I have a lot to debt to clear... and no idea how to begin!

FinanciallyUnsavvy

gashbag wrote: »

can you not get a second job to give you more money?

I probably could, but I'd like to avoid that as much as possible. Working 9-5 stresses me out enough as it is...

FinanciallyUnsavvy

slowlyfading wrote: »

What is the "other travel" listed? Also, do you go to the cinema every month? Maybe give that a miss for a bit - every little helps in terms of debt repayment.

I don't drive, so the "other travel" is a monthly travel pass I buy to get me to/from work, etc. Works out cheaper and more convenient than paying individual bus/tram/train fares.

And the £15 cinema is for a Cineworld Unlimited card... normally I go at least twice a month (and individual ticket prices are now £8+ or something ridiculous, so having a membership works out cheaper. Although I haven't been in three weeks now, so I am considering whether it's worth cancelling.

FinanciallyUnsavvy

mr2jay wrote: »

Is it just you or is it a you +1,2,3,4? Makes a huge difference to the budget you need to allow yourself....

It's just me, although my boyfriend is over 2/3 nights a week so I need to take this into consideration when buying my groceries so I have enough to cook for two at least a couple times a week. I tend not to eat well when I'm just cooking for myself... microwaves meals a-go-go... and well, that isn't very great for a number of reasons! :undecided

mr2jay

Rather than Microware ready meals (which personally I think are horrible but that's just me), make some big batches of things and put them into foil containers - Chilli is my favourite. It often works out cheaper over 4 weeks to buy a large thing of mince and all the stuff to make a bolognese sauce, some cottage pies, some chilli and freeze them. Voila! - Home made ready meals at a fraction of the cost and far better for you

FinanciallyUnsavvy

mr2jay wrote: »

Rather than Microware ready meals (which personally I think are horrible but that's just me), make some big batches of things and put them into foil containers - Chilli is my favourite. It often works out cheaper over 4 weeks to buy a large thing of mince and all the stuff to make a bolognese sauce, some cottage pies, some chilli and freeze them. Voila! - Home made ready meals at a fraction of the cost and far better for you

No, I'm not a big fan of microwave meals either, but it's convenience more than anything - which tends to be my excuse for a lot of things I do, oops! Big batch cooking is one of those things I always *intend* to do but then never get round to doing. I certainly will give it a go though and bear it in mind when I next go shopping.

mr2jay

I do admit, it does take some determination and a bit of self-motivation to get started with this. I started by making meals I would anyway but making far too much, having it for dinner and then freezing the rest for another day. Before I knew it, I have all sorts of interesting things in the freezer that I could dip into when I couldn't be bothered to cook. Plus, having already bought the stuff to make it, the extra ingredients really don't cost very much more. You can easily get to the point where 1 week in 4 you only need to buy perishables and that makes a REALLY cheap shop

FireWyrm

Do you have a local chinese supermarket? They are usually dotted all around the country and tucked away on trading estates? If you do, there's your rice, noodles, spices, salt, sugar, condiments etc fixed for far less than a standard supermarket. They also (funnily enough) tend to sell little foil trays by the 500 for about £5. You can then make something like a massive lasagne (£5 if you do it from scratch and about an hours work), chop it up into single portions (you should get about 6 out of that) and freeze using the tin trays....instant ready meal, just nuke for 10 minutes. SpagBol, Cheesy Pasta, StirFry etc all work much the same way. I could feed two people regularly on £50 a month easy and even include wine sometimes. It's all about getting organised as others have said.

At the moment, I'm on a mission to replace all cosmetics and soaps in the house with home made alternatives. So far, I have a batch of bath melts, bath crystals and a 1.2K bar of camomile and goats milk soap curing. I've discovered that i can sell excess cosmetics for stupid prices. 2 bathmelts go on Ebay for about £4.50. The ingredients to make 26 in total are £14. You're never going to get rich, but there's no reason why you have to give up the lifestyle you're used to just because you're on a budget. I know you're probably thinking that I'm a lady of leisure, or have lots of time on my hands, but I actually work full time and devote weekends and evenings to crafts and cooking. Turn off the TV, you'll be shocked how much time we spend in front of the stupid thing. All that time spent vegging out means we've all bought into the 'we need to save time' in our lives lie. The truth is, there's plenty of time if we just re-arrange things a little bit.

The Old Style board has lots of money saving tips, but the internet really is your best friend. Various sites all offer step by step instructions for most things. I couldnt afford nice french manicures, doesnt mean I do without...I just learned to do them myself. I'm a sucker for the smellies that Lush sell, but I'm not such a sucker I'll pay their prices. You can make most of it yourself. I wanted a new coffee table, I 'upcycled' one from the tip with some paint and a stencil. I like wine, cant afford to buy it and definately not after the recent budget....but nothing says I cant make it and mostly, its better than £8.99 a bottle from the Co-Op. God knows what they class as wine isn't fit for vinegar these days....

So on and on it goes. It's actually fun. The NSD challenge where you dont spend money each day? I do that all the time. Actually, I might be turning into a slight scrooge as my husband observed when he wanted money for something and I pulled a face. My bills are fixed, but what little I have left, I intend to deprive the government of in any way possible....at least, that's the way I look at it.

mr2jay

Couldn't agree more

The OH is looking into home made cosmetics and toiletries we can make from our very successful herb garden, I have so many fruit and veg plants on the go I am going to inundated with jam and chutney as well as fresh salads and I have a small home brew area with wines and cider - all made from fruit from the garden...

Got a Rhubarb wine I have almost finished drinking that is amazing!!! Next one that is nearly finished brewing is a black cherry wine - all of which actually cost me less than 50p a bottle

Once you start, you really don't stop

GreenSaints

With your entertainment budget, don't cut everything otherwise you'll feel deprived. Both me and January have done massive debt busting (see is now Debt free and living the dream!) but still gone out and had a life, but the MSE way.

I've had loads of free cinema trips, dinners and nights out thanks to this site and HotUKDeals.

You'll get there, just look at smaller goals first, rather than the scary big picture

wants.to.be.debt.free

FinanciallyUnsavvy wrote: »

Thanks for your responses, folks. I've tried to fill this in as best I can, but I don't have all the information to hand so I've tailored it as best I can to suit me.

I've not included any monthly expenditure outside of direct debits/bills etc. - so stuff like food, clothing, entertainment allowance has to come out of whatever I've got left at the end of the month. I haven't included this because as of yet I don't really know how much I spend each month - I tend to buy dribs and drabs here and there and pay by card and not really keep an accurate tally of what I'm spending/how much I can spend. This is the first thing I need to sort out really - get a set amount that I know I have to spend on food etc. each month, and learn to stick to it.

I also have a £1500 overdraft that I'd like to clear, didn't see a section for this on the balance sheet.

Statement of Affairs and Personal Balance Sheet
Household Information
Number of adults in household........... 1
Number of children in household......... 0
Number of cars owned.................... 0

Monthly Income Details
Monthly income after tax................ 1160
Benefits................................ 0
Other income............................ 0
Total monthly income.................... 1160

Monthly Expense Details
Rent.................................... 375
Council tax............................. 65
Electricity............................. 30
Gas..................................... 30
Water rates............................. 19
Telephone (land line)................... 18.5
Mobile phone............................ 41 (could you reduce this to a cheaper package)
TV Licence.............................. 25 (This will be £12 after 6 months of paying the direct debit)
Satellite/Cable TV...................... 12.50 (could you swap to a freeview box)
Internet Services....................... 12
Other travel............................ 87
Cinema.................................. 15
Total monthly expenses.................. 727

I HAVE NO ASSETS!!!

No Secured nor Hire Purchase Debts
Unsecured Debts
Description....................Debt......Monthly...APR
Credit card....................2416......60........18.9
Littlewoods BNPL...............1823......50.........?
Total unsecured debts..........4239......60........-

As for the Littlewoods debt - 1823 is the balance including the extortionate interest from Buy Now Pay Later. The actual amount I owe, providing I pay everything off within 12 months, is just short of £1000. £65 is due before June 15 to avoid interest, £250 before December and the rest is March 2013. So I need to factor in a monthly payment - even though I don't HAVE to start paying anything back really until the end of the year.


Monthly Budget Summary
Total monthly income.................... 1,160
Expenses (including HP & secured debts). 727
Available for debt repayments........... 433
Monthly UNsecured debt repayments....... 110
Amount left after debt repayments....... 323

Personal Balance Sheet Summary
Total assets (things you own)........... 0
Total HP & Secured debt................. -0
Total Unsecured debt.................... -4,239
Net Assets.............................. -4,239

I would suggest out of £323 left - you spend £100 per month on food - £23 for treats, plus if you cut back on the things i suggested - you would have more for treats)

Then the other £200 left would be to start paying off your debt on top of the £110 already paying.

Just don't buy any clothing and as for entertainment, have friends over - where each person brings some wine/food and it will be fun without blowing your budget.

The batch cooking is great, Lidl this weekend have half price on mince - 500g = 99p, carrots 34p for 1 kilo. Shop around and with your travel card it hopefully won't cost to get there.

Good luck