Its Bad And About To Get A LOT Worse

inflatablebagpuss

Long time Lurker here. I have never before had the couage to post, but now I have to take control. Me and DP are both high-earners, but always struggle towards the end of the month. We are going to struggle even more now as he has been forced to resing from end of October. I am a bit lost. Here is the SOA as it stands but from November the income is halved. I did also not know where to put car leases, sorry if they in the wrong place. And also we have overdrafts totalling £5,000.
Statement of Affairs and Personal Balance Sheet
Household Information
Number of adults in household........... 2
Number of children in household......... 2
Number of cars owned.................... 2
Monthly Income Details
Monthly income after tax................ 2920
Partners monthly income after tax....... 3009
Benefits................................ 134.8
Other income............................ 0
Total monthly income.................... 6063.8
Monthly Expense Details
Mortgage................................ 1305
Secured/HP loan repayments.............. 0
Rent.................................... 0
Management charge (leasehold property).. 0
Council tax............................. 144
Electricity............................. 47
Gas..................................... 55
Oil..................................... 0
Water rates............................. 30
Telephone (land line)................... 27
Mobile phone............................ 60
TV Licence.............................. 12.37
Satellite/Cable TV...................... 59
Internet Services....................... 0
Groceries etc. ......................... 800
Clothing................................ 50
Petrol/diesel........................... 200
Road tax................................ 30
Car Insurance........................... 90
Car maintenance (including MOT)......... 0
Car parking............................. 0
Other travel............................ 0
Childcare/nursery....................... 250
Other child related expenses............ 0
Medical (prescriptions, dentist etc).... 0
Pet insurance/vet bills................. 0
Buildings insurance..................... 26
Contents insurance...................... 70
Life assurance ......................... 16.7
Other insurance......................... 0
Presents (birthday, christmas etc)...... 50
Haircuts................................ 0
Entertainment........................... 0
Holiday................................. 0
Emergency fund.......................... 0
Total monthly expenses.................. 3322.07

Assets
Cash.................................... 0
House value (Gross)..................... 248597
Shares and bonds........................ 0
Car(s).................................. 0
Other assets............................ 0
Total Assets............................ 248597

Secured & HP Debts
Description....................Debt......Monthly...APR
Mortgage...................... 213881...(1305).....0
Total secured & HP debts...... 213881....-.........-
Unsecured Debts
Description....................Debt......Monthly...APR
AMEX...........................3007......80........18.36
CAP ONE........................2178......60........34.08
MBNA 1.........................6791......185.......15.48
CAR LEASE 2....................0.........443.......0
CAR LEASE 1....................0.........295.......0
SOFA LOAN......................955.......27........0
BANK LOAN 2....................5300......278.......0
BANK LOAN......................4800......388.......0
STORE CARD.....................2550......100.......25.99
BARCAYCARD.....................9800......200.......23
HSBN...........................8500......200.......15.27
TECSO..........................10620.....200.......15.9
MBNA 2.........................2850......100.......24.9
LOYDS..........................3007......120.......26
Total unsecured debts..........60358.....2676......-

Monthly Budget Summary
Total monthly income.................... 6,063.8
Expenses (including HP & secured debts). 3,322.07
Available for debt repayments........... 2,741.73
Monthly UNsecured debt repayments....... 2,676
Amount left after debt repayments....... 65.73
Personal Balance Sheet Summary
Total assets (things you own)........... 248,597
Total HP & Secured debt................. -213,881
Total Unsecured debt.................... -60,358
Net Assets.............................. -25,642
Created using the SOA calculator at
Reproduced on Moneysavingexpert with permission, using IE browser.

FireWyrm

inflatablebagpuss wrote: »

Statement of Affairs and Personal Balance Sheet
Household Information
Number of adults in household........... 2
Number of children in household......... 2
Number of cars owned.................... 2
Monthly Income Details
Monthly income after tax................ 2920
Partners monthly income after tax....... 3009
Benefits................................ 134.8
Other income............................ 0
Total monthly income.................... 6063.8
Monthly Expense Details
Mortgage................................ 1305 remortgage? Interest only for the short term?
Secured/HP loan repayments.............. 0
Rent.................................... 0
Management charge (leasehold property).. 0
Council tax............................. 144 10 months or twelve...talk to the council about this
Electricity............................. 47 ensure all lights are turned off when not in use
Gas..................................... 55 again, turn down the heating, put on a jumper, you could easily halve this
Oil..................................... 0
Water rates............................. 30
Telephone (land line)................... 27
Mobile phone............................ 60 wow, you need to address this immediately. It's huge. Can you swap providers?
TV Licence.............................. 12.37
Satellite/Cable TV...................... 59 Something has to give in the short term...freeview from now on?
Internet Services....................... 0
Groceries etc. ......................... 800 Yikes. I manage on under £200 a month for two children, two adults and 5 cats. That's nearly £5000 a year that doesnt need to be spent
Clothing................................ 50 every month? That's 500 a year that doesnt need to be spent
Petrol/diesel........................... 200 Options for alternative travel? Work from home, car share?
Road tax................................ 30
Car Insurance........................... 90 What are you insuring and is this truly competitive
Car maintenance (including MOT)......... 0
Car parking............................. 0
Other travel............................ 0
Childcare/nursery....................... 250 Is this really cost effective?
Other child related expenses............ 0
Medical (prescriptions, dentist etc).... 0
Pet insurance/vet bills................. 0
Buildings insurance..................... 26
Contents insurance...................... 70 very high...I would be investigating this.
Life assurance ......................... 16.7
Other insurance......................... 0
Presents (birthday, christmas etc)...... 50 every month? This has to go. Cut down, make it, or re-purpose something to suit. You cant afford it.
Haircuts................................ 0
Entertainment........................... 0
Holiday................................. 0
Emergency fund.......................... 0
Total monthly expenses.................. 3322.07

Assets
Cash.................................... 0
House value (Gross)..................... 248597
Shares and bonds........................ 0
Car(s).................................. 0
Other assets............................ 0
Total Assets............................ 248597

Secured & HP Debts
Description....................Debt......Monthly...APR
Mortgage...................... 213881...(1305).....0
Total secured & HP debts...... 213881....-.........-
Unsecured Debts
Description....................Debt......Monthly...APR
AMEX...........................3007......80........18.36 then this one
CAP ONE........................2178......60........34.08 Get rid of this first.
MBNA 1.........................6791......185.......15.48
CAR LEASE 2....................0.........443.......0
CAR LEASE 1....................0.........295.......0
SOFA LOAN......................955.......27........0
BANK LOAN 2....................5300......278.......0
BANK LOAN......................4800......388.......0
STORE CARD.....................2550......100.......25.99
BARCAYCARD.....................9800......200.......23
HSBN...........................8500......200.......15.27
TECSO..........................10620.....200.......15.9
MBNA 2.........................2850......100.......24.9
LOYDS..........................3007......120.......26
Total unsecured debts..........60358.....2676......-

Monthly Budget Summary
Total monthly income.................... 6,063.8
Expenses (including HP & secured debts). 3,322.07
Available for debt repayments........... 2,741.73
Monthly UNsecured debt repayments....... 2,676
Amount left after debt repayments....... 65.73 I've identified at least a £1000 in your budget you could find if you needed to.
Personal Balance Sheet Summary
Total assets (things you own)........... 248,597
Total HP & Secured debt................. -213,881
Total Unsecured debt.................... -60,358
Net Assets.............................. -25,642
Created using the SOA calculator at
Reproduced on Moneysavingexpert with permission, using IE browser.

There are some ideas for you. I think you could find around £1000 a month more than you think, especially with a spending diary.

kettlenic

I agree with the above poster's higlighted comments
I would also have a look at the old style board for ideas to cut the grocery bill which is massive. Also look around the house for things to sell on ebay - it all adds up and what ever you get should go straight on the credit cards.

Tixy

Hi and welcome

Will OH get any redundancy/payout when they leave? How likely is it that they will be able to get some work in the short term, would temp work be a possibility whilst hunting for a permanent job?

inflatablebagpuss wrote: »

Statement of Affairs and Personal Balance Sheet
Household Information
Number of adults in household........... 2
Number of children in household......... 2
Number of cars owned.................... 2
Monthly Income Details
Monthly income after tax................ 2920
Partners monthly income after tax....... 3009
Benefits................................ 134.8
Other income............................ 0
Total monthly income.................... 6063.8
Monthly Expense Details
Mortgage................................ 1305
Secured/HP loan repayments.............. 0
Rent.................................... 0
Management charge (leasehold property).. 0
Council tax............................. 144
Electricity............................. 47
Gas..................................... 55
Oil..................................... 0
Water rates............................. 30
Telephone (land line)................... 27
Mobile phone............................ 60
TV Licence.............................. 12.37
Satellite/Cable TV...................... 59
Internet Services....................... 0
Groceries etc. ......................... 800 this is very high for a family of 4. People manage on around £250 for 4. That might be hard to cut so quickly but maybe aim for £350 from now and work on slowing reducing. You may need to totally rethink what you buy and what items are costing you a lot within this bill.
Clothing................................ 50
Petrol/diesel........................... 200 how much will this reduce once OH stops work?
Road tax................................ 30
Car Insurance........................... 90
Car maintenance (including MOT)......... 0
Car parking............................. 0
Other travel............................ 0
Childcare/nursery....................... 250 will this stop/reduce with OH not working?
Other child related expenses............ 0
Medical (prescriptions, dentist etc).... 0
Pet insurance/vet bills................. 0
Buildings insurance..................... 26
Contents insurance...................... 70 this looks very high - look around for a cheaper deal (or do you have very high value contents and some could be sold to pay back debts?)
Life assurance ......................... 16.7
Other insurance......................... 0
Presents (birthday, christmas etc)...... 50
Haircuts................................ 0
Entertainment........................... 0
Holiday................................. 0
Emergency fund.......................... 0
Total monthly expenses.................. 3322.07

Assets
Cash.................................... 0
House value (Gross)..................... 248597
Shares and bonds........................ 0
Car(s).................................. 0
Other assets............................ 0
Total Assets............................ 248597

Secured & HP Debts
Description....................Debt......Monthly...APR
Mortgage...................... 213881...(1305).....0 is this repayment or interest only? what APR? is it fixed or variable?
Total secured & HP debts...... 213881....-.........-
Unsecured Debts
Description....................Debt......Monthly...APR
AMEX...........................3007......80........18.36
CAP ONE........................2178......60........34.08
MBNA 1.........................6791......185.......15.48
CAR LEASE 2....................0.........443.......0
CAR LEASE 1....................0.........295.......0
SOFA LOAN......................955.......27........0
BANK LOAN 2....................5300......278.......0
BANK LOAN......................4800......388.......0
STORE CARD.....................2550......100.......25.99
BARCAYCARD.....................9800......200.......23
HSBN...........................8500......200.......15.27
TECSO..........................10620.....200.......15.9
MBNA 2.........................2850......100.......24.9
LOYDS..........................3007......120.......26
Total unsecured debts..........60358.....2676......-
What has most of the debt been run up on? anything you could now sell to put towards these debts?

Monthly Budget Summary
Total monthly income.................... 6,063.8
Expenses (including HP & secured debts). 3,322.07
Available for debt repayments........... 2,741.73
Monthly UNsecured debt repayments....... 2,676
Amount left after debt repayments....... 65.73
Personal Balance Sheet Summary
Total assets (things you own)........... 248,597
Total HP & Secured debt................. -213,881
Total Unsecured debt.................... -60,358
Net Assets.............................. -25,642
Created using the SOA calculator at
Reproduced on Moneysavingexpert with permission, using IE browser.

I would carefully check if your SoA is realistic - you appear to have a surplus currently but yet have over £65k of unsecured debt, so it looks like you have been spending a lot more than your SoA shows (I appreciate some may be past luxuries / holidays you have now cut out).

What is the situation with the cars? are you able to hand back either or both of the cars?
Are they ongoing leases or HP where you will eventually own? If they are HP how long until they are repaid?

HeadAboveWater

Hello and welcome :wave:

Hopefully you'll get lots of ideas and advice on here. I'll just mention a few things on your SOA (and yes maybe repeating what FireWyrm says occasionally!)

Telephone (land line)................... 27
I'll assume this includes internet too? Probably reasonable price then...

Mobile phone............................ 60
Too high. Is this for both? Could you switch to PAYG?

Satellite/Cable TV...................... 59
Is this necessary or would freeview or the likes suffice until you got more debts cleared?

Groceries etc. ......................... 800
WAY too high!! We're £150-£200 tops for 2 adults and 3 teenagers. Packed lunches. Meal plan. Shopping lists (which you stick to!!). Shop around. Bargain hunt. Reduced sections in supermarkets near closing time.

Clothing................................ 50
Can you cut this out for now? Try to mix and match more from your existing wardrobe?

Petrol/diesel........................... 200
Assume this is for both cars? And I'll assume this will reduce once your OH stops working.

Childcare/nursery....................... 250
Sounds high. Will OH be able to lend a hand so you're not having to fork out?

Presents (birthday, christmas etc)...... 50
Can this be cut back for a while?

Would also agree with the ebay idea as suggested by kettlenic . Car boot sales. All those sort of things to make a few extra £££s.

Good luck and keep us posted

Time_to_face_the_music

inflatablebagpuss wrote: »

Long time Lurker here. I have never before had the couage to post, but now I have to take control. Me and DP are both high-earners, but always struggle towards the end of the month. We are going to struggle even more now as he has been forced to resing from end of October.

How has he been forced to resign? Could he claim constructive dismissal and hence compensation for unfair dismissal?

downsizer3

In addition to the good advice already given - those interest rates are pretty scary.
What can you do in terms of getting in touch with the lenders and freezing interest, moving to 0% deals.
You have a big mortgage - look at 0% ( or is it already??) until you are back on your feet. You need to get rid of those expensive debts.
Realistically - does your DP have a good chance of a new job quickly / self employment to supplement your income? Or will DP become childcarer to save the care costs?
Beyond those initial issues - you maybe need to look at selling up and moving somewhere cheaper if you can - you have a good income but ( don't mean to sound harsh) you've been living way beyond your means and need to reign it all in dramatically to deal with the debt you have.
CCCS offer good advice - you maybe need to consider a DMP to ditch the high interest as a last resort and give you a fighting chance - it'll affect your credit rating but you may not have a choice.

Emthemist

Can you get a 0% credit card to switch your high interest debts to? Then pay minimum on this and try upping the payments to the others, in order of highest interest first?

Em

gfplux

Hopefully you will come back soon and answer the questions already posed as we are entering the world of guesswork if you don't

inflatablebagpuss

Wow. Although I have read these forums a lot it is surprising when its a post of my own to see the speed of responses. Will try and answer all the quetions. And Thank You to everyone for giving their time.

1) DP job. He made a mistake, the employers could have supported him but chose not to. He was one of the expesive ones and its a harsh industry he is in. He assures me the union route / tribunal would have been counterproductive and could have been carrer-ending. So no payout

2) Sky, I will be on the phone to them -he organised it but we can do without - there are enough free channels. I will not get suckered into any short term low rate deals. I want it gone completely.

3) Mobiles - that is for two, we have just renewed recently so little chance of knockdowns. Old phones too knackered to sell.

4) House insurance. Includes building ins as well. Did shop around at renewal time. Not really expensive items in house. Computer I am using here is 9 years old!

5) Childcare costs / Petrol / Car Lease - will drop if DP not working. He is happy to give back his car = it is very flashy and not appropiate now - if only I working then we can live with one.

6) Food / Clothes - only approximate. We have been used to living the high life but can easily cut this way back. Takeaways will become a distant memory.

7) Money mostly spent on wedding, vital house improvements, travel - my family live on other side of world, maternity leaves and spoiling the kids. Lessons have been learnt.

8) 0% card? Not sure any lender would touch us with our current amount of cards?

9) Moving. Not an option I wish to consider yet. Kids settled here and close to my job.

10) DMP - am I right in thinking that DMP is not as 'bad' as bankrupcy? Due to my job, bankruptcy is a complete no-no. However I have no issue with a poor credit rating as I have no desire to use credit cards ever again (aside from keeping one for contigency).

11) Council Tax - is over 10 months. Can I change it to be over 12? If so that would help out somewhat.

DP is ready to try anything to up the income but I am starting to think that may be with him at home doing the childcare / domestic it could be a better way of life for all - I am thankful he does not have all that machismo about being the breadwinner - we are a team.

There is also something else that may be of relevance possibly? DP's parents own their own home outright and have long ago offered us the deeds - to sign them over. Their house is worth about £200,000 and while we have no intention of moving them out - could the equity in this property be released to pay off some of the other debts. DP's parents view is that as he will inherit the house one day anyway (only child) he might as well get most use out of it now.

Thank you for all the messages so far, everything is being taken on board and I apprecate your time.

HeadAboveWater

Glad you're getting a good response!! And great that you're taking on board a lot of suggestions, plus some is already stuff you've thought about so right on track there!!

This bit I like...

DP is ready to try anything to up the income but I am starting to think that may be with him at home doing the childcare / domestic it could be a better way of life for all - I am thankful he does not have all that machismo about being the breadwinner - we are a team.

It'd be money saving to begin with, but also the opportunity to develop and build on the relationships with the kids. Win! Win!!

No idea on his parent's house so can't comment there sorry!