Having my 'Lightbulb' Moment...

amyloofoo

So this is day 1 of my diary... I'm not sure how many days it will be, but I know that this will culminate in me being able to say that I am finally debt-free and that feels so good! I think I've always been able to ignore my debts as they are for relatively small amounts each, but there are a lot of them, and I can't afford to continue like this. At some point soon, OH and I are going to want a house and to try for a baby, and I just can't imagine how we can achieve this with these debts hanging over us. I feel so guilty that the debts are all mine as he has always been very responsible with money whereas I have bipolar so can be a bit erratic. However painful it is to achieve, I know we have to clear these debts once and for all.

amyloofoo

Managed to get a part-time job and did a new SOA... but it's still showing a shortfall

Statement of Affairs and Personal Balance Sheet

Household Information
Number of adults in household........... 2
Number of children in household......... 0
Number of cars owned.................... 1

Monthly Income Details
Monthly income after tax................ 400
Partners monthly income after tax....... 1000
Benefits................................ 80
Other income............................ 0
Total monthly income.................... 1480

Monthly Expense Details
Mortgage................................ 0
Secured/HP loan repayments.............. 0
Rent.................................... 400
Management charge (leasehold property).. 0
Council tax............................. 50
Electricity............................. 40
Gas..................................... 60
Oil..................................... 0
Water rates............................. 20
Telephone (land line)................... 10
Mobile phone............................ 80
TV Licence.............................. 30
Satellite/Cable TV...................... 35
Internet Services....................... 10
Groceries etc. ......................... 220
Clothing................................ 0
Petrol/diesel........................... 60
Road tax................................ 20
Car Insurance........................... 40
Car maintenance (including MOT)......... 10
Car parking............................. 15
Other travel............................ 20
Childcare/nursery....................... 0
Other child related expenses............ 0
Medical (prescriptions, dentist etc).... 15
Pet insurance/vet bills................. 0
Buildings insurance..................... 0
Contents insurance...................... 24
Life assurance ......................... 0
Other insurance......................... 0
Presents (birthday, christmas etc)...... 50
Haircuts................................ 10
Entertainment........................... 0
Holiday................................. 25
Emergency fund.......................... 25
Total monthly expenses.................. 1269


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

No Secured nor Hire Purchase Debts

Unsecured Debts
Description....................Debt......Monthly...APR
credit cards...................900.......90........29.99
car payments...................6000......140.......18
catalogues.....................880.......210.......19.99
Total unsecured debts..........7780......440.......-


Monthly Budget Summary
Total monthly income.................... 1,480
Expenses (including HP & secured debts). 1,269
Available for debt repayments........... 211
Monthly UNsecured debt repayments....... 440
Amount short for making debt repayments. -229

Personal Balance Sheet Summary
Total assets (things you own)........... 0
Total HP & Secured debt................. -0
Total Unsecured debt.................... -7,780
Net Assets.............................. -7,780

caeler

Well done for being brave!! My initial observations include:
*Mobile phone bill looks very high - can you downgrade your tariff?
*£50 a month for gifts is £600 a year which is alot of money when your in debt, can you reconsider who you buy for, which occasions, etc?
*Why is TV licence £30? Are you in the first year of paying?
*£100 a month on utilities (gas/elec) seems expensive, are you on the best tariffs? Do you have an energy monitor and take regular meter readings?
*Do you need satellite/cable TV? £420 per year is alot of money, perhaps you could do without for a while? Freeview and lovefilm would be much cheaper.
*Holiday and emergency fund, whilst necessary, funds might need to be temporarily diverted?

How many more car payments do you have left?
Can you move the credit card debt to 0% deal?
I'm not sure all your debt is in your SOA as your signature refers to an overdraft?

Good luck on your journey!!