Newbie debt free wanabee needs advice!

mystery07

Hi all

Could anyone please help...have some (small) debts, but paying massive interest (store cards, mainly :-( ) have looked on here at credit cards, etc etc, & have applied in the last three months for 3 different cards, quite randomely & stupidly i guess! But keep getting refused, so stuck with high interest & debt! checked my credit report, its pretty good, no late payments to anyone, like ever, but still getting refused, im now putting it down to the fact that there is a CIFA's entry on my report (fraud warning) to do with some else at my previous address, been told i cant have this removed, that it shoudnt make any difference to applications etc etc....but still no lower rate card....where should i start? Im lost?

P.s Hope this post is ok in here, there are that many forums, i wasnt sure which to pick....

lynsayjane

don't worry mystery, your in the right place and well done for taking the brave step of joining us! we'll do what we can to help.

first step is that we need you to do a copy of your soa (ie all you incomings, outgoings and debts) you can find how to do this on southern scousers sticky post at the top of this page entitled first time posters. it's really helpful if you put all your incomings and outgoings monthly, and if you include the credit limit, balance and apr of your cards.

if you can do this we can see where we can make savings and suggest possible routes to help lower that interest.

mystery07

Thanks Lynsayjane

Right here we go State of affairs...

Income: Per month

Wages: £650
Tax credits: £874.94
Child benefit: £68
Maintenance: £140

Total monthly income: £1732.94


Monthly Outgoings:

Rent: £475
Council tax: £80
Gas: £25
Electric: £20
Water: £22
Car Insurance: £39
Home phone: £15
Mobile phone: £40
Petrol: £60
Childcare: £480
Food: £250
Home Insurance: £11
going out etc £50

Total monthly outgoings: £1637


Debts:

Next store card: £1950 APR 29.9%
Capital one credit card £1300 APR 29.9%
Approx £300 owed on utilities


Some of these figures are not perfect, but Ive done my best, had quite a few changes in personal circumatances in the last couple of months, so finances, been a little up & down.

Do i need to include anything else?

lynsayjane

you are most welcome! now here are a few thoughts to be going on with.

mystery07 wrote:

Thanks Lynsayjane

Right here we go State of affairs...

Income: Per month

Wages: £650
Tax credits: £874.94
Child benefit: £68
Maintenance: £140

Total monthly income: £1732.94


Monthly Outgoings:

Rent: £475
Council tax: £80
Gas: £25for gas and electric are these as low as you can get, try u switch to check and if you can switch go through quidco.com to get the cashback
Electric: £20
Water: £22i'm in scotland so i know nothing about water rates, but i'm sure someone else can offer advice on that
Car Insurance: £39
Home phone: £15
Mobile phone: £40i'm presuming this is a contract, could you save money by cutting the contract down and using it less?
Petrol: £60do you use the car all the time or could you walk places to save a bit? good for the planet too!
Childcare: £480
Food: £250how many does this feed? you could get ideas for meal planning and saving money on food/housekeeping on the old style forum
Home Insurance: £11
going out etc £50i don't mean to sound heartless but could this be cut down? if your struggling going out is an expense you can't afford. there are heaps of free/cheap things you could do with friends and the kids ie goig for walks to the park, get a dvd from one of the free trials etc

Total monthly outgoings: £1637


Debts:

Next store card: £1950 APR 29.9%is this the balance or credit limit? can you fire both totals up here
Capital one credit card £1300 APR 29.9%
Approx £300 owed on utilities this should reallybe your priority debt, with kids in the house you don't want yoru electric cut off!


Some of these figures are not perfect, but Ive done my best, had quite a few changes in personal circumatances in the last couple of months, so finances, been a little up & down.

Do i need to include anything else?

you've done really well with the soa but there are a couple of things missing. what about clothing, haircuts, allowance for birthdays etc. can you also tell us about your household? do you have an oh? how many kids, ages? it just helps us get a wee picture of where you are.

x

angelavdavis

Hiya and welcome!!!

The first thing that strikes me from your SOA are as follows:

• Mobile phone seems very high - can you log onto Quidco and shop around for a better deal or use pay as you go?
• How many people are you feeding for £250 per month? Might be worth checking out the Old Style board and seeing if you can cut back on the food bill. Look at having a storecupboard challenge - see what meals you can make out of your storecupboard without the need to shop.
• Car Insurance seems high - it might be worth signing up to Quidco and shopping around
• £50 for going out - you could allow yourself this for two months and pay this toward your utilities debts.

There seems to be some other costs missing:

Running costs for car (mot, car tax, etc)
Broadband costs
TV licence

Might be worth you using uswitch to compare gas/electric suppliers to see if you can get a cheaper deal (obviously not while you are owing them).

Keep a spending diary - by rights you have almost £100 to spare at the end of the month, but you need to see where this is going.

You need to look at possible income opportunities.

Do you have anything you can sell on ebay?
Could you rent out a spare room?
Ensure you utilise Quidco of Pigsback for any switching of suppliers or online shopping to earn "free money".

Hope that helps

mystery07

Shoot! just wrote a long reply, then got disconnected...will start again :-( lol

mystery07

Here goes for the 2nd time….

Gas & electricity, high on my list of priorities to switch, but got no meter key, went round all the DIY shops yesturday trying to find one, but will do this 1 asap, I do however already use energy saving bulbs etc to cut the cost….

Car insurance, got the cheapest around, just signed up last month, (post office £50 cashback), had an accident just over a year ago, so only got 1 years no claims, plus im a young driver 22 yrs old…my son is just coming up to his 3rd bday!

Food, excessive I know, “sometimes” I can be quite good here & only spend 30/40 per week, but it never lasts, I fall back into my old routine & start spending more again…in my defence I think I have some valid reasons for this….firstly, im a lone parent, with a 3 yr old, I work for approx. 35 hrs pw & im studying towards a part time degree approx. another 20 hrs pw, I have no real help or support with my son, other than from my childminder & on top of this, I have a sleep disorder (fibromyalgia) so I can be quite ill at times. So surely, you can see why I just end up throwing things in my basket at tesco, to save time, since I have none!!

Car repairs & maintenance etc, I tend to get done cheaply/free since I work in the motor trade…so therefore didn’t add this to my costs….

I did miss off broadband from my calculation which is £14.99 a month, I do think im tied in here too…& also im not very good with pc’s etc, so would prefer not to change unless I could save a lot, which I don’t think I can, as it’s a lot of hassle….

Mobile phone, it was an 18 month contract, which expires in about 12 months, I use it a lot, prob more on average, than £40, I could cut this down, but I get lonely in the evenings & just want to chat to some people 

Debts, the figures quoted £1950 & £1300 are both what I have on them, the limits are: Next £2200 & capital one £1500…….

What else?! Hmmmm, clothes, yes I missed off clothes, bcos I never have any free cash, as soon as I pay some off my next card or my capital one card I spend that on clothes again, hence, they don’t decrease….as I said before it would help if I could switch them to a better rate, but no joy so far….(fraud, related to previous addresses thing!)

Also, I am paying extra on utilities on top of that in my SOA to cover arrears, so im not in any danger immediately about to be cut off or taken to court! I am also meeting my minimum payments on the two cards, which totals approx £250 per month, however, I cant afford to continue at that rate, for ever, I will simply run out of cash!

To some things up, I know that I am over spending, on things that I could reduce, but it still hasn’t stopped me so far….firstly, lack of time on food shopping etc etc, & secondly, I suppose, ive been very used to having everything ive wanted financially, before my changes in circumstances & hence I now have less money. If I do cut these things back, how to I keep it that way? This is were I struggle, ill do it 4 a week, then revert back to old ways. Its all kind of feeling a bit too much to cope with!

One last thing, is I have a spare small room, which I could let, but I don’t know of any1, what do you think of advertising for some1 to share? Esp. since I have a young child!?

misspoppy

Have you tried to claim DLA for your fibromyalgia and checked that you are claiming all the benefits you can there is a link around to check it somewhere.

maybe you could do your food shopping online, spend one evening a week planning your meals and then order the food that way it stop you from chucking stuff in the basket. Also on your better days prehaps you could do some batch cooking so you have something in the freezer for the days when its harder.

Have a look at a foreign student as a way of making extra money. They like to place people with families (often single parent) so they have a stable "home life" this could also help you save money as you'd have some company. Check which package your home phone is on and make sure you use the free call options, many have free evening and weekend options thus reducing your spending on your mobile and you can then ask to reduce that to the lowest possible.

mystery07

Thanks Miss Poppy
No not getting DLA, did think about that previously, but forgot all about it, will get onto that one too! Thanks!

Not thought about foriegn students? anyone kno where i would get info on this?

do get free calls on landline cheaply with euphony, so really think i need to cut back, on my mobile i think, everyone says im phone mad :-)

Any other suggestions anyone?

Thanks for advice x

hypno06

We have hosted a foreign A level student each year for the last three years and this is arranged through the local education authority. Might be worth giving them a call because in our area they have quite some difficulty finding host families for them. Pays well too

southern_chick

Hi Mystery
letting out a room sounds like a good idea but please check with Tax Credit people first, as it is income it might effect your tax credits, don't want to sound negative but you could be worse off

hope you get yourself sorted out, you have come to the right place for good advice everyone on here is really helpful

Good lukc SC XX