oh my life...... Light Bulb moment.

MiMi66

Hi Foxgloves

I very much want to be in that position in a few years time - 55 months to be exact.... rewired brain, great credit history but no desire or need to use it and hopefully moved home.

I am having a bit of a reaction at present to even small spend - extreme nausea and panic like feelings even buying a few essential items like bread and milk - I am hoping that eases a bit as it is really unsettling having to talk myself down. Hopefully from next Wednesday when I get paid, I will be able to move past that and budget the whole month properly - I had spent way more than half of my remaining income for the month when I hit rock bottom this time. I will have a budget of £400 for the months for food, fuel and pet food and incidentals like haircuts and social outings - that is for my son and I at home, and three cats - luxury blasted prince and princesses but there you go, I love them - even their cat food variety has been scaled down.

Right I am going to do a SOA and post it....

MiMi66

So I can't seem to do the Stoozing SOA as the link isn't working and looking though the threads I can see that others are having the same issue. Here's the one I did on the National Debtline website - doesn't cut and paste readily though so a bit jumbled like my credit card debt life....

Overview Amount Frequency
Totalincome 2,712 Monthly
Totaloutgoings 1,981.82 Monthly
(Income outgoings) 730.17 Monthly
(Savings contribution if applicable) 20 Monthly



Total!available for non priority creditors 710.17 Monthly

Earnings Amount Frequency
Salary or wages (take home) 2,370 Monthly
Partner's salary or wages (take home) 0 Monthly
Other earnings (including self employment) 0 Monthly
Total salary and wages each month 2,370 Monthly
Benefits and tax credits Amount Frequency
Universal Credit 0 Monthly
Jobseeker's Allowance (income based) 0 Monthly
Jobseeker's Allowance (contribution based) 0 Monthly
Income Support 0 Monthly
Working Tax Credit 0 Monthly
Child Tax Credit 0 Monthly
Child Benefit 82 Monthly
Employment and!Support Allowance or Statutory Sick Pay 0 Monthly
Disability Benefits 0 Monthly
Carer's Allowance 0 Monthly
Local Housing Allowance / Housing Benefit 0 Monthly
Council Tax Support 0 Monthly
Other benefits/tax credits (for example maternity benefits) 0 Monthly
Total!benefits and tax credits each month 82 Monthly

Pensions Amount Frequency
State pensions 0 Monthly -
Monthly outgoings: fixed costs
Private or work pensions 0 Monthly -pension contribution is is taken before my net salary

Pension Credit 0 Monthly
Other pensions 0 Monthly
Total pensions each month 0 Monthly

Other income Amount Frequency
Maintenance and child support 260 Monthly
Boarders!or!lodgers 0 Monthly - hope to have a lodger at some time in the next four weeks?
Non dependants' contributions 0 Monthly
Student loans and grants 0 Monthly
Other income 0 Monthly
Total other income each month 260 Monthly

Home and contents Amount Frequency
Rent 0 Monthly
Ground rent and service charges 0 Monthly
Mortgage 609.45 Monthly
Mortgage endowment 0 Monthly
Secured loans 0 Monthly
Council Tax/Rates 120 Monthly
Appliance and furniture rental 0 Monthly
TV licence 12.12 Monthly
Other costs 0 Monthly
Total home and contents each month 741.57 Monthly

Utilities Amount Frequency
Gas 45 Monthly
Electricity 50 Monthly
Other costs (including coal, oil, calor gas and so on) 12 Monthly
Other expenditure 0 Monthly
Total utilities costs each month 107 Monthly
Water Amount Frequency
Water supply 63 Monthly
Water waste 0 Monthly
Total water costs eac !month 63 Monthly
Care and health costs Amount Frequency
Childcare costs 0 Monthly
Adult carecosts 0 Monthly
Child maintenance or child support 0 Monthly
Prescriptions and medicines 10 Monthly
Dentistry and opticians 30 Monthly
Other!costs 0 Monthly
Total care and health costs!each!month 40 Monthly

Transport and travel Amount Frequency - my car is a NHS lease car which I pay for before getting my net salary - and all insurance and motoring costs other than fuel are in the lease (150 per month) though I pay for work fuel and claim back so haven't added that in as it just looks confusing - changeable amount every month.
Public!transport (for example work, school, shopping) 12 Monthly
Hire purchase or conditional sale vehicle 0 Monthly
Car insurance 0 Monthly
Road tax 0 Monthly
MOT and ongoing maintenance 0 Monthly
Breakdown cover 0 Monthly
Fuel, parking and toll road charges 40 Monthly
Other costs 0 Monthly
Total monthly outgoings
Total transport and travel costs each month 52 Monthly

School costs Amount Frequency
School uniform 0 Monthly
After school clubs and school trips 30 Monthly
Other costs 0 Monthly
Total school costs each month 30 Monthly

Pensions and insurances Amount Frequency
Pension payments 0 Monthly
Life insurance 34 Monthly - 2 policies - one mortgage protection and one on my ex and I for safeguarding.
Mortgage payment protection insurance 0 Monthly
Buildings and contents insurance 255 Yearly
Health insurance (medical or accident or dental) 28 Monthly
Other costs 0 Monthly
Total pensions and insurance costs each month 83.25 Monthly

Professional costs Amount Frequency
Professional courses 0 Monthly
Union fees 0 Monthly
Professional fees 120 Yearly
Other 0 Monthly
Total professional costs each month 10 Monthly

Other essential costs Amount Frequency
Total!other!essential!costs!each!month 0 Monthly

Communications and leisure Amount Frequency
Home phone, internet, TV package (including!film!subscriptions) 32 Monthly
Mobile phone 50 Monthly - 3 mobiles but daughter has said she will take her costs on once she is settled back to Uni wills ave £13/month
Hobbies, leisure!or sport (for example socialising, eating out, outings, clubs,leisure courses)
35 Monthly
Gifts (for example birthdays, festivals, charity!donations) 40 Monthly
Pocket!money 0 Monthly
Newspapers, magazines,!stationery!and!postage 10 Monthly
Other!costs 0 Monthly
Total!communications and leisure costs each month 217 Monthly

Food and housekeeping Amount Frequency
Groceries!(e.g. food, pet food, non alcoholic drinks, cleaning) 350 Monthly
Nappies and baby items 0 Monthly
School meals and meals at work 10 Monthly - emergency only
Laundry and dry cleaning 20 Monthly
Alcohol 0 Monthly
Smoking products 0 Monthly
Other costs 58 Monthly
Total food and housekeeping costs each month 538 Monthly

Personal costs Amount Frequency
Clothing and footwear 60 Monthly
Hairdressing 20 Monthly
Toiletries 20 Monthly
Other costs 0 Monthly
Total personal costs each month 100 Monthly


Total monthly outgoings

Amount
Total fixed costs each month 1,126.82
Total flexible costs each month 855
Total costs each month 1,981.82
Savings
Total savings contribution 20

Your priority debts
Creditor Owed (£) Offer (£)
Total priority debts 0 0 :T

Your non-priority debts
Creditor Owed
(£)
CCJ Offer (£)
Nationwide Credit card 5,498 No 75 (higher than in my signature as I have the money aside to make a payment down to signature level next week.
Nationwide Personal loan 9,871 No 255
Halifax Credit card 9,365 No 120
Vvirgin Credit card 7,025 No 71
Marks and Spencers Credit card 6,302 No 200

Total non priority debts 38,061 721

It doesn't showed it on the download but apparently it calculated that I have £730 to pay toward non-priority debts - I think I can do this and will print off the full budget and keep it at hand and figure a way to make those separate stashes of money for each area of outgoings and not overspend. Looking at this I can do it and save a little and especially if I do have a lodger AND get some overtime, I can split that towards emergency fund and debt repayment. This is my plan for November onward as it is not workable for October as I am pulling every penny from everything to pay off a Nationwide cc amount that will start to incur interest after the 8th October. So mega tight October - but doable as long as the roof doesn't come off, and then a more reasoned budget, tight but doable. Sales of stuff will fund Christmas ans I will try to get a few extra shifts once I get back to work. Now I need a strong drink:A:D

Magpie100

Hi MiMi,

It was good to read your post! I can definitely see progress in how you are approaching things. I know you probably feel like you aren’t getting anywhere, but you really are. You’ve returned the jeans and shoes and decluttered and started selling things. I hope as you continue you’ll see that getting rid of things can actually be quite pleasant. It frees up space in your home and in your mind, and it helps you see what you already have, and perhaps means you start to feel less of an urge to shop. I always try to remember that if I buy something I will need to find a place to put it, too.

I’m sorry you feel so down about your daughter moving out. It is a big change and a perfectly understandable reaction. But like any change, you will adapt to it. I think embracing decluttering and getting organised on the money front can at least provide a practical distraction. I would suggest you have a Google round about lodgers and utilities. I would think that what you charge should include everything (for ease, if nothing else) – especially since a lodger is different from a tenant and technically only one room will be for their exclusive use. Of course, it would be good to come to a broad agreement of them about using utilities. I don’t think it would be unreasonable to say that your expectations are that they will be mindful about leaving lights on or not whacking the heating up and leaving taps running all over the place.

On which note I m fortunate that my OH is a gadget geek so we have Hive in our home. It is wonderful because it means I can turn the heating on when I am on my way home or out and about, so you can be very precise in how you use it. If I decide to go out for a night but the heating is due to come on I can turn it off remotely and save a few pennies. It might be worth looking in to? We also use it when we are away to keep an eye on what our house sitter uses in terms of heating. Not that I want them to be cold, but if they left it on 24/7 I might have something to say! So with a lodger it might work well?

Your comments on neural pathways are spot on in my view. You need to retrain yours, and it is a process that will take a bit of time. I am trying to do the same myself – I try and only focus on one thing and work that change over and over until it is bedded in. Currently it is not buying coffee at work but making it myself. So far this week my coffee spend has been £0.00, so I am very pleased. I know there are other changes I need to make, but I am not going to embark on those for another few weeks, until this one small change is well established. I also agree that the way we spend is very often linked to our childhood experiences. My parents were wonderful and supported us in all the important ways – love, and education, and socialising and striving for the future – but we weren’t especially well off until I was about 15 or 16. I didn’t go abroad until I was 14, and I didn’t go on a plane until I was 16. I think that is quite different compared to many children now. For me being able to go shopping for new clothes is an urge I have that seems to address something I felt I was lacking in childhood. But there is an element of me that simultaneously realises how ridiculous this feeling is, since I know I was given everything I was needed for a wonderful childhood, even if it lacked material things. So I always feel both guilty and excited at the thought of going shopping. I want to try and temper both of these feelings in myself over time.

Anyway, back to you. I had a quick look at your SOA and I think it looks pretty good. I do think one of the strengths of your position is that your pension, transport and mortgage are essentially sorted without you having to think too much about it. You don’t need to budget too much with regard to your car, so once you get your salary it is there for you to allocate exactly as you need to. I am glad your daughter is going to start to pay for her mobile bill.

Try not to panic too much about October being a tight month. I think one of the things that happens with a debt like this is that for a couple of months things may get worse, or look worse, or both. It isn’t nice, especially as you want to see a bit of improvement, but it does take time to stabilise and get everything lined up to start working with pay days and bill payment dates. But please, please keep your spending under control and don’t add to the debt.

I don’t have any comments on your SOA in the sense of seeing a category that jumps out at me waving alarming red flags. I think your challenge is going to be BUDGETING and understanding where your money is going. I am not sure you are going to crack this in one month but that’s ok. Just be honest about where you find shortfalls and adjust your SOA accordingly. Oh – one thing - £20 a month on laundry and dry cleaning looks a bit much. Could that be cut to £10 a month? Do you really have to wear much dry clean stuff? I would be inclined to cut it in half and see how you get on.

Hope that helps, and keep up the progress! You are getting there and I can see a definite change in your posts. It is hard when you are waiting for pay day – at least when it arrives you can put your plans in to action. I can sense your frustrations at no being able to get going. Keep the momentum up!

M100

EssexHebridean

It's a bit of a pain our usual SOA Calc being down but let's see how we go with this one then...comments in red...

MiMi66 wrote: »

Overview Amount Frequency
Totalincome 2,712 Monthly
Totaloutgoings 1,981.82 Monthly
(Income outgoings) 730.17 Monthly
(Savings contribution if applicable) 20 Monthly



Total!available for non priority creditors 710.17 Monthly

Earnings Amount Frequency
Salary or wages (take home) 2,370 Monthly
Partner's salary or wages (take home) 0 Monthly
Other earnings (including self employment) 0 Monthly
Total salary and wages each month 2,370 Monthly
Benefits and tax credits Amount Frequency
Universal Credit 0 Monthly
Jobseeker's Allowance (income based) 0 Monthly
Jobseeker's Allowance (contribution based) 0 Monthly
Income Support 0 Monthly
Working Tax Credit 0 Monthly
Child Tax Credit 0 Monthly
Child Benefit 82 Monthly
Employment and!Support Allowance or Statutory Sick Pay 0 Monthly
Disability Benefits 0 Monthly
Carer's Allowance 0 Monthly
Local Housing Allowance / Housing Benefit 0 Monthly
Council Tax Support 0 Monthly
Other benefits/tax credits (for example maternity benefits) 0 Monthly
Total!benefits and tax credits each month 82 Monthly

Pensions Amount Frequency
State pensions 0 Monthly -
Monthly outgoings: fixed costs
Private or work pensions 0 Monthly -pension contribution is is taken before my net salary

Pension Credit 0 Monthly
Other pensions 0 Monthly
Total pensions each month 0 Monthly

Other income Amount Frequency
Maintenance and child support 260 Monthly
Boarders!or!lodgers 0 Monthly - hope to have a lodger at some time in the next four weeks?
Non dependants' contributions 0 Monthly
Student loans and grants 0 Monthly
Other income 0 Monthly
Total other income each month 260 Monthly

Home and contents Amount Frequency
Rent 0 Monthly
Ground rent and service charges 0 Monthly
Mortgage 609.45 Monthly
Mortgage endowment 0 Monthly
Secured loans 0 Monthly
Council Tax/Rates 120 Monthly If you're the only adult in the household for now does this include single person discount? And are you paying over 10 months? If so you might find getting it split over 12 months will help with budgeting.Not sure how this works with kids away at Unit though...
Appliance and furniture rental 0 Monthly
TV licence 12.12 Monthly This goes up by 25p from next month I think?
I know ours certainly does.
Other costs 0 Monthly
Total home and contents each month 741.57 Monthly

Utilities Amount Frequency
Gas 45 Monthly Turn the central heating thermostat down by a degree or two and pop a jumper on!
Electricity 50 Monthly OK - you use gas for your heating I take it? If so you should be able to reduce this amount a fair bit - go round the house turning off everything that doesn't need to be on - and start to learn the big power drains in your home (electric showers are a devil, and kettles too!)
Other costs (including coal, oil, calor gas and so on) 12 Monthly What's this for?
Other expenditure 0 Monthly
Total utilities costs each month 107 Monthly
Water Amount Frequency
Water supply 63 Monthly This is high - are you on a meter?
Water waste 0 Monthly
Total water costs eac !month 63 Monthly
Care and health costs Amount Frequency
Childcare costs 0 Monthly
Adult carecosts 0 Monthly
Child maintenance or child support 0 Monthly
Prescriptions and medicines 10 Monthly
Dentistry and opticians 30 Monthly
Other!costs 0 Monthly
Total care and health costs!each!month 40 Monthly

Transport and travel Amount Frequency - my car is a NHS lease car which I pay for before getting my net salary - and all insurance and motoring costs other than fuel are in the lease (150 per month) though I pay for work fuel and claim back so haven't added that in as it just looks confusing - changeable amount every month.
Public!transport (for example work, school, shopping) 12 Monthly
Hire purchase or conditional sale vehicle 0 Monthly
Car insurance 0 Monthly
Road tax 0 Monthly
MOT and ongoing maintenance 0 Monthly
Breakdown cover 0 Monthly
Fuel, parking and toll road charges 40 Monthly
Other costs 0 Monthly
Total monthly outgoings
Total transport and travel costs each month 52 Monthly

School costs Amount Frequency
School uniform 0 Monthly
After school clubs and school trips 30 Monthly
Other costs 0 Monthly
Total school costs each month 30 Monthly

Pensions and insurances Amount Frequency
Pension payments 0 Monthly
Life insurance 34 Monthly - 2 policies - one mortgage protection and one on my ex and I for safeguarding.
Mortgage payment protection insurance 0 Monthly
Buildings and contents insurance 255 Yearly If you pay this annually then you need to start stashing money aside now ready for next year's. Also make sure you shop around to get the best deal.
Health insurance (medical or accident or dental) 28 Monthly You've got a sum of £30 above that looks like it covered something similar to this?
Other costs 0 Monthly
Total pensions and insurance costs each month 83.25 Monthly

Professional costs Amount Frequency
Professional courses 0 Monthly
Union fees 0 Monthly
Professional fees 120 Yearly
Other 0 Monthly
Total professional costs each month 10 Monthly

Other essential costs Amount Frequency
Total!other!essential!costs!each!month 0 Monthly

Communications and leisure Amount Frequency
Home phone, internet, TV package (including!film!subscriptions) 32 Monthly
Mobile phone 50 Monthly - 3 mobiles but daughter has said she will take her costs on once she is settled back to Uni wills ave £13/month Good on your daughter - now when the contracts are up on the others look to get those costs down too - look to SIM only contracts for a good saving and still retaining a decent package.
Hobbies, leisure!or sport (for example socialising, eating out, outings, clubs,leisure courses)
35 Monthly
Gifts (for example birthdays, festivals, charity!donations) 40 Monthly Do you actually put this aside each month?
Pocket!money 0 Monthly
Newspapers, magazines,!stationery!and!postage 10 Monthly
Other!costs 0 Monthly
Total!communications and leisure costs each month 217 Monthly

Food and housekeeping Amount Frequency
Groceries!(e.g. food, pet food, non alcoholic drinks, cleaning) 350 Monthly 2 of you? You can halve that once your oder daughter is back at Uni - and then probably drop it a bit more. Just remember to budget for it increasing a bit (but not to £350 a month!) when she's back for holidays etc.
Nappies and baby items 0 Monthly
School meals and meals at work 10 Monthly - emergency only
Laundry and dry cleaning 20 Monthly
Alcohol 0 Monthly
Smoking products 0 Monthly
Other costs 58 Monthly Is this anything that can be cut/reduced?
Total food and housekeeping costs each month 538 Monthly

Personal costs Amount Frequency
Clothing and footwear 60 Monthly TOOOOOO much. Cut to essentials only for the time being.
Hairdressing 20 Monthly
Toiletries 20 Monthly Seriously? Every month?! Audit everything you already have and then challenge yourself to only replace stuff that's actually run out for the next 12 months. Look to drop brands on things where you buy expensive - I've been there and promise you it's not as bad as you think! Piound shops can be great for things like toothbrushes and sometimes you get decent offers on toothpaste too - also keep an eye on places like Superdrug's special offer shelves. Thing about things like how much of stuff you use too -
shampoo for example - maximum of a 50p sized blob - shampoo twice. half the amount of conditioner you use and remember to only use it on the lengths not the roots.
Other costs 0 Monthly
Total personal costs each month 100 Monthly


Total monthly outgoings

Amount
Total fixed costs each month 1,126.82
Total flexible costs each month 855
Total costs each month 1,981.82
Savings
Total savings contribution 20

Your priority debts
Creditor Owed (£) Offer (£)
Total priority debts 0 0 :T

Your non-priority debts
Creditor Owed
(£)
CCJ Offer (£)
Nationwide Credit card 5,498 No 75 (higher than in my signature as I have the money aside to make a payment down to signature level next week.
Nationwide Personal loan 9,871 No 255
Halifax Credit card 9,365 No 120
Vvirgin Credit card 7,025 No 71
Marks and Spencers Credit card 6,302 No 200

Total non priority debts 38,061 721

There's definitely savings there you can make, and I have to say I can't immediately see anything that you've under-allowed on either which is great news. Start top challenge yourself on things like clothes and toiletries - there is a thread on one of the boards here about using up the toiletries you have before buying more - those guys are also brilliant for things like suggesting great value replacements for premium priced products. (One tip from me - look at Lidl or Aldi for anti-bacterial hand soap for kitchen and bathroom for about 69p!) On grocery shopping try shopping to a list and meal planning - and again kick start yourself with a fridge/freezer/cupboard audit and look to spend as little as you can manage in your first month!

enthusiasticsaver

I have just read your last few posts and you seem to be very overwhelmed so I would not try to do too much too quickly. Visiting your doctor to discuss the depression and maybe having some treatment may be of benefit to you.

You have done well in filling out the soa, although not the ideal format I think we can get the gist. If it shows you as having around £700 free each month to repay towards the unsecured debt then I do not think a DMP is for you at this stage. You have the benefit of an NHS leased car so no costs for that and you have a mortgage which looks reasonable so selling and renting does not sound ideal either although I note you are not entirely happy where you are. I think though in your situation you need to deal with one thing at a time and maybe the debt should be the first thing to address.

Plus points are your health condition is not as bad as you thought it might be and you have a fairly good salary. You also have the opportunity to make more money by taking in a lodger which will help reduce the debt quicker. I think you can make savings in your soa by cutting back on groceries, clothes and toiletries. I think as you will no longer be using credit cards building up an emergency fund is a must either by selling stuff or upping the amount from £20 per month to £50. Maybe start up a spending diary to restrict your expenditure. I do a main weekly shop with meal plan in hand and then one small top up shop midweek for extra milk and sometimes bread and fruit,veg,salad. Live off your freezer when you run out of groceries at the end of the month before payday and stock that up a little bit every week mainly at the beginning of the month after you are paid. Do the same with household stuff. B and M, Home Bargains, £land, Wilkos, Lidls and Aldis are great cost wise.

Setting out a plan to reduce is the first thing. I think you should let the loan tick along as it is just making the normal monthly repayments. You have not put any minimum payments or interest rates for your credit cards so I would dig out that information as soon as possible so you know what to target first. Normally you would pay minimums on all except the most expensive and repay that one as fast as possible. Do you also have an overdraft?

foxgloves

Hi Mimi,
Wow! Shame that the proper SOA format link thingy wasn't working, but I can tell just how determined you are to get a grip of all this & turn things around. It won't all happen at once. I must say that I liked reading your thread first time around because you sound a bit like me.....we are close in age & household income. You earn a little more, but our mortgage is less, & I also lived a long time on my own & developed really ingrained poor money management habits.....basically "See it, wannit, buy it, worry about it tomorrow". Then I met & fell in love with a lovely man who had the exact same bad financial habits as me, & after carrying on as normal for the first few years we were together, I finally had a massive lightbulb PING as I realised we'd never do any of the things we want to do if we carried on servicing so much debt. And you know, I loved that thing in your post about neural pathways. I am convinced that something has to be done differently many times in order to over-ride the old way of doing it. I used to buy a Kit-kat every single time I filled my car up with petrol in the morning on the way to work. I didn't even really like Kit-kats particularly, but I must have bought one on a few occasions probably when I hadn't had breakfast or wanted something I could easily eat in the car & it set off a habit for the next 3 years!! I swear to you I never, ever bought one of the damn things any other time! It was just the habit having become ingrained in my brain. Wired in. Funnily enough, what stopped it was when I started using a different garage! Oh we are weird creatures, aren't we?!
Anyway, I don't have much to add to comments on your SOA, but I think that the grocery spend at £350 is one which could definitely come down without ill-effect when your adult children are not all living with you. I live with a big hungry husband & a large greedy cat (you will be thinking I pick the biggest, lol) & we aim for between £200 & £250 a month. We do our main shop at Aldi, with some of our fresh stuff from the local market & ingredients I can't get at Aldi, I usually pop to Waitrose. We cook from scratch & buy very little, if anything, that is ready-made. We don't buy brands, apart from Marmite, Lea & Perrins & cat food (I'll come onto that in a minute!) as we find own-label products just as good. I meal plan every week, prioritising stuff we already have in as the basis for meals & try to write a tight shopping list. I use my freezer loads as with there being 2 of us, it's well worth cooking for 4 as recipes usually dictate, then freezing 2 portions for a 'free' meal another week. I also use my slow cooker to make use of some of the cheap tasty cuts of meat like ham hocks (£2.50 from my butcher) & beef cheek, stewing lamb etc, as they make really good filling meals for so much less money than the more popular cuts of meat.
Now, I note you are a cat person. We have a bit of a naughty mog here. Very greedy...goodness knows why as he's a rescue cat who fended for himself for a long time on the mean streets, but he is a terible jelly-licker. Then he leaves the chunks of meat to go dry & refuses to eat them. We have to buy the Felix 'As good as it looks' varieties because it's about the only one where try as he might, he can't separate the jelly off, so no waste. And wouldn't you know it, they are more expensive than other brands. Not any more.....we now get our cat food from Wilko's. Instead of £4.85 a box, this brand is usually £3.25 in there & this is the sort of saving that adds up over a year of cat-feeding. I can also second looking in the £ shops for things like toothbrushes, toothpaste, etc. I found a pack of FIVE perfectly good toothbrushes for £1 & my dentist commented on my good dental hygiene, so they must be ok.
So take it steadily, maybe stick to the £350 first, which should be easy, then perhaps see if you can get it to £300, then as your confidence & resolve grows (plus all those meals in the freezer), you could see if you can get another £50 off.
But you are determined to change & that's the key thing. There's that old saying about the definition of insanity being doing the same things but expecting different results & I think that sums up overspenders perfectly. Having been one for most of my adult life, I can only say I wish I'd had the PING a couple of decades earlier, but no matter, better late than never, we're not ancient......plenty of life left to grab with both hands!
Good luck with it!
F x

HairyHandofDartmoor

Great advice from other posters. I agree that the food should be able to come down subtantially. I pay £320 per month for four adults. Dry cleaning sounds expensive, can you cut that down? I avoid buying items that say dry clean only as I can't afford it. Do magazines need to be paid for? There are some great free articles and features on the internet.

I know why your water bill is high anyway, because us Devon people are cursed with high bills. I think we have to pay to keep all the beaches clean, or some such nonsense :mad:.

katiepoppycat

Hi Mimi, I'm more of a lurker than a poster but I wanted to say how much I like the way the way you write and the way you tackle things. I wanted share a couple of things that have helped me and might help you.
First off I have 2 excel spreadsheets. They show monthly and yearly. Monthly lists all my direct debits and regular payments. There are 2 slightly odd ones there - house and budget. House varies a lot. But it's basically whatever's left out of those budgeted amounts. So as an example, when I set up my budget, my energy bill was £80 per month. Since then, I've managed to reduce it to £65 - so £15 goes in the house. Same with groceries - I have a set budget and anything that I can save goes in the house. You could have it as a separate account or like I do, keep track of it in your main account. Budget is a monthly payment to a savings account. I added up all my annual spending like car insurance, presents - even haircuts! - and created a monthly payment for it. I run this annually, and if I'm lucky, there's some left at the end of the year to go in the house. It can be a bit hard to do this in year one as sometimes things come due before the balance is there but by year two you'll be flying. You've had some really good advice on how to reduce your soa but it seems to me that one of the problems you have with money is one I have with food. You start out being super vigilant and cut your budget ruthlessly to overpay debt. But it's slightly unrealistic and when you end up 'failing' you feel really, really bad about yourself. I think you should cut yourself a bit of slack and give yourself some wiggle room with those budgets. If you have anything left at the end of the month - and you probably won't for the first couple - you can always make an additional payment off a card! Take care of yourself. I have a gratitude/happiness log; every day writing down just one thing and it's surprising how much it lifts your mood.

MiMi66

Hi All - I am writing a response to everyone on word and will post that in a bit but I wanted to do the SOA separately...

I've made some comments through this in response to feedback and yes room for shifting things a bit - this plan is to start in November once I have a salary that is clear of hangover debts other that the main ones - I did the SOA on National Debt lines spreadsheet and also had in mind what would I put if I were applying for a DMP, and trying to give myself a bit of leeway before offering up what could be paid within reasonable scope of my income and outgoings. I want to live with the budget for a few months before I go down the DMP route to make sure I have got it right. In a way I am actually working hard to do a self-DMP - in my mind I am on one already. In brief thought the areas where I have budget that is designated for things that I may not actually spend in that month w- I aim to put the money aside in a separate account for calling on when those things need to be purchased.
Laundry - 12
Glasses - 30
Clothes - 60
Toiletries and makeup - 20
Wood - 12
House Insurance annual bill - 23 per month
Emergency meals - 10
newspapers and magazines and stamps - 10
Gifts - 40
= 217 - which is what I thought actually now I have added it up - I used to budget £600 a month for all these things plus food an fuel but would constantly break the budget - I never actually put the money aside - From November I will set up a transfer of money to do this at the beginning of each month. Anything saved at the end of the year is real savings to be saved or split to debt or to debt in entirety.



Overview Amount Frequency
Total income 2,712 Monthly
Totaloutgoings 1,981.82 Monthly
(Income outgoings) 730.17 Monthly
(Savings contribution if applicable) 20 Monthly



Total!available for non priority creditors 710.17 Monthly

Earnings Amount Frequency
Salary or wages (take home) 2,370 Monthly
Partner's salary or wages (take home) 0 Monthly
Other earnings (including self employment) 0 Monthly
Total salary and wages each month 2,370 Monthly
Benefits and tax credits Amount Frequency
Universal Credit 0 Monthly
Jobseeker's Allowance (income based) 0 Monthly
Jobseeker's Allowance (contribution based) 0 Monthly
Income Support 0 Monthly
Working Tax Credit 0 Monthly
Child Tax Credit 0 Monthly
Child Benefit 82 Monthly
Employment and!Support Allowance or Statutory Sick Pay 0 Monthly
Disability Benefits 0 Monthly
Carer's Allowance 0 Monthly
Local Housing Allowance / Housing Benefit 0 Monthly
Council Tax Support 0 Monthly
Other benefits/tax credits (for example maternity benefits) 0 Monthly
Total!benefits and tax credits each month 82 Monthly

Pensions Amount Frequency
State pensions 0 Monthly -
Monthly outgoings: fixed costs
Private or work pensions 0 Monthly -pension contribution is is taken before my net salary

Pension Credit 0 Monthly
Other pensions 0 Monthly
Total pensions each month 0 Monthly

Other income Amount Frequency
Maintenance and child support 260 Monthly
Boarders!or!lodgers 0 Monthly - hope to have a lodger at some time in the next four weeks?
Non dependants' contributions 0 Monthly
Student loans and grants 0 Monthly
Other income 0 Monthly
Total other income each month 260 Monthly

Home and contents Amount Frequency
Rent 0 Monthly
Ground rent and service charges 0 Monthly
Mortgage 609.45 Monthly
Mortgage endowment 0 Monthly
Secured loans 0 Monthly
Council Tax/Rates 120 Monthly If you're the only adult in the household for now does this include single person discount? And are you paying over 10 months? If so you might find getting it split over 12 months will help with budgeting.Not sure how this works with kids away at Unit though... This is the single adult rate....:-( and yes over 10 months but I do look forward to those two months 'off'.
Appliance and furniture rental 0 Monthly
TV licence 12.12 Monthly This goes up by 25p from next month I think?
I know ours certainly does.
Other costs 0 Monthly
Total home and contents each month 741.57 Monthly

Utilities Amount Frequency
Gas 45 Monthly Turn the central heating thermostat down by a degree or two and pop a jumper on!
Electricity 50 Monthly OK - you use gas for your heating I take it? If so you should be able to reduce this amount a fair bit - go round the house turning off everything that doesn't need to be on - and start to learn the big power drains in your home (electric showers are a devil, and kettles too!)
Other costs (including coal, oil, calor gas and so on) 12 Monthly What's this for?Wood
Other expenditure 0 Monthly
Total utilities costs each month 107 Monthly
Water Amount Frequency
Water supply 63 Monthly This is high - are you on a meter? Yes I am - and yes this is high but it is reflective of the SW rates - we pay crazy money for water down here - I am thoughtful about water use and this has reduced hugely from the £120 I was paying a few years ago on the flat rate.
Water waste 0 Monthly
Total water costs eac month 63 Monthly
Care and health costs Amount Frequency
Childcare costs 0 Monthly
Adult carecosts 0 Monthly
Child maintenance or child support 0 Monthly
Prescriptions and medicines 10 Monthly
Dentistry and opticians 30 Monthly - I have complicated eyes - 6 operations (and I can finally see straight - my glass lenses are hideously expensive and there is no option or way around it... This is a weakness area for CC use as well - so from November am going to try and budget the amount aside each month.
Other!costs 0 Monthly
Total care and health costs each month 40 Monthly

Transport and travel Amount Frequency - my car is a NHS lease car which I pay for before getting my net salary - and all insurance and motoring costs other than fuel are in the lease (150 per month) though I pay for work fuel and claim back so haven't added that in as it just looks confusing - changeable amount every month.
Public!transport (for example work, school, shopping) 12 Monthly
Hire purchase or conditional sale vehicle 0 Monthly
Car insurance 0 Monthly
Road tax 0 Monthly
MOT and ongoing maintenance 0 Monthly
Breakdown cover 0 Monthly
Fuel, parking and toll road charges 40 Monthly
Other costs 0 Monthly
Total monthly outgoings
Total transport and travel costs each month 52 Monthly

School costs Amount Frequency
School uniform 0 Monthly
After school clubs and school trips 30 Monthly
Other costs 0 Monthly
Total school costs each month 30 Monthly

Pensions and insurances Amount Frequency
Pension payments 0 Monthly
Life insurance 34 Monthly - 2 policies - one mortgage protection and one on my ex and I for safeguarding.
Mortgage payment protection insurance 0 Monthly
Buildings and contents insurance 255 Yearly If you pay this annually then you need to start stashing money aside now ready for next year's. Yes - this is one that has ended up on the CC in the past :-( Also make sure you shop around to get the best deal. Yes I do each year - insurance companies are b.....s for putting up the premium each year.
Health insurance (medical or accident or dental) 28 Monthly You've got a sum of £30 above that looks like it covered something similar to this?This is denplan - I have some troublesome teeth and while it is a pain to pay this out, I think it ultimately is cheaper for me? I will keep an eye on it. The amount above is for glasses - see comment up there.
Other costs 0 Monthly
Total pensions and insurance costs each month 83.25 Monthly

Professional costs Amount Frequency
Professional courses 0 Monthly
Union fees 0 Monthly
Professional fees 120 Yearly
Other 0 Monthly
Total professional costs each month 10 Monthly

Other essential costs Amount Frequency
Total!other!essential!costs!each!month 0 Monthly

Communications and leisure Amount Frequency
Home phone, internet, TV package (including!film!subscriptions) 32 Monthly
Mobile phone 50 Monthly - 3 mobiles but daughter has said she will take her costs on once she is settled back to Uni wills ave £13/month Good on your daughter - now when the contracts are up on the others look to get those costs down too - look to SIM only contracts for a good saving and still retaining a decent package.
Hobbies, leisure!or sport (for example socialising, eating out, outings, clubs,leisure courses)
35 Monthly
Gifts (for example birthdays, festivals, charity!donations) 40 Monthly Do you actually put this aside each month? I will do....November
Pocket!money 0 Monthly
Newspapers, magazines,!stationery!and!postage 10 Monthly
Other!costs 0 Monthly
Total!communications and leisure costs each month 217 Monthly

Food and housekeeping Amount Frequency
Groceries!(e.g. food, pet food, non alcoholic drinks, cleaning) 350 Monthly 2 of you? You can halve that once your oder daughter is back at Uni - and then probably drop it a bit more. Just remember to budget for it increasing a bit (but not to £350 a month!) when she's back for holidays etc. I have included in this cat food for three and their litter, but I shall be working hard to make savings here as I think it is a weak spot for me - my intention is to reduce reduce, and put aside spare to nest egg back up monies.
Nappies and baby items 0 Monthly
School meals and meals at work 10 Monthly - emergency only
Laundry and dry cleaning 20 Monthly This is too high - and I do not dry clean - it was for detergents etc for washing...will reduce to £12
Alcohol 0 Monthly
Smoking products 0 Monthly
Other costs 58 Monthly Is this anything that can be cut/reduced?
Total food and housekeeping costs each month 538 Monthly

Personal costs Amount Frequency
Clothing and footwear 60 Monthly TOOOOOO much. Cut to essentials only for the time being. I will keep it there as a nominal sum for costs but I do not intend to spend it. Opportunity to save
Hairdressing 20 Monthly
Toiletries 20 Monthly Seriously? Every month?! Audit everything you already have and then challenge yourself to only replace stuff that's actually run out for the next 12 months. Look to drop brands on things where you buy expensive - I've been there and promise you it's not as bad as you think! Piound shops can be great for things like toothbrushes and sometimes you get decent offers on toothpaste too - also keep an eye on places like Superdrug's special offer shelves. Thing about things like how much of stuff you use too -
shampoo for example - maximum of a 50p sized blob - shampoo twice. half the amount of conditioner you use and remember to only use it on the lengths not the roots. Ah now here is another of my weaknesses - skin care and stuff - I am doing an audit of things I have got - likely have enough shampoo for two years I think - seriously! It is also to cover makeup, not that I major a face paint person hugely but I am at that age where it is no longer optional.....
Other costs 0 Monthly
Total personal costs each month 100 Monthly


Total monthly outgoings

Amount
Total fixed costs each month 1,126.82
Total flexible costs each month 855
Total costs each month 1,981.82
Savings
Total savings contribution 20

Your priority debts
Creditor Owed (£) Offer (£)
Total priority debts 0 0

Your non-priority debts
Creditor Owed
(£)
CCJ Offer (£)
Nationwide Credit card 5,498 No 75 (higher than in my signature as I have the money aside to make a payment down to signature level next week.
Nationwide Personal loan 9,871 No 255
Halifax Credit card 9,365 No 120
Vvirgin Credit card 7,025 No 71
Marks and Spencers Credit card 6,302 No 200

Total non priority debts 38,061 721

MiMi66

Hi Everyone, Magpie, Foxgloves, Katiepoppycat, HairyHandsofDartmoor(really? - scary) Essex Hebridean and Enthusiastic Saver,

Thank you so much for your feedback and ideas on my SOA and I am very glad to have your input as I have seen your comments on other peoples threads and always sound guidance given - I need that.- I have been on the decluttering mode and some work yesterday so have been reading but not replying - and doing and awful lot of thinking.....

So I reviewed my my SOA first and have posted comments already: I will redo it properly once the Stoozing one is back up again and working as the national Debtline one is really ideal.

Just to note as well that it will be my budget from November onwards - October will be a scrape together any money for all things month - and then I should be able to get the budget going properly.
Fair points made about food budget - but I might need to explain it a bit better - that budgeted amount also covers cat food for three cats and their litter - it is an area I thinking on how to reduce. Foxgloves - I too have a jelly licker in the house - she is a minx! Fuss pot cat.

Katiepoppycat - I have kept spreadsheets for years and to some extent it has helped with the big outgoings, but I have not budgeted well with them - my real problem has been using the CC to fill in the gaps - and I have gone cold turkey on this -- I am looking at different budgeting apps - YNAB and a few free ones (understandably reluctant to spend £50 on a budget tool right now - obviously I am in the wrong business!) Thanks you so much fro sharing how you do your budgeting and I might pinch some ideas from that.

I think so far the best things that have helped me is the nasty shock I have had of really feeling the pain of indebtedness - antidepressants have cushioned me too much and I am keeping such a close eye on my mental health at present - I want to be alert to my situation, distressed even in a way, but not incapacitated by depression - and I am OK so far - very very stressed, but I am finding taking action a good remedy. Also the going sharply cold turkey on the using CC - I have not used it - two weeks - unheard of for me, and I am keeping that going unless the roof literally comes off. (Please no winter storms.... I shall add that to my gratitude notebook when May comes next year and we haven't had a winter storm.) I amusing a free budgeting app that requires me to put in every little expenditure every day - it is not thorough but it has helped. And a Debt app to track repayments - little movement on this yet but just waiting for Octobers Direct Debits to go out and the amounts will reduce... It gives several visual aids to seeing debt. I like these apps as I can (because I am a masochist) look at them multiple times a days without going onto the computer. I get a shiver and it keeps me inline with my aspirations.

I have sold about 113 worth of stuff this week and more to go as well.... As you say Magpie it is a good feeling and my life needs that decluttering all over.

I went back to work yesterday and then slept all evening on the couch - my energy is low... A good thing happened though - small but good in the sense of it showed me my intention to change is bedding in. I went to the shop to get laundry detergent - and also picked up two other items - face cleanser and some household clothes both of which were unpriced. I went to the counter and said - can I just see how much these are before I decide to purchase them - '12.99 and 9.99'. I replied thank you but no, maybe when I get paid (no....I won't but was a polite way out). Now this might seem a funny thing to share but this sort of thing has been my downfall - historically I would have just whipped out the CC and paid for them and maybe given myself a telling off later but nothing severe. Instead I wanted feeling very pleased I had not taken the temptation to purchase, and as suggested my household toiletries audit does tell me I do not need face cleanser - I have four on the go..... (very clean face....). The household clothes look good but not now and not that price. Smug git syndrome going on here.

So back to work properly next Wednesday - not 100% recovered but work Occ Health have said go for it and have a four week phased return which i will use annual leave to do. I logged onto my emails and saw there is some overtime going and while I won't knock myself out, I will try to get some of that. This weekend is more selling, decluttering and doing a grocery shop - bringing forward salary from Wednesday to do this mad budgeting that in. I have made a dent in my cupboards but now need things to make up meals. Will think on all the advice I have been given to do the shopping sensibly and realistically. I like the idea of a two shop week - one on Friday or Saturday and the other a the beginning of the work week.

Oh and Magpie - I too have a HIVE - they are wonderful but I must make better use of mine - be more thoughtful if we are both out. Nothing like a good gadget or app to make saving money a bit more fun.


About my CC's - I have realised last night that the balances are not paid off in the order I expected them to be - for when they run to - it is that hey are paid in the order form when they were set up....this is a complete pain as ones that expire earlier are not having any of the balance transfer diminished.....and I will need to move them as I will not be able to save up enough to pay them off when they are due. On M&S it is OK, as with the three I have there are being aid off in the right order, the set and expiry date has naturally fallen the way I thought they would, but on Halifax where I have four BT's - this is not the case. So cross. I will write them all out for you tomorrow and try to explain my approach to them with this new knowledge - it means transferring balance perhaps to try and get it right - I have two 0% for 12 months and 18 months offers through at present and 1 for 4.9% for 60 months - I would really appreciate advice once I have posted the detail on which way to manage this to the best end for repayment and god forbid my credit rating - still green - 893 on Experien-amazing??? Are they mad???

Good news now.

I've not cried about money for two days - cried about daughter going, and at the Occ Health Dr, but not money. And I have lost 10kgs since April. About a stone and a half. Good isn't it - not quite so chubby and can get into old jeans - wishing I hadn't got rid of my thin clothes last year now - I never thought 'Id lose the weight - been heavier than ideal for 10 years or so. More to go though.

Off to do budgetty shop and packing up my girl's room - more tears I suspect, but it is OK.