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All Laid Bare...

So here goes... I have been as honest and as thorough as can be and hope I have given you all of the info you might need in order to help us get on track.
Have a gander at mine and my hubby's financial situation and tell it like it is! (All amounts are monthly)

Incomes:
Me: £996.43
Him: £921.14 (Varies- he has 5 claims only/casual jobs- this is minimum)
Total: £1917.57


Outgoings:
Mortgage: £376
Council Tax £72
Contents Insurance: £21.38
Ground Rent: £4.17
Maintenace Charges: £50.55
Electricity: £46 (would be £32 but we're paying off an old bill.)
Water/waste: We don't know- lived here since 08/06, never received a bill
Diesel: £40.00
MOT/Servicing: £24.00
Car Insurance: £31.25
My Egg Loan (was CC): £117 (Balance of £5883.76, 7.66%pa, finishes July 2012. Was way over limit, hence transer to loan)
His Egg Loan: £103 (Balance of £5131.00 7.66%pa, finishes May 2012)
My Next Account: £32 (Min repayment. See below)
His LA Card: £34 (min repayment. See below)
My Cahoot Loan: £163.53 (Balance £7194.71 ends October 2011 9.3% apr)
His Barclaycard: £38 (min repayment. See below)
His HSBC Visa: £58 (min repayment. See below)
Food and Cigs (inc at work): £350 (I'm gradually cutting downs the fags. It takes time)
Cats: £20 (Food and litter only)
BT Phone and broadband: £45 (12 months left on contract)
My mobile: £20 (new 12 month contract)
His Mobile: £25 (going to pay as you go in 6 weeks or so- max £15 per month)
Going out: £50 (Hubby is on Pool team so goes out once a week. Only socialising he does as works days and evenings.)
Lottery: £20 (Hubby has played same numbers for years...)
Contact Lenses plus Solutions: £33

Total: £1773.88
Theoretically we should have money left... Have only been earning this amount for 2 months so had backdated bills to pay.

My Next Account Balance: £256.54 Apr: 26.49%
His LA (GE Capital Bank) Balance: £871.50 Apr:
His Barclaycard Balance: £1763.43 Apr: 28.9%
His HSBC Visa Balance: £1998.61 Apr: (Waiting to find out)
My HSBC Overdraft: £1890 (Would be free if I could get it back to £1500)
Joint HSBC Overdraft: £400
His HSBC Overdraft: £700

We have sold the TV, have removed storage heaters and turned hot water off (only use the shower anyway.) so Electricity will come down eventually. Note, no clothes/gift money listed above. I bought a pair of trousers a while ago, only thing in months. I don't shop for clothes, DVDs etc, last went on iTunes about 6 months ago. It would be nice to spend more, but can't!

Also owe his folks £25k (They got him out of debt after a few years properly off the rails) and my folks £1200 (not including the £50k they lent us to buy this flat) but they accept that they aren't getting a penny until we are on our feet again!! (I love parents.) Would like to start paying £20-£30 per month to his folks though- a gesture really.

Our bathroom is a proper mess, needs replacing and we have no bedroom door, it fell off as the wood is all rotten. We really need to work on this flat, as well as paying off debts.

Lastly, we don't go on holiday and are looking at selling our car- worth about £6200 and spending £5500 on a camper van and a little run about, enabling my husband to get a 'proper' job and for us to actually get away on holiday. This may seem extravagent but I have to know when we can next escape. It is the only way I can survive the 9-5 monotony. (I am Bi-Polar and as such, a bit odd.)

We are in such a mess as hubby was at uni, trying to improve himself and his career path. He has paused his studies as we just couldn't afford to go on with only my income.

You are all wonderful people and I'd bake you all a cake and throw you all a party- if I had the dosh!!!
Thank you.
Newbie Debt Free Wanabee...
Debts as 27.07.07
B/Card: £1763.43
LA Card: £871.50
Cahoot: £6900
Next: £256.54
HSBC Visa: £1998.61
O/Drafts: £2990
I'm not waving, I'm drowning...

Comments

  • Tashja
    Tashja Posts: 1,214 Forumite
    Part of the Furniture 1,000 Posts Combo Breaker
    Hi Hun,

    Is your mortgage interest only or repayment - if it is repayment would it be piossible to make it interest only for a while until you can get back on your feet ???

    If it is just 2 of you, you can cut the food bill down - try taking packed lunches to work and of course cutting down on those ciggies !!! ;)

    Hopefully someone else will be along soon to help.

    T xx
  • hypno06
    hypno06 Posts: 32,296 Forumite
    10,000 Posts Combo Breaker
    Hello!!

    Two things really:

    Firstly, start a spending diary and see where every penny is going for the next few weeks. This is a real eye opener and will show you what you are wasting your money on, and therefore what is easy to cut out without making things tough for you.

    secondly (this is my fave thing, because I am sad) go and look at the snowball calculator on https://www.whatsthecost.com - put all your figures in there and see when you will be debt free, and play around with the payments to see if you can afford to chuck an extra few quid at it and see what a difference that makes.

    Thirdly (ok, I know I said 2 things, above, but I am tired, and can't count), have you stopped spending? I understand your reasons for splashing out on good days etc, but obviously you know that you need to keep this in some sort of control. Have you got in place something else that can give you the same buzz when you are "in a good place" instead of the spending, otherwise you will find yourself continually in the same problem.

    Hope that helps, keep on posting. There aren't too many of the regulars around tonight so it may be worth bumping this thread up again tomorrow or Monday for extra feedback.
    Successful women can still have their feet on the ground. They just wear better shoes. (Maud Van de Venne)
    Life begins at the end of your comfort zone (Neale Donald Walsch)
  • skint_spice
    skint_spice Posts: 13,167 Forumite
    Part of the Furniture 10,000 Posts Name Dropper Photogenic
    Hi, I used to have a contact lense contract for £25 per month but got the same lenses plus solutions for Asda.com for about £60 for six months. Even if you can't be bothered changing supplier cost the lenses online and then phone your supplier and say you are thinking of cancelling and they'll drop the price.
    Mortgage End Date: Apr 36/Aiming for Apr 28/Current Oct 33

    Mortgage OP 2025 £1850/10000
    Mortgage OP 2024 £7700/7000

    Mortgage balance: £42,232

    39 pay days until freedom!

    ”Do what others won’t early in life so you can do what others can’t later in life” (stolen from Gally Girl)
  • ani*fan
    ani*fan Posts: 1,554 Forumite
    1,000 Posts Combo Breaker
    Hi Kilala

    Well done on posting your soa...I'm still plucking up the courage to do that! There's a couple of small things I noticed that might help.

    First your mobile phones. It really is possible to get pay as you go for £10 a month that has 300 free texts and some free minutes too. Just hunt around a bit. I used to pay £40 a month so this has been a huge help to me.

    As a fellow smoker the cigarettes thing is difficult but have you tried smoking roll ups? You can buy filters too for about 65p that make you feel as if you are smoking a proper cig. This has been a godsend for me as I used to spend £160 a month easy on smoking and now it's down to £40. And of course *cough* I'm going to quit *cough* any day now!!:rotfl:

    Hypno's advice about the snowball calculator is excellent and I'd strongly advise you do it. You just put in all your debt details, with APRs, and it tells you what order to pay them off in so that you pay minimum interest. I found it useful although I'm still paying my mum off first (0% interest) due to a moral obligation. But your debt seems to be relatively small amounts in lots of different places so the snowball will help.

    Other than that, congratulations on having an income bigger than your outgoings. Being solvent is a great start!!!

    Good luck.
    If you know you have enough, you're rich. ;)
  • bandraoi
    bandraoi Posts: 1,261 Forumite
    Maybe you could look more creatively at your plans for a holiday and the car.
    Why do you need a camper van to go on holiday?
    Buy a tent, it'll be far cheaper and your own car will be far cheaper to drive around than a campervan.

    If your car is worth that much, and you need two modes of transport, maybe you could sell it and get two runabouts or a runabout and a motorbike and use what's left to pay off your debt and buy the tent.
  • lynzpower
    lynzpower Posts: 25,311 Forumite
    10,000 Posts Combo Breaker
    I agree about the campervan. They can also be very expensive to maintain and insure, so I really would hold off that idea to be honest.

    Do you have anything else to sell- what about books, clothes? A car boot sale? Ebaying?

    Do a bit of mystery shopping, pizza hut, other resturaunts too, brings a bit of cash in and gives you some free grub :)

    you want to focus your energies on the highest APRs to start with, so anything you sell - the money should go to next or b/card- these are costing you the most.

    It might be worth looking into trying to get the balances transferred to a low APR card such as the M&S card one.
    :beer: Well aint funny how its the little things in life that mean the most? Not where you live, the car you drive or the price tag on your clothes.
    Theres no dollar sign on piece of mind
    This Ive come to know...
    So if you agree have a drink with me, raise your glasses for a toast :beer:
  • cookie9
    cookie9 Posts: 764 Forumite
    Part of the Furniture 500 Posts Combo Breaker
    Well done for posting.

    If parents are not charging interest on the loan hold off paying themm back just yet. Some of your APRs are high so once you have all of them start paying off the highest one first.

    Lottery - odds of winning a large prize are so small it's not worth playing unless you have money to burn. Put the £20 towards paying off your highest APR. ( If OH insists then it should come out of his social fund.)

    Electricity - make sure all lights off if not needed, only boil the water you need in the kettle and if cooking on electric hob switch off before the end of cooking as the hob will still retain heat.

    Council tax - check to see what band similar property has been put into in case you are over paying.

    Food - plan out your meals, look at the reduced section in the supermarket for bargains, switch to own brand makes and use up things in your store cupboard.

    Try to find free things to do - look at the freebies sections for free cinema tickets, go on a picnic etc

    Things for your house - have you tried freecylce?

    NHS - Stop smoking helpline - 0800 1690169
    also gosmokefree.co.uk, ash.org.uk, quit.org.uk

    Good luck!
    MFW 91 op 2014 £410/1000
    MFW 91 op 2015 £4051/4000
    MFW 91 op 2016 £4040/4000
    MFW 91 op 2017 £812/4500
  • Kilala
    Kilala Posts: 20 Forumite
    Thank you for all your comments and time. It is odd, we have these ideals and dreams, and when you talk about them they seem sensible and only just out of reach. Write them down on a post for all and sundry to see and you see just how unjustifiable they really are.
    Today we were talking about it and we think it might be best to heed the camper advice, and buy an old banger and a tent. We'd be able to pay off the high interest debts with the money realeased from our current (oh, I will miss its turbo) car and we could always hire a care if we want something reliable to drive on holiday in. It will work out cheaper in the long run.

    tashja: We have a guarantored, fixed mortgage that I really don't want to start messing around with. (and congrats, by the way!)
    Hypno06: The spending diary looks like a good idea- if a bit scary. The website you recommended scared the blood from my veins, you cruel person! As for me and my miswired brain, that will take a lot of time to sort out. Going away, breaking the routine, really helps, and if I can stay somewhere different for a night or two every 6 weeks ish, my need to let go and block out reality seems abated. Don't ask why..
    skint_spice: We both buy lenses online. Mine are specialised (as is the solution) as I have a scar on my eyeball they have to not irritate, so this can't get any cheaper. I do sound like I'm a complete wreck, don't I?!
    ani*fan: I have just started a new 12 month contract with my mobile, which I use a lot. I have reduced it form £40 to £20 per month but can't change it again till next year. Hubby is going on a pay as you go phone as he doesn't have quite as much family to keep an eye on... As for smoking, I have tried rollies before, but just end up smoking more and smelling more. I think if we both have an allowance for the month, I will cut down even more (gone from 40/day to 3-5/day already!) as I will have to choose between socialising and smoking. Lastly- we certainly don't feel solvent!
    bandraoi: valid point taken! all we have to do now is find a reliable cheap old car!
    Lynzpower: We are gradually running out of things to sell, soon we will own nothing but the clothes we wear! We sell on ebay, do bootfairs every now and again and will look up the mystery shopping suggestion- where is there any more info? We have applied for too many cards so can't get a 0% card at the moment. When do you suggest we try again?
    We have a strict diet, shop after 9pm in asda with a proper list and buy value stuff. We need to see where all the extra food money ends up- no takeaways for months! OH has taken on board lottery comments, but it will be hard for him. As for parents, we want to start making a token gesture amount as althoug it is 0% interest, we need to remind them we haven't forgotten about it. On their part, once bitten twice shy etc! It is a case of our moral obligations, really.
    Newbie Debt Free Wanabee...
    Debts as 27.07.07
    B/Card: £1763.43
    LA Card: £871.50
    Cahoot: £6900
    Next: £256.54
    HSBC Visa: £1998.61
    O/Drafts: £2990
    I'm not waving, I'm drowning...
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