb to make the "Painless" savings.

After that it will be a gradual renegotiation with your partner, the kids, your own spending habits to model a new life on your reduced income (it needn't be a reduced life BTW, just different).

What you will have on your part-time hours is the space and the time to fully manage the family's finances to produce the best life-style for the least money....................... but it will be a one step forward, two back process until you get on a even keel.

.................. and maybe even start getting rid of these debts too - it can be done. I am on the last straights of clearing £10K in less than two years and I was on benefits for one year and have an income now of £800 pcm give or take now - so take heart.:)

Bu here is your new mantra "Baby Steps" -we can help you slowly change the little habits that will make huge differences.

Keep posting and we will keep helping

MG

Firewalker

Nancy PepperPot, MG is right about a SOA - watch it though because most of the time when people are so worried about their finance they also have blank spots in their information. Filling the SOA with the precision to be an useful instrument needs you to:

1) Go back to your financial statements and identify what is going in and out really;
2) This is precise only for DDs and SO - the cash, cheques and the rest you may only know that it is out.

You will need at first to estimate things - make sure that your estimates are conservative rather than optimistic.

Start a spending diary - today, now. Write in everything you spend money on and this will have to be your religion for couple of months. With sufficient detail - writing 'cake' is not enough; what cake and where is what will allow you to make decisions and to change what you do and how you do it. It takes a bit of time but this is what will give you complete control - eventually.

Once you have all infomation - put it on here. However, all opinion here is just that - personal opinion. What suits me is likely to be inappropriate for you. Thus, the important thing is that you look at your budgetting tool (whichever you may decide to use) and make choices according to your values and preferences. To do that you will need to:

1) Divide you expenditure in 'constant' (these are the things you have to pay, and can't easily bargain about), 'changeable' (these are things that can be foregone at least temporary and you have to shop around for better quotes like insurance, health and dental insurance, etc.) and 'variable' (this category includes food, entertainment etc. where you can reduce subtantially and quickly by changing behaviour).
2) Reduce as much as possible the 'changeable' category and the 'varibale' one
2) Get as much information as possible on how to approach the 'changeable' and 'variable' expenditure (where to look, how to shop, what to cook etc. - there is a lot on this here).
3) Do it - action is where most of us fail; so create new habits.

After all that you may discover that you have much more than you think. And that £550 after all bills (if this is the case) is not that bad. Food should not exceed £260 for two adults and two children btw.

Firewalker

Nancy_PepperPot

Thanks for being so kind people!

Here goes...Firstly good and bad news.....Good news is that I've been offered a full time job with decent pay....bad news is that i'm not going to be employed until at least a month and possibly longer....the temp job I was offered was taken away from me when I disclosed that I had a full time job. Anyway, the figures quoted are with me earning £415 as I think I can scrape this by until I start the full time job.

The credit is as follows;
Tesco credit card - credit limit £3000 I owe £407.06 (standard apr)
MBNA credit card - credit limit £4700 I owe £4302 (1.29 a month on bal transfers= 2693 and 1608 on purchases)
Halifax credit card- credit limit £4100 I owe £2200 (introductory rate 0% until June on purchases and March on balance transfers)
Halifax Loan - Owe approx £13000 4years 10 months to go.




Household Information[/b]
Number of adults in household........... 2
Number of children in household......... 2
Number of cars owned.................... 1

Monthly Income Details
Monthly income after tax................ 415
Partners monthly income after tax....... 1868
Benefits................................ 176.8
Other income............................ 0
Total monthly income.................... 2459.8

Monthly Expense Details
Mortgage................................ 0
Secured/HP loan repayments.............. 0
Rent.................................... 950
Management charge (leasehold property).. 0
Council tax............................. 144
Electricity............................. 50
Gas..................................... 60
Oil..................................... 0
Water rates............................. 14
Telephone (land line)................... 0
Mobile phone............................ 65
TV Licence.............................. 10.62
Satellite/Cable TV...................... 60
Internet Services....................... 0
Groceries etc. ......................... 350
Clothing................................ 25
Petrol/diesel........................... 60
Road tax................................ 22
Car Insurance........................... 34
Car maintenance (including MOT)......... 0
Car parking............................. 0
Other travel............................ 0
Childcare/nursery....................... 0
Other child related expenses............ 0
Medical (prescriptions, dentist etc).... 0
Pet insurance/vet bills................. 0
Buildings insurance..................... 0
Contents insurance...................... 5.99
Life assurance ......................... 0
Other insurance......................... 0
Presents (birthday, christmas etc)...... 100
Haircuts................................ 0
Entertainment........................... 0
Holiday................................. 0
Emergency fund.......................... 20
Total monthly expenses.................. 1970.61


Assets
Cash.................................... 600
House value (Gross)..................... 0
Shares and bonds........................ 0
Car(s).................................. 3000
Other assets............................ 1500
Total Assets............................ 5100

No Secured nor Hire Purchase Debts

Unsecured Debts
Description....................Debt......Monthly...APR
Halifax Loan...................13000.....264.......0
Halifax Credit Card............2200......42........0
Mbna credit card...............4200......110.......17
Very...........................150.......10........39
Total unsecured debts..........19550.....426.......-


Monthly Budget Summary
Total monthly income.................... 2,459.8
Expenses (including HP & secured debts). 1,970.61
Available for debt repayments........... 489.19
Monthly UNsecured debt repayments....... 426
Amount left after debt repayments....... 63.19

Personal Balance Sheet Summary
Total assets (things you own)........... 5,100
Total HP & Secured debt................. -0
Total Unsecured debt.................... -19,550
Net Assets.............................. -14,450



I'm so annoyed as we have pulled ourselfs out ok £20k debt 10 years ago and we haven't learned from then!!!!

I've recently started selling on ebay and have made £125 so far. I'm also open to suggestions on how to make some cash,been thinking about Avon???


I would apprieciate some feedback people.Please feel free to ask questions.

Thanks

theoretica

The great news is that you should be breaking even, even in the month before your new job starts. This month the one thing you will probably have more of is time - so why not look in on the old style board and think about changing your grocery shopping habits to shave a bit off there. You could also look at your mobile and tv bills to see if they can be cut down, and shop around to check your energy bills are on the best tariff.

For just this month when you have low income do you need to buy any presents? Are your insurances paid up or coming out monthly? As your financial situation will be changing soon you may need two plans- one for until you are paid by your new job, and another for the long term.

katsu

Nancy_PepperPot wrote: »

Anyway, the figures quoted are with me earning £415 as I think I can scrape this by until I start the full time job. just incase you can't get the 415, better to make some more cuts to the below to ease the pressure.

The credit is as follows;
Tesco credit card - credit limit £3000 I owe £407.06 (standard apr)
MBNA credit card - credit limit £4700 I owe £4302 (1.29 a month on bal transfers= 2693 and 1608 on purchases)
Halifax credit card- credit limit £4100 I owe £2200 (introductory rate 0% until June on purchases and March on balance transfers)
Halifax Loan - Owe approx £13000 4years 10 months to go.




Household Information[/b]
Number of adults in household........... 2
Number of children in household......... 2
Number of cars owned.................... 1

Monthly Income Details
Monthly income after tax................ 415
Partners monthly income after tax....... 1868
Benefits................................ 176.8
Other income............................ 0
Total monthly income.................... 2459.8

Monthly Expense Details
Mortgage................................ 0
Secured/HP loan repayments.............. 0
Rent.................................... 950
Management charge (leasehold property).. 0
Council tax............................. 144
Electricity............................. 50 are you in credit? check your DDs are about right.
Gas..................................... 60 as above
Oil..................................... 0
Water rates............................. 14
Telephone (land line)................... 0
Mobile phone............................ 65
TV Licence.............................. 10.62
Satellite/Cable TV...................... 60 cancel that if you can, more money to clear the debts even after you start the new job - get a freeview box?
Internet Services....................... 0
Groceries etc. ......................... 350 looks like you can cut this according to other posters. try the old style forum and maybe aim for £300 as that is only about 12.50 a week to save off the spending.
Clothing................................ 25
Petrol/diesel........................... 60 will you drive as much that month?
Road tax................................ 22
Car Insurance........................... 34
Car maintenance (including MOT)......... 0 in the longer term you need to start budgeting for this.
Car parking............................. 0
Other travel............................ 0
Childcare/nursery....................... 0
Other child related expenses............ 0
Medical (prescriptions, dentist etc).... 0
Pet insurance/vet bills................. 0
Buildings insurance..................... 0
Contents insurance...................... 5.99
Life assurance ......................... 0
Other insurance......................... 0
Presents (birthday, christmas etc)...... 100 i know christmas is close, but for now I'd cut this right back and plan a smaller christmas to relieve your stress levels further and give you more money for debt busting. Aim for £20?
Haircuts................................ 0
Entertainment........................... 0
Holiday................................. 0
Emergency fund.......................... 20 maybe this month counts as your emergency?
Total monthly expenses.................. 1970.61


Assets
Cash.................................... 600 good, you can use this towards the payments if you need to.
House value (Gross)..................... 0
Shares and bonds........................ 0
Car(s).................................. 3000
Other assets............................ 1500
Total Assets............................ 5100

No Secured nor Hire Purchase Debts

Unsecured Debts
Description....................Debt......Monthly...APR
Halifax Loan...................13000.....264.......0
Halifax Credit Card............2200......42........0
Mbna credit card...............4200......110.......17
Very...........................150.......10........39
Total unsecured debts..........19550.....426.......-


Monthly Budget Summary
Total monthly income.................... 2,459.8
Expenses (including HP & secured debts). 1,970.61
Available for debt repayments........... 489.19
Monthly UNsecured debt repayments....... 426
Amount left after debt repayments....... 63.19

Personal Balance Sheet Summary
Total assets (things you own)........... 5,100
Total HP & Secured debt................. -0
Total Unsecured debt.................... -19,550
Net Assets.............................. -14,450

Congratulations on the new job. I hope some of the above is helpful to you and I wish you all the best.