Feeling so low and stressed...

Donki

Any "new tyre", budget or not, should do well over 2000 miles, are you sure you weren't sold a remoulded tyre or a partially worn tyre? Something diffinitely isn't right there. Do you know your wheel size?

CandyCupcake

Hi BarbedUK & Donki,

I have done an SOA a while ago, but i think i need to complete a new one. i have got the point now where i have completely removed my debit cards from my purse so even if i get tempted I have no choice. i will take out my 20.00 a week for my weekly shop but that is it. i still have 10.00 left from last week which i aim to keep so i only have to w/d 10.00 this week!

i am going to try and get rid of some games/dvds tomorrow ones i have seen or dont use. there is also a recycling place near where i live where they weigh any clothes you want to get rid of and give you cash in return. deffo going to do this.

he pays it into my account each month, 163.50 which barclays take by direct debit. he then gives me an additional 140.00 a month to clear it quicker. so hopefully should be cleared this time next year and then he is going to continue giving me the 203.50 to help clear my debts

in regards to the tyre... i dont have the receipt anymore for it and can't remember the exact date i purchased. but i only do 10,000.00 miles in a year and it was deffinately only purchased this year. this is the first time i have ever purchased a budget tyre and the first time i have had a tyre wear down so quick

all these ideas you guys are giving me are great. i really appreciate it! thankyouu

xx

CandyCupcake

Statement of Affairs & Personal Balance Sheet

Summary

Monthly Budget SummaryAmount(£)
Total monthly income 1,137
Monthly expenses (incl. HP & secured loans) 862.04
Available for debt repayments 274.96
UNsecured debt repayments 229.33
Amount left after debt repayments 45.63

Personal Balance Sheet SummaryAmount(£)
Total Assets (things you own) 8,000
Total Secured & HP Debt -4,783.94
Total Unsecured Debt -8,132.62
Net Assets -4,916.56

Household Information
Number of adults in household 3
Number of children in household 0
Number of cars owned 3

Income, Expense, Debt & Asset Details

IncomeAmount(£)
Monthly income after tax 1137
Partners monthly income 0
Benefits 0
Other income 0
Total monthly income 1137
ExpensesAmount(£)
Mortgage0
Secured/HP loan payments331.7
Rent50
Management charge (leasehold property)0
Council tax0
Electricity0
Gas0
Oil0
Water Rates0
Telephone (land line)0
Mobile phone40
TV Licence0
Satellite/Cable TV0
Internet services0
Groceries etc.80
Clothing0
Petrol/diesel70
Road tax11.25
Car Insurance71.67
Car maintenance (including MOT)22.42
Car Parking0
Other travel0
Childcare/nursery0
Other child related expenses0
Medical (prescriptions, dentists, opticians etc.)0
Pet Insurance/Vet bills0
Buildings Insurance0
Contents Insurance0
Life Assurance0
Other Insurance0
Presents25
Haircuts35
Entertainment0
Holiday125
Emergency Fund0
Total monthly expenses 862.04

Secured & HP Debt DescriptionDebt(£)Monthly(£)APR(%)
Mortgage0 (0) 0
Hire Purchase (HP) Debt4783.94 (331.7)0
Secured & HP Debt totals 4783.94 - -

Unsecured Debt DescriptionDebt(£)Monthly(£)APR(%)
Personal Loan 2719.66 94.33 20.8
Barclays Overdraft 760.00 18.3
Barclaycard 3652.96 85 17.5
Personal Loan 1000 50 0
Unsecured Debt totals 8132.62229.32999999999998 -

Asset DescriptionValue (£)
Cash0
House Value (Gross)0
Shares and bonds0
Car(s)8000
Other assets (e.g. endowments, jewellery etc) 0
Total Assets8000

mum2one

CandyCupcake wrote: »

Hi DebtClearer & mum2one,

unfortunately where i live i can't get public transport to work my partner is currently doing the driving to and from work (luckily we work at the same place) so that should save my tyres until i get new ones. the tyres i have had i have had on since i bought the car so like 2 years, i only had to replace one recently due to a puncture but that one needs replacing again. the new one i bought was a budget one and its only lasted me 2 months which has completely put me off budget tyres.

I don't got for the cheapest tyre usually the 2nd one up, it may also be that the tracking is out on the car if the one tyres is using more tread than another on the front.
.

I dont think i would be accepted for any credit at the minute because ive maxed out my credit recently when getting a 5000.00 loan out for my partner to buy his car. really need to clear my debt but this doesnt look like it's going to be happening anytime soon with all that needs paying out.

Any payment u make back all helps. maybe a rejig of the existing figures would help.

Im off to Dubai so need approx 500-700 spends for all the activities. im really going to have to scrimp and save to get that together. i know you're all probably thinking the holiday is a silly idea however at the time it felt like we could afford it and i know i will enjoy the holiday lots as I have been before.
Its not impossible, just a few extra corners cut, a few bits shaved off, def car boot, ebay, cashback,
As for the holiday, if I didn't have my holidays I would be unbearable, yes I could be debt free sooner if Ilived the life of a nun (no offence), but I need a life, yes I got into debt, like yourself, but you and me are both doing something about it, taking responsibility and playing the debts back.

Your love the holiday and because its taking that bit extra work to get there make it even more special.

Last yr was my big 4..0.. I took my DD to Dom Rep, we were lucky as half our holiday was paid for from an accident, (not that i'd recommend that route), but I wanted to take her on dolphin swim, so I carbooted, ebayed, cashback, anything and everything. Then before I went we booked the trips, made me and her appriciate them more for what we did to get there.


i should have really budgeted for all these costs throughout the year silly silly me! im paying for it now. everytime i think about it i just want to cry. i have tuck a step in the right direction though and stopped getting my nails done which was costing me 17.00 - 22.00 every 3 weeks. every little helps i suppose

thanks for your help guys
xx

hey hindsight is a wonderful thing, in many ways, but we learn from the experiences we have done, - if you want to have a cry then yea have a cry, but just allow yourself one cry, then say sod it, we're get there, those tears will be the motiviation you need to get there.

You've done a positive by not having your nails done, that helps, in 12 weeks, say £22 thats £88 saved.

Food - drop a brand - some may work some may not.

I don't know how you do your grocery shop, but say weekly, - then a quick way to say a weeks shopping.

Week 1 - Shop Thurs
Week 2 - change to fri
week 3 - sat
week 4 - sun
week 5 - mon
week 6 - tues
week 7 - wed

The trick to this is put the shopping money ready on the day that you start week 1 off on - so by week 8 you have a weeks shopping money, - your still going shopping weekly, - but you've stretched it.

maybe consider putting a SOA (statement of affairs up) as sometimes a 2nd pair of eyes might see a way to save money.

Going back to your nails, - I don't you if you have a college near you, but a lot of colleges that do health and beauty have their own salons, - you can have anything from hair cut, perm, massage, nails, facials etc, - done by students under supervision, and most do evenings as well. There a fraction of the cost of normal treatments, the downside is there closed from half July to mid Seot, but as a treat in the future. xxxx

Apologies didn't see the SOA, (shoould really read down before I answer) xx

mum2one

CandyCupcake wrote: »

Statement of Affairs & Personal Balance Sheet

Summary

Monthly Budget SummaryAmount(£)
Total monthly income 1,137
Monthly expenses (incl. HP & secured loans) 862.04
Available for debt repayments 274.96
UNsecured debt repayments 229.33
Amount left after debt repayments 45.63 - thats a positive that theres a plus over

Personal Balance Sheet SummaryAmount(£)
Total Assets (things you own) 8,000
Total Secured & HP Debt -4,783.94
Total Unsecured Debt -8,132.62
Net Assets -4,916.56

Household Information
Number of adults in household 3 - are you responsible for any of the other adults in the household
Number of children in household 0
Number of cars owned 3 - how many of the3 cars are you responsible for?

Income, Expense, Debt & Asset Details

IncomeAmount(£)
Monthly income after tax 1137 - guessing were working on just your income and your bills (share of bills)
Partners monthly income 0
Benefits 0
Other income 0
Total monthly income 1137
ExpensesAmount(£)
Mortgage0
Secured/HP loan payments331.7
Rent50 - guessing your at home for the rent to be so cheap
Management charge (leasehold property)0
Council tax0
Electricity0
Gas0
Oil0
Water Rates0
Telephone (land line)0
Mobile phone40 - do you get value for money - using all the "extras" if yoru in contract see if you can drop a grade, if out of contract consider sim only deal or pay + go (great deals of giff gaff - they piggy back on o2 network)
TV Licence0
Satellite/Cable TV0
Internet services0
Groceries etc.80
Clothing0 - I think there could something for clothing - even if you carried it over to next month
Petrol/diesel70
Road tax11.25
Car Insurance71.67 - def shop around at renewal, and look at cashback sites
Car maintenance (including MOT)22.42
Car Parking0
Other travel0
Childcare/nursery0
Other child related expenses0
Medical (prescriptions, dentists, opticians etc.)0 - no dental?
Pet Insurance/Vet bills0
Buildings Insurance0
Contents Insurance0
Life Assurance0
Other Insurance0
Presents25
Haircuts35 - not saying its a luxury - but could you try to stretch a week or so extra between haircuts
Entertainment0
Holiday125
Emergency Fund0
Total monthly expenses 862.04

Secured & HP Debt DescriptionDebt(£)Monthly(£)APR(%)
Mortgage0 (0) 0
Hire Purchase (HP) Debt4783.94 (331.7)0 - guessing this is b/fs car
Secured & HP Debt totals 4783.94 - -

Unsecured Debt DescriptionDebt(£)Monthly(£)APR(%)
Personal Loan 2719.66 94.33 20.8 - how much longer have you got left on this
Barclays Overdraft 760.00 18.3 - if there interest or charges on the account? is there anything going off the OD
Barclaycard 3652.96 85 17.5 - At a guess thats just covering interest with a small bit off the debt - could you keep the figure at £85 per month help reduce quicker?
Personal Loan 1000 50 0 - guessing that must be family with 0%, - is the £1000 thats left to be paid?
Unsecured Debt totals 8132.62229.32999999999998 -

Asset DescriptionValue (£)
Cash0
House Value (Gross)0
Shares and bonds0
Car(s)8000
Other assets (e.g. endowments, jewellery etc) 0
Total Assets8000

Hi
I've put a few thoughts on he SOA, apologies if it seems like I'm prying, do you manage to have anything at the end of the month.

may be worth keeping a spending diary and list everything down, as there may be spends that slip through the net. xx

CandyCupcake

Hi mum2one,

dont me silly you're not prying at all! i really appreciate all of your help.

about the tyres... its both my front tyres need replacing they said my back ones are OK. im assuming the tracking will be right as it had a major service back in March... guessing they check it then? if not on the MOT right? :S

my boyfriend and I have decided to combine our debts as it works out we will clear them sooner. so starting with the highest APR the 5000.00 loan for his car will be cleared first. he will pay the minimum of 163.50 along with an additional 140.00 where as at the min (looking at my SOA) I can only put an additional 45.00 minimum at it. once this is cleared he will then be putting the same towards my debts to help me get rid of them

you're advice about the holiday has really cheered me up! you're right, although we are in debt doesnt mean we dont deserve a break. so it may mean adding a few months onto our DFD but that's OK if we are still heading in the right direction. Since doing the above SOA I have worked out i should be OK in getting all the monies together for everything that needs paying out including my mums birthday im just hoping the insurance renewal is OK! thats the only thing i dont have an exact figure on yet... need to wait for my renewal which i probz wont get until next month.

about your comments on me SOA:

- when i say theyre are 3 adults in the household, thats me, my mum & my boyfriend. Technically my partner doesnt live here, just stays here alot so nope im not responsible for them and the car situation is a car per person so again I am only responsible for my own and no one elses.
- i have based my SOA purely on me alone, so my income & my debts as my partners money is his moneys aslong as he pays for his loan thats all i ask
- yep still living at home, i would pay more than 50.00 but my mum understands its all i can afford at the min!
- 40.00 for the phone bill i know is high. it usually comes to around £35/36 but i like to slightly over budget just incase. I was in a contract which was £45.00 a month until recently when I phoned orange and managed to get them to drop my plan to £35.00 as i dont use everything i was paying for so unfortunately cant drop this any more at the min
- the clothes situation: i really dont spend anything on clothes recently which is why i havent budgeted. sad i know. i may start trying to get myself something once a month... if this becomes the case i will amend by SOA accordingly
- my car insurance is high because of my age. well its low for my age group, but still high. I am only 22, with one years no claims & one years driving and 2 non fault accident £860 was the cheapest i could get last year, hopefully my renewal will drop by £100 or more seeing as i now have 2 years driving exp and 2 years no claims will deffo have to look into the cashback sites for this year! never used them before? does that work even if you renew with the same company? (they always seem to come out the cheapest)
- i put £35 for the haircuts as its usually around £70.00 every 2-3months. sometimes it's longer though so again it is an over estimate for the budget. I live kind of in the country so the nearest college to me is in the town centre which is a good 20-30minute drive away and would mean having to pay for parking there too. its not good living in the sticks haha!!
- The £331.71 is actually my car finance, i have just over a year left on this
- the personal loan - i got it out last year over 4 years, so have just over 3 years left but actually plan to have this cleared in 2013
- i pay just over £1 interest on my Barclays overdraft so because I overbudget what i put in this account for bills etc. that is always covered by the overfall
- you're right i am literally paying the bare minimum on my barclaycard. i was paying £100 a month but decided to drop it so i could put all my extra money at the debt we have with the highest APR
- yep the £1000 is with a family member and thats what is remaining it was approx £2600 what i borrowed

Even though my SOA shows I should have approx £45 minimum left over each month I never see this. So now I know it's there I just have to find it. I have taken my debit cards out of my purse so I literally cannot spend anything. I dont need to anyway I just do because I can. So all i have in my purse now is £10.00 left over from last weeks shop which I am trying to keep to use towards this weeks shop instead of taking out £20 i will take out £10 & £3.00 which I was refunded by Pets at Home yesterday and that is all I have and my aim is to keep that money as long as possible

I really really do appreciate your time and help mum2one, its nice just to have someone actually interested in helping you. people who aren't in this situation, or who are and dont care, seem to get very bored/irritated with me trying to talk about it. but too be honest, before i was ever in the situation i would have probs been the same. so thankyou xx

xx

antonia1

Hiya, I have made a few comments - hope they are helpful. Feel free to ignore!

CandyCupcake wrote: »

i think it has a slow puncture & when it went in for its service they said the tread is low on it.

If they said the tread was low, did they say how many miles (ish) before it needs replacing? Do you know how to check yourself (or have someone who can check for you)? They might just be warning that it needs replacing in the next 6 months or if you do a lot of miles. Might give you a bit more breathing room.

CandyCupcake wrote: »

about the tyres... its both my front tyres need replacing they said my back ones are OK. im assuming the tracking will be right as it had a major service back in March... guessing they check it then? if not on the MOT right? :S

I'm not a motoring expert (by any stretch of the imagination), but I think that most mechanics know what tyre wear due to tracking looks like. Maybe ask on the motoring forum on here and see if you can check it yourself. Also, tracking is not checked as part of the MOT. I think it would be part of a service tho, do you still have the summary of what they checked during the service?

my boyfriend and I have decided to combine our debts as it works out we will clear them sooner. so starting with the highest APR the 5000.00 loan for his car will be cleared first. he will pay the minimum of 163.50 along with an additional 140.00 where as at the min (looking at my SOA) I can only put an additional 45.00 minimum at it. once this is cleared he will then be putting the same towards my debts to help me get rid of them

Maybe you could try doing an SOA with all the combined debts on (his and yours) and add the amount he pays towards them under the "other income" section? It might just help you keep a clear picture of what is coming in and going out each month.

40.00 for the phone bill i know is high. it usually comes to around £35/36 but i like to slightly over budget just incase. I was in a contract which was £45.00 a month until recently when I phoned orange and managed to get them to drop my plan to £35.00 as i dont use everything i was paying for so unfortunately cant drop this any more at the min

Well done - that will help. Consider switching to giffgaff when your contract is up.

i put £35 for the haircuts as its usually around £70.00 every 2-3months. sometimes it's longer though so again it is an over estimate for the budget. I live kind of in the country so the nearest college to me is in the town centre which is a good 20-30minute drive away and would mean having to pay for parking there too. its not good living in the sticks haha!!

£70 for a haircut is really high. Does that include a colour - so could you switch to home colouring for a while? Even petrol for 30 min each way plus parking will probs still be much cheaper than this.

you're right i am literally paying the bare minimum on my barclaycard. i was paying £100 a month but decided to drop it so i could put all my extra money at the debt we have with the highest APR

That is usually the best way to go. Try the snowball calculator to work out how much cheaper it is by paying off the highest APR first.

Even though my SOA shows I should have approx £45 minimum left over each month I never see this. So now I know it's there I just have to find it.

Keep a spending diary, and all receipts. It is AMAZING what you find out. For instance, I have recently discovered that the reason I find it so hard to stick to my budget is that I keep buying wine (popping to the shop for a bottle on the way home or out with flatmate for "one" drink has cost me £91 in two weeks:eek:), so now I'm not drinking for a while.

CandyCupcake

Hi antonia1 thanks for taking the time to comment

My Service was in March and it was then they told me I will need them replaced by my MOT in July. So they did give me advanced notice but it was my own stupid fault for not saving sooner

I haven't included him at all on the SOA as I don't want him to be on a budget. He is giving me the minimum payment for the loan I got out for him plus £140 extra which will go straight to the loan so I will never see the money really

Yehh my hair is a colour but it's highlights. I tried doing them myself with the home kits but it was a bit of a disaster so unfortunately I have to pay a professional. I tried a box dye one colour all over but I just didn't suit it!

The snowball calculator showed by throwing everything at the debt with the highest interest means we will be debt free 6 trs sooner than if we just stuck to minimum payments which is amazing!! As well as saving ourselves silly amounts of interest!!

Omg £91 on wine!! I will have to find a little notepad to find out where this £45 a month is going that I should have left over. It's so surprising how the little things we buy and think nothing of soon add up!!

Thanks so much for your advice )

xx

Barbeduk

Really good idea to only have a small amount of cash on you when you're out and about. Before my LBM I used to take out £50 every week and I'm ashamed to say I never had a clue where it went. Now I can make £20 last a fortnight if I'm really careful.

Mad isn't it that you can spend all that money and have nothing to show for it?

CandyCupcake

Well the £4000 credit card debt I have I have nothing to show for! Seriously how do you spend £4000 and not know what on. Now I watch every penny hehe

xx