Newbee here!! any advice v welcome.

Escapee_2

Hello Guys, I am a newly single Mum of 2. My ex Husb was and still seems to be a serial debtor so i am trying to become debt freemay take a long time and build up credit rating.

Since Jan i have made payments to all, except council tax, on time. and am hoping that if i can keep doing this i will suceed.

Heres the rough breakdown........

Work p/t all school hours £630 pcm
wftc £520 pcm
housing benefit £160 pcm
Child benefit £120 pcm
Total

---

£1430 pcm

Doesnt sound too bad really does it, but once you look at all the bills its not so peachy!

Rent £675 pcm -am currently looking to move to cheaper house
car ins £38 pcm -have just got own policy after yrs of named driver
mobile £30 pcm -flext tariff£27+vat for £180 call credit
Telephone £18 pcm -BT just started own name contract
car loan £50 pcm - should be £150 have arrangement with debt co. (old car and loan £2000!)
credit card £20 pcm - arrangement with co. outstanding £2700
mothercare account £20 pcm - no longer use just paying off £180 left
gas £30 pcm - with atlantic believe to be cheapest
electricity £27 pcm - as above
water £42.50 pcm - not on a meter. standard charge
cat ins £10.72 pcm -is it irressponsible to get rid of the cat?
Life ins £8.50 pcm -hard to believe but i cost less the the cat!
AOL £9.99 pcm -essential internet!
tv license £11.00 pcm
bank loan repayments £20.00 pcm - actually £4000 outstanding, charges, charges, and more charges!
bus fares to work £80 pcm
Food £320 pcm
total

---

£1410.71

This leaves me £20 or so for school dinners sometimes and a bit of extra petrol or haircuts etc.

This is all very well, some people are far worse off i know, but how will i if i keep paying these small amounts off of huge debts get debt free? I have written to the banks/ loan co's to reclaim charges, awaiting response.
Any suggestions much appreciated.

chunky79

Escapee wrote: »

Hello Guys, I am a newly single Mum of 2. My ex Husb was and still seems to be a serial debtor so i am trying to become debt freemay take a long time and build up credit rating.

Since Jan i have made payments to all, except council tax, on time. and am hoping that if i can keep doing this i will suceed.

Heres the rough breakdown........

Work p/t all school hours £630 pcm
wftc £520 pcm
housing benefit £160 pcm
Child benefit £120 pcm
Total

---

£1430 pcm

Doesnt sound too bad really does it, but once you look at all the bills its not so peachy!

Rent £675 pcm -am currently looking to move to cheaper house
car ins £38 pcm -have just got own policy after yrs of named driver
mobile £30 pcm -flext tariff£27+vat for £180 call credit
Telephone £18 pcm -BT just started own name contract
car loan £50 pcm - should be £150 have arrangement with debt co. (old car and loan £2000!)
credit card £20 pcm - arrangement with co. outstanding £2700
mothercare account £20 pcm - no longer use just paying off £180 left
gas £30 pcm - with atlantic believe to be cheapest
electricity £27 pcm - as above
water £42.50 pcm - not on a meter. standard charge
cat ins £10.72 pcm -is it irressponsible to get rid of the cat?
Life ins £8.50 pcm -hard to believe but i cost less the the cat!
AOL £9.99 pcm -essential internet!
tv license £11.00 pcm
bank loan repayments £20.00 pcm - actually £4000 outstanding, charges, charges, and more charges!
bus fares to work £80 pcm Can you get a bus pass
Food £320 pcm Try and cut this down by £50 or more if you can, see threads on meal planning i will see if i can find one for youtotal

---

£1410.71

This leaves me £20 or so for school dinners sometimes and a bit of extra petrol or haircuts etc. can you not Make Packed lunches?

This is all very well, some people are far worse off i know, but how will i if i keep paying these small amounts off of huge debts get debt free? I have written to the banks/ loan co's to reclaim charges, awaiting response.
Any suggestions much appreciated.

Someone else better than me will come along these are the things i can think of.

chunky79

Just found this link

take a peek on that board it may give you some ideas.http://forums.moneysavingexpert.com/showthread.html?t=433691&highlight=meal+planning

joeblack066

Hi and well done for what you have achieved so far!! I think your food shop could come down considerably, I have never spent that much even when I was feeding 4 kids and myself!! The o/s board will help, as said before, but try keeping a spending diary, making a menu for the week, making a list from the menu and then sticking to it! You should be able to shave £100 per month off your bill with careful shopping, and then that will give you some £££ for treats/ unexpected bills. Also, you mention a car loan and ins, but no fuel/ road tax/ MOT? And bus fares to work? Am confused!!

Escapee_2

Thankyou for the advice, you are all gems!

The figure for travel to work /bus fares kind of includes all that. the actual bus fares are £40 pcm and the rest covers petrol to the park and ride. totally forgot about the car tax and its due the end of the month, what a delight!

Thanks x

mrsspendalot

I agree you can certainly get your shopping bill down by probably half. I am currently spending about £35-40 a week for a family of 5 without even really noticing we have cut back. Pop over to oldstyle for a browse

Oh, and welcome to DFW

Escapee_2

Seems like the food bills are the way to go.I have a lack of food
child-hood 'issue' going on that i need to address. I won't fail the kids just because the cupboards aren't stuffed full........I'm off to make a cup of tea and plan the weeks meals. Wish me luck! Thank you all.xx

piglet6

Hi Escapee :hello: - welcome to the DFW board...you're in the right place!

As Joeblack066 said, I suspect your food bill could come down by quite a bit. Read through the OS threads and you'll pick up a lot of tips (I used to spend a huge amount on food, but have cut down by loads since taking on board the tips here! ).

How old and in what condition is your cat? If he/she is young-ish and in pretty good health (and up to date with vaccinations), I would take a chance and cancel the insurance. To be on the safe side, you might want to just put the premiums into a piggy bank for the first 6-12 months, just in case of an emergency... :rolleyes:

Re: bus fares - check out any options for saver tickets (monthly/annual passes always work out cheaper - as long as you're not going to change jobs, and bus routes, in the next year...the initial outlay hurts a bit, but in the long run you win! :rotfl:).

Good luck!

Piglet

Also, your gas, electricity and water seem to be quite high in comparison to some on here...I'm no expert in these areas but I'm sure somebody will be along soon who can point you in a cheaper direction!

piglet6

Think we crossed posts, Escapee. :rotfl: Understand the lack of food issue (its surprising how issues from our past can affect our present thinking...! ) but I think you're right about the meal planning - I find we spend less when we meal plan (purely because when we go shopping without a plan we can spend a fortune on fruit and veg, thinking that we are being healthy, but in fact we are grossly over-estimating how much healthy food we can eat and ending up throwing a lot away when it goes off at the end of the week!!).

I wish you lots of luck!

Piglet

Escapee_2

Thankyou Piglet, I am feeling better already, I am all planned until Monday!
It's amazing how taking control,getting advice and taking action makes you feel so much better. The support is a huge boost!!

xx