Struggling :( 30 November 2011 at 8:24PM edited 30 November 2011 at 8:31PM in Debt-free wannabe 2 replies 781 views

SMIA

Hi all

I'm wanting to pay off my debts and start some savings for a rainy day. At the moment I am also paying £204 p/month towards my part time degree but I am waiting for my tuition fee grant to be returned and I am expecting to have this at least halved. Any surplus will be refunded. So I haven't included it in the SOA as I am expecting to hear back in the next month. I'm interested to see what I could do to start repaying some of the debt I have accrued.

I've done an SOA as follows..

Thanks very much !

Monthly Budget SummaryAmount(£)
Total monthly income 1,088
Monthly expenses (incl. HP & secured loans) 805.81
Available for debt repayments 282.19
UNsecured debt repayments 0
Amount left after debt repayments 282.19

Personal Balance Sheet SummaryAmount(£)
Total Assets (things you own) 500
Total Secured & HP Debt-0
Total Unsecured Debt-1,591.72
Net Assets-1,091.72

Household Information

Number of adults in household 1
Number of children in household 0
Number of cars owned 1

Income, Expense, Debt & Asset Details

IncomeAmount(£)
Monthly income after tax 1088
Partners monthly income 0
Benefits 0
Other income 0
Total monthly income 1088

Expenses
Amount(£)
Mortgage 0
Secured/HP loan payments 0
Rent 325
Management charge (leasehold property) 0
Council tax 50
Electricity 40
Gas 0
Oil 0
Water Rates 0
Telephone (land line) 0
Mobile phone 35
TV Licence 0
Satellite/Cable TV 0
Internet services 7.5
Groceries etc. 100
Clothing 20
Petrol/diesel 100
Road tax 19.66
Car Insurance 66
Car maintenance (including MOT) 0
Car Parking 1.25
Other travel 0
Childcare/nursery 0
Other child related expenses 0
Medical (prescriptions, dentists, opticians etc.) 0
Pet Insurance/Vet bills 0
Buildings Insurance 0
Contents Insurance 0
Life Assurance 0
Other Insurance 0
Presents (birthday, christmas etc.) 4
Haircuts 15
Entertainment 22.4
Holiday 0
Emergency Fund 0
Total monthly expenses 805.81

Secured & HP Debt Description
Debt(£)Monthly(£)APR(%)
Mortgage 0(0) 0
Secured & HP Debt totals 0- -

Unsecured Debt Description
Debt(£)Monthly(£)APR(%)
SE1 228.25
SE2 157.93
NW 143.12
KF 158.68
NCC 280.00
Lloyds 475.21
0Orange112.53
Unsecured Debt totals 1591.72

Asset Description
Value (£)
Cash 0
House Value (Gross) 0
Shares and bonds 0
Car(s) 500
Other assets (e.g. endowments, jewellery etc) 0
Total Assets 500

vka1

Hello, and well done for posting. I can't really advise as still new here, but just bumping your post up for some of the wise folks round here!

One thing though, it would help if you could post your monthly payment amounts on your debts and interest rates as it'll help people advise what to do first.

Good luck!

Cynical_Monkey

It looks like you currently have around £75 for debt repayments and to be honest, your SOA looks thread bare already - I don't see where you could cut anything other than the £180 yearly haircut allowance.

With that said, the best way forward is to arrange your cards and other debts by the APR you're paying.

Take the most costly APR wise and pay extra towards that one first or consider a small Consolidation loan for the £1555 - First direct for example would do 15.9% APR on a £1600 loan making the total monthly payment £144.30 to have the debts repaid in 1 year or £77.46 per month to have the debt paid off in 2 years.

One thing I've just seen on the SOA is that you don't appear to be paying any of your debts right now as the total outgoings don't include any payments towards the debts... Do you have an arrangement with any of the creditors?

Currently the 2 year consolidation loan is a good option if you don't have a better, more cost effective solution - It may even be an idea to contact your creditors and see if you can agree a payment plan with them by essentially saying that you're willing to pay the debt but you're having financial difficulties. If nothing else, you should be able to get the late payment charges stopped for the time being allowing you to actually tackle the debts.