Teetering on the brink

[Deleted User]

faceuptoit wrote: »

Statement of Affairs and Personal Balance Sheet

Household Information
Number of adults in household........... 2


Monthly Income Details
Monthly income after tax................ 2106
Partners monthly income after tax....... 1500
Total monthly income.................... 3606[/b]

Monthly Expense Details
Rent.................................... 1083
Council tax............................. 94
Electricity............................. 20
Gas..................................... 40
Water rates............................. 26
Mobile phone............................ 50 This seems high! Use Skype when at home for non-inclusive calls and switch to SIM only or PAYG - check out GiffGaff
TV Licence.............................. 12
Internet Services....................... 16
Groceries etc. ......................... 400For two, this is very high. Cook from scratch, meal plan, batch cook, drop brands, try lidl/aldi
Clothing................................ 100EVERY month! Wow, stick with what you have for now. And maybe have a clear out and stick on e-bay what you no longer wear/does not fit
Medical (prescriptions, dentist etc).... 0never?
Contents insurance...................... 13
Presents (birthday, christmas etc)...... 50Do you save this somewhere for when it's needed?
Haircuts................................ 50Every month? See if there's a local college nearby that does cheap trainee cuts
Entertainment........................... 400This is a lot, use vouchers and offers - what does it get spent on?
Holiday................................. 0You should start putting something here so that you don't end up reaching for a CC when you want a holiday
Emergency fund.......................... 0And again, you probably need something here just in case an unexpected bill/expense crops up
Total monthly expenses.................. 2354


Assets
Cash.................................... 0What about non-regular bills (even if you don't want to post all your savings here
Other assets............................ 0
Total Assets............................ 0


No Secured nor Hire Purchase Debts

Unsecured Debts
Description....................Debt......Monthly...APR
M&S - me.......................1042......0.........0When does the 0% end? What will the interest rate revert to, and why are you not even making minimum payment?
M&S - gf.......................996.......0.........0as above
Total unsecured debts..........2038......0.........-


Monthly Budget Summary
Total monthly income.................... 3,606
Expenses (including HP & secured debts). 2,354
Available for debt repayments........... 1,252
Monthly UNsecured debt repayments....... 380Is this what's split across the two 0% cards?
Amount left after debt repayments....... 872Are you managing to save this every month? I suspect not if you are posting here for advice, and suggesting using a CC to fund a holiday! If you don't know where it is going then keep a spending diary - note down every expense from the odd carton of milk to the bif weekly/monthly shop, rent, taxi's, newspapers and each and every item in between - in a month or two you will know exactly where all your cash is going.

Personal Balance Sheet Summary
Total assets (things you own)........... 0
Total HP & Secured debt................. -0
Total Unsecured debt.................... -2,038
Net Assets.............................. -2,038

I have made some comments above - hope they help,

D9

eyeopener2

Hi

Am I reading this right that you use an account at 0% to take cash out?

What about your main account does that have nothing in it at all?

The good thing about this situation is that you are in a position to stop what has happened to most of us. You have spotted the signs and are doing something about it.

It is all about living on a budget and knowing exactly where every penny goes. Once you know, it is easy to keep track with a simple spreadsheet and you run your finances like a small business. Documenting every penny.

It's much easier doing it now than when you get to my situation, for example, of wondering how on earth I became to be in £24,000 worth of debt! And being forced to look at every single penny.

Good luck, you know what you have to do.

E2

eyeopener2

Oh and posting your savings figure, how regular you save, how much you have, gives a better picture to advise.

Just a thought.

E2

theoretica

As you put your spending on your card get hold of the last few statements and look at each transaction to see where your money did go- and was it really worth it? How well does that SOA really match reality?

oldtractor

faceuptoit wrote: »

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.................... 0

Monthly Income Details
Monthly income after tax................ 2106
Partners monthly income after tax....... 1500
Benefits................................ 0
Other income............................ 0
Total monthly income.................... 3606

Monthly Expense Details
Mortgage................................ 0
Secured/HP loan repayments.............. 0
Rent.................................... 1083

---

cold you move to a cheaper property?
Management charge (leasehold property).. 0
Council tax............................. 94
Electricity............................. 20
Gas..................................... 40
Oil..................................... 0
Water rates............................. 26
Telephone (land line)................... 0
Mobile phone............................ 50----this is high try to cut down to half
TV Licence.............................. 12
Satellite/Cable TV...................... 0
Internet Services....................... 16
Groceries etc. ......................... 400

---

very high . Try home cooking and baking. for 2 people its possible to spend much less than £200 a month
Clothing................................ 100

---

use what you have for now dont buy any more clothes for a [ long] while
Petrol/diesel........................... 0
Road tax................................ 0
Car Insurance........................... 0
Car maintenance (including MOT)......... 0
Car parking............................. 0
Other travel............................ 0
Childcare/nursery....................... 0
Other child related expenses............ 0
Medical (prescriptions, dentist etc).... 0
Pet insurance/vet bills................. 0
Buildings insurance..................... 0
Contents insurance...................... 13
Life assurance ......................... 0
Other insurance......................... 0
Presents (birthday, christmas etc)...... 50

---

reduce to £20
Haircuts................................ 50

---

very high. try going to a college for cuts .
Entertainment........................... 400

---

way too high. reduce to £100 max
Holiday................................. 0
Emergency fund.......................... 0

---

you need something here
Total monthly expenses.................. 2354


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
M&S - me.......................1042......0.........0
M&S - gf.......................996.......0.........0
Total unsecured debts..........2038......0.........-


Monthly Budget Summary
Total monthly income.................... 3,606
Expenses (including HP & secured debts). 2,354
Available for debt repayments........... 1,252
Monthly UNsecured debt repayments....... 380
Amount left after debt repayments....... 872

Personal Balance Sheet Summary
Total assets (things you own)........... 0
Total HP & Secured debt................. -0
Total Unsecured debt.................... -2,038
Net Assets.............................. -2,038

Some suggestions.

Barbeduk

That spending diary is a must. You spend £140 a month more that me on groceries and there's 4 of us. The entertainment figure is fabulous, but you're going to have to cut it back for a while til you're sorted out.

Just imagine what it's going to feel like when you've got no debt and can save up for that next holiday.

Edit: just thought, can you spend a week using cash only? I did his for about a month and it changed my spending habits completely. It hurts seeing the amount go down and down!

faceuptoit

eyeopener2 wrote: »

Hi

Am I reading this right that you use an account at 0% to take cash out?

What about your main account does that have nothing in it at all?

The good thing about this situation is that you are in a position to stop what has happened to most of us. You have spotted the signs and are doing something about it.

It is all about living on a budget and knowing exactly where every penny goes. Once you know, it is easy to keep track with a simple spreadsheet and you run your finances like a small business. Documenting every penny.

It's much easier doing it now than when you get to my situation, for example, of wondering how on earth I became to be in £24,000 worth of debt! And being forced to look at every single penny.

Good luck, you know what you have to do.

E2

Yes, as my main account is always left with a buffer for any unexpected payments and I figure if I bring the 0% overdraft back up to 0 each month I can see what I spend more easily..

Thank you for your encouraging words.

Re comments on my SOA - these are all appreciated. Regarding clothes and entertainment, there is a limit to how much I can cut - I only spend money on work clothes and it would basically be a huge no-no to come in with worn shoes/clothes with a hole/anything which is starting to look cheap and shiny! I might phone T-mobile to see if I can reduce my contract amount as I'm locked in for another year.

But the entertainment budget needs to go riiight down. No more taking my gf to the spa every month! :rotfl: Oh well, she'll thank me when the credit card is paid off.

Currently not managing to save anything out of my income. I really like the idea of a cash only week, to see how quickly it ebbs away!

In better news, NSD and have prepared a nice lunch for me and the gf to take to work tomorrow.

faceuptoit

Oh and regarding rent - we live in London, so we live in a very cheap (for London!!) 1 bed flat in an area that doesn't frighten me...Prob could live somewhere grotty and save money that way but considering I pay less rent than anyone else I know I would rather stay put where we are and go out less...

Takeaway_Addict

faceuptoit wrote: »

Yes, as my main account is always left with a buffer for any unexpected payments and I figure if I bring the 0% overdraft back up to 0 each month I can see what I spend more easily..

Thank you for your encouraging words.

Re comments on my SOA - these are all appreciated. Regarding clothes and entertainment, there is a limit to how much I can cut - I only spend money on work clothes and it would basically be a huge no-no to come in with worn shoes/clothes with a hole/anything which is starting to look cheap and shiny! I might phone T-mobile to see if I can reduce my contract amount as I'm locked in for another year.

But the entertainment budget needs to go riiight down. No more taking my gf to the spa every month! :rotfl: Oh well, she'll thank me when the credit card is paid off.

Currently not managing to save anything out of my income. I really like the idea of a cash only week, to see how quickly it ebbs away!

In better news, NSD and have prepared a nice lunch for me and the gf to take to work tomorrow.

Don't even do a cash only week, do a £50 tops week for all spend, fuel, food, entertainment, clothes etc!

ss3n08

Well done on the packed lunch, one small step for faceuptoit but it will make a difference x