SOA - any help appreciated

Fatmum

Monthly Income

Income Amount
Net Monthly Salary £ 1,500.00
Partner's Monthly Salary £ 186.00
Benefits £ 500.00
TOTAL MONTHLY INCOME £ 2,186.00


Essential Monthly Outgoings

Outgoings Amount
Mortgage £ 586.00(inc. house and contents insurance and unemployment and illness cover)
Council Tax £ 120.00
Electricity £ 35.00
Gas £ 34.00
Water Rates £ 41.00 (not metered, when I compared costs annual bill was cheaper)
Telephone £ 23.00
Mobile Phone £ 3.00
TV Licence £ 11.37
Internet £ 17.00
Life Insurance £ 62.00(husband smokes so his insurance is high)
Groceries £ 280
Clothing and haircuts £ 80.00
Petrol £ 150.00(car is motability, so no other motoring cost)
Car Parking £ 3.00
Other Travel £ 5.00
Medical/Dental Expenses £ 10.00
Pets Insurance/Vets Bills £ 15.00
Birthdays/Christmas £ 40.00
Holidays £ 20.00
respite and school £ 20.00(special needs school outings and respite petrol money)
baccy and beer £ 25.00
pocket money £20.00
TOTAL MONTHLY OUTGOINGS £ 1,600.37
NET MONTHLY SURPLUS £ 585.63


Monthly Debts

Debt Total Debt Min Payment Rate
Overdraft £ 1,600.00 £ 0.00 9.00 %
Loan £ 3,930.00 £ 203.00 0.00 %
marbles £ 7,756.00 £ 155.00 15.90 %
abbey £ 800.00 £ 20.00 25.00 %
sainsburys £ 796.00 £ 15.00 16.00 %
halifax £ 5945.00 £ 100.00 15.00 %
m and s £ 200.00 £ 9.00 19.00 %
american express £ 3,023.00 £ 74.00 5.00 %
mint £ 8,187.00 £ 200.00 24.00 %
john lewis £ 658.00 £ 25.00 15.00 %
barclays £ 980.00 £ 20.00 19.00 %
mum loan £4,300 (as when can be repaid)
TOTAL DEBT £37,000 approx

Assetts
Savings £800 Building society
Premium bonds £500
Equity in house £120,000
Total Assetts £121,300

currently we are getting by because of overtime of around £400 a month but this will not last past the summer so we need to think of something fast.
We are a family of 4, 2 adults and 2 teenagers. My husband works full time and I am a carer to my disabled son, hence the benefits.
The mortgage is for a £70,000 repayment, 18 years left house is worth approx £200,000. Debts were built up over a number of years due to poor money management, all clothing,furniture etc comes from freecycle/charity shops or family.
We are struggling to see where we can cut back more, so would be grateful if you could help in any way.
Many thanks for looking

hypno06

Hi there, and welcome,

First of all, I would suggest getting a note book and keeping a really strict spending diary of everything, and I mean everything, that you spend each day for a month.

This really opens your eyes to what you buy that you don't need and can form the basis of a good saving each month.

You could possibly cut back the grocery shopping, it may seem tough but you should easily be able to do a family of 4 and eat really well for no more than £200. Pop over to the Moneysaving Old Style board if you need inspiration.

Have you tried to reduce the APRs on the credit cards etc. May be worth a phone call to see - are you on top of the payments etc?

Try putting all the figures into the snowball calculator - https://www.whatsthecost.com which can give you an idea of what a difference your monthly repayments will make to your debt free date and give you a focus.

Plus, speak to CCCS or payplan etc at the top of these boards. They will give you other options which you may choose to consider eg DMP. They will not push you into anything and they are charitable organisations so are not making money from advising you in any way. Give them a buzz because even if you do not do anything with them, you will at least have had someone knowledgable to talk to!

Most of all, keep posting, loads of people here are in similar situations so always someone around to give advice and support.

GirlRacer_2

Hi Fatmum and welcome. I agree with Hypno, you could cut down on the grocery shop. I'd also look into how much your house insurance and life cover is costing you with your mortgage, you may be able to get it cheaper. (look online for some quotes).

Clothing and haircuts could also be cut back especially whilst your paying everything off.

Gas, electricity, telephone and internet - are you with the cheapest providers, look into it, you may be able to save some money.

You may have already looked at these options already, but if not, give it a go you may save a bit.

Hopefully some more people will be along shortly to offer you some more advice.

Lucie_2

I make your monthly minimum repayments add up to £821 per month. That gives you a deficit of £236 per month. (ignoring the overtime).

Personally, I would spend your savings on repaying some of the higher % rate debts, eg the £800 savings would clear the Abbey debt at 25% apr. You can also withdraw from premium bonds too.
Can you shuffle some of the debt around onto cheaper rates? That way you're paying off more of your debt each month & less interest.

Well done for tackling it, I'm sure you will get loads more suggestions from the helpful peeps on here.