Drowning, not waving

WifeofDJFLP

Hi

here's my SOA, please be kind.

Monthly Incomings:

Partners salary - £1600.00
Benefits - £621.80
Tax Credits- £262.83
Maintenence-£463.00 (very variable)
Total - £2947.63

Monthly Outgoings:

Mortgage/Rent - £409.05
Council Tax - £131.00
Gas - £30
Electric - £25.00
TV License - £11.37
BT Phone - £38.00
Food - £300
Life Insurance £50.00
Cat insurance £8.00 (2 cats)
Dog Insurance £10.00 (1 dog)
School lunches £40.00
Petrol £200
Mobiles £53 (2 contracts, both locked in for another 12 months at least)
Buildings & Contents ins £11.92
Political Party membership £10.00


Debts

Overdraft on current account £2500 15.9%

BOS Loan £7000 9.7% (165.32 pcm)

Barclaycard £325.64 24.9%

HSBC Card £1371 0% til April 2008

Littlewoods Catalogue £814.82 currently have an arrangement to pay £165 pcm

Vertbaudet £503.77 29.8%

La Redoute £852.27 19.9%

MBNA CC £2545.79 15.9%

La redoute, Vertbaudet and MBNA are all horribly in arrears and we've been really head in the sand about them. MBNA start phoning at 8.30am and don't stop til 9pm.

the BOS bank loan has PPI on it which we don't need but, having just called them I know I have to cancel it in writing.

Our petrol costs are high as DP's job involves lots of driving and he spends about £50 a week minimum on petrol.

we have reclaimed and frittered away bank charges

I'm not sure how accurate the food figure is as when necessary i can spend as little as £40 a week in the supermarket but it's all the daily extras that soon add up.

The benefits are paid weekly (Mon-£42.30 Tue £48.65 Wed £64.50) and though it often saves our skin come the end of the month i think it makes it more difficult to budget- for example inorder to have the money for Littlewoods on the 15th i put £10 a day into a seperate account.

I've really taken my eye of the ball this month treated myself and the kids to luxuaries like magazines and shoes and as a result there's £20 available in the current account, this months loan payment, gas payment and half the HSBC payment are all in a seperate account and my maintenence should be in tomorrow.

To be honest I'sm sick of it all, every penny is counted in and counted out, it's a terrible responsibility to deal with it all and it so quickly goes to !!!! when I'm busy with other things.

We have a lot coming in and all the debts are our own fault so i feel very ashamed. It's not so long ago i had nothing.

On the upside I have no credit cards in my purse (but I do have any loyalty card going) and my buying habits have changed significantly since I discovered MSE. I have yougov money, quidco money and opinion bar money all mounting up but I can't see a way to start paying the problem debts (MBNA Verbaudet and La Redoute) and the phone keeps ringing.

So help.

TIA

WifeofDJFLP
xxx

Penny2myName

The only bit i can give advice on is, if you have ppi with little woods, cancel it, this can be done over the phone, then call payments back up and have a new payment plan sorted (yes it will go on your credit score but so, better then going bankrupt or totally defaulting) I had over £1000 outstanding with Littlewoods, and my payments have been brought down to £141 a month. This was before i cancelled my ppi, so could have been less if i had cancelled that first.

ifstar

Your outgoings before bills comes to £1327.34 so take this off your income and you are left with around £1620.29 to pay off your debts each month.
You have said £165.32 is for the BOS loan and £165 to Littlewoods so this still leave you with about £1289.98 left to pay the remaining ones.

If you aren't left with that sort of amount of money then you must be spening a fair bit more than you think in your SOA.

If you make the minimum payments on most of your debts then you should be able to pay off the Barclaycard and Vertbaudet in a month or two without much hassle. These have the highest APR's so should be paid first, they are also your lowest debts, so will give you a greater sense that you are getting in control. After that you should try and get rid of La Redoute.

You can use the following link to help you, put in all your debts and it will let you know how much and who to pay and will also give you a debt free date.
http://www.whatsthecost.co.uk/snowball.aspx

RAS

Hi

What is the limit on the HSBC card?

And have you tried to get another 0% or low balance for life card recently?

Either of these could help you cut the cost of borrowing and free up money for paying debts.

Plus you need work out what you are spening the money one as ifstar suggests. Could you both make a spending diary for a couple of weeks?

hypno06

Hello there, I would certainly suggest both the spending diary to see where the money is REALLY going, and the snowball calculator to see if that focuses you - for me it is a real motivator!

If it really does seem impossible to get to grips with it, then a chat with CCCS or payplan may help you with a DMP, but to be honest, with the figures you have given us, I would suggest snowballing could work well for you.

It IS tough, I know, but you can do this. We are here for support whenever you need x

chevalier

My comments are in blue

WifeofDJFLP wrote: »

Hi

here's my SOA, please be kind.

Monthly Incomings:

Partners salary - £1600.00
Benefits - £621.80
Tax Credits- £262.83
Maintenence-£463.00 (very variable)
Total - £2947.63

Monthly Outgoings:

Mortgage/Rent - £409.05
Council Tax - £131.00
Gas - £30these figures look pretty good, but you could check to see if you could get it cheaper
Electric - £25.00ditto this
TV License - £11.37
BT Phone - £38.00could you use one of the predial numbers to get this down
Food - £300how many is this for? This is £3600 a year. Can you use up what is in your store cupboard and freezer first, and then meal plan/cook from scratch after that. Then only put down on your shopping list what you need for the menu. What about value ranges. For example tesco value chopped tomatoes taste the same to me as their normal ones but cost about half the price, every little helps:D
Life Insurance £50.00Is this for one or both of you. Have a look at Martin's article on the main site to see if you can cut this cost.
Cat insurance £8.00 (2 cats)
Dog Insurance £10.00 (1 dog)
School lunches £40.00take packed lunch instead?
Petrol £200Is any of this for work, can you claim it back?
Mobiles £53 (2 contracts, both locked in for another 12 months at least)Even if you are locked into the contract you can still ask to be put on the lowest tariff, which might save you a bit.
Buildings & Contents ins £11.92
Political Party membership £10.00Can you stop this for now?

There are no costs for car tax, insurance, MOT or servicing. Also no figures for sky, broadband, hair cuts, dental or optical costs, birthdays, xmas, holidays. Is this where your money is going. Ideally you need to put away money for these yearly costs to avoid the temptation of getting into debt to fund them.


Debts

Overdraft on current account £2500 15.9%What is your credit score like? Alliance & Leicester I think are still doing a £50 cashback via https://www.quidco.com, and an offer to match your overdraft 0%.

BOS Loan £7000 9.7% (165.32 pcm)

Barclaycard £325.64 24.9%

HSBC Card £1371 0% til April 2008

Littlewoods Catalogue £814.82 currently have an arrangement to pay £165 pcmI bet the APR on this is as horrendous as the Vertbaudet one. Is there any space on your cards to balance tranfer off this debt or the Vertbaudet one?

Vertbaudet £503.77 29.8%

La Redoute £852.27 19.9%

MBNA CC £2545.79 15.9%

La redoute, Vertbaudet and MBNA are all horribly in arrears and we've been really head in the sand about them. MBNA start phoning at 8.30am and don't stop til 9pm.If any of these have PPI on then cancel it and that would help a bit.

the BOS bank loan has PPI on it which we don't need but, having just called them I know I have to cancel it in writing.

Our petrol costs are high as DP's job involves lots of driving and he spends about £50 a week minimum on petrol.

we have reclaimed and frittered away bank charges

I'm not sure how accurate the food figure is as when necessary i can spend as little as £40 a week in the supermarket but it's all the daily extras that soon add up.This is where a spending diary (where you write down EVERYTHING you buy, plus meal planning might help. Also have a look at the Old Style forum for lots of money saving ideas.

The benefits are paid weekly (Mon-£42.30 Tue £48.65 Wed £64.50) and though it often saves our skin come the end of the month i think it makes it more difficult to budget- for example inorder to have the money for Littlewoods on the 15th i put £10 a day into a seperate account.did you ask for the payments to be put this way? Could you ask for the benefits to be paid monthly if that would help? Or would Littlewoods change your pay day to later in the month?



To be honest I'sm sick of it all, every penny is counted in and counted out, it's a terrible responsibility to deal with it all and it so quickly goes to !!!! when I'm busy with other things.Are you dealing with this on your own or is your OH onboard with the money saving?

I have yougov money, quidco money and opinion bar money all mounting up but I can't see a way to start paying the problem debts (MBNA Verbaudet and La Redoute) and the phone keeps ringing. Have you looked at doing surveys to get extra money/vouches. Are you joined up wit Pigsback etc to get points towards vouchers.


xxx

As another post mentioned you appear to have a lot of disposable income after you bills and debts have been serviced, so a spending diary could well help both your and OH to work out where this money is going.

For a short term boost to money, is there anything you can ebay to get some money in. Eg if you have been buying children's clothes from Vertbaudet, they usually resell well.

Sorry it is a bit long, and good luck
chev

auntie_brenda

WifeofDJFLP wrote: »

Hi

On the upside I have no credit cards in my purse (but I do have any loyalty card going) and my buying habits have changed significantly since I discovered MSE. I have yougov money, quidco money and opinion bar money all mounting up but I can't see a way to start paying the problem debts (MBNA Verbaudet and La Redoute) and the phone keeps ringing.

So help.

TIA

WifeofDJFLP
xxx

Can't help with the money am afraid, however I've seen this letter quoted several times on the forums and am sure the OP won't mind another copy. At least this will stop the verbal harassment and give you some peace of mind. Take care.

Dear

I am writing to express my serious concerns regarding the telephone calls that I have received from your company.

I am now formally requesting that all further correspondence be made in writingonly.

I demand that these phone calls stop immediately. I am familiar with the terms of Section 40 of the Administration of Justice Act 1970, and the Protection from Harassment Act 1970 and I believe your harassment places you in breach of these acts.

If you continue to call, you will also be in breach of the Wireless Telegraphy Act (1949) and, as such, I will report you to both Trading Standards and The Office of Fair Trading.

Take further note that continued telephone calls after the receipt of a request not to call may constitute a criminal offence under Section 127 of the Communications Act 2003.

You will be deemed to have been served notice of my request and I will deem it served by (FULL DATE), I am advising you that any calls received after this date will be recorded with the intention of them being used as evidence.


Yours faithfully,"

WifeofDJFLP

Thanks everyone.

I've just had the horrible realisation that I'm one of those posters that has plenty of money but still stupid enough to get myself into debt.

I do the same figures and get the same results- on paper, never in reality.

I'm going to keep a spending diary and I'll try and get OH to keep one too but he won't.

For information to those who asked-

We don't have sky or a dentist! We're both speccy four eyes but only get new specs when absolutely essential and we get free eye tests as we're in scotland.

OH has a prescription prepayment certificate and I don't get ill.

the food bill is for 5 of us, I do meal plan and I get what i can in Lidls. I defy anyone to get as many meals as I can from one small packet of mince!

OH's car is leased and mine is a motability car (our eldest child is disabled) so no servicing, tax or insurance costs.

I applied for A&L account but they said no.

One child takes packed lunches and OH takes a packed lunch, only the eldest has school dinners and trust me it's far easier that way.

The mobiles- OH has lowest tarrif but mine is higher as my mum doesn't have a landline (don't ask) so i communicate with her via text. I also make all calls from my mobile and send about a million texts to family and friends, when i lowered my tarrif recently i ended up way over my allowance and it cost a fortune.

Life insurance i confess I'm confused by it all at the moment but I'm reading what i can. the amount in my SOA is for my life insurance (£16) and OH's mortgage payment protection which I'm beginning to think we were missold as OH works for a local authority so has really good benefits. OH doesn't have life insurance as the DD continually bounced from his account due to insufficient funds (the only DD I asked him to take care of)

The limit on the HSBC card is only £1500 so it's pretty much used for now.

The political party membership is essential to me, my entire social life and possible future career are tied up with it but I'm going to call them and ask for a greatly reduced rate (or I'll leave lol)

I'm ebaying stuff as we speak.

I know that posts like mine don't elicit a lot of sympathy and I'm sorry if i've annoyed anyone all I see is that I'm up to my eyeballs in debt yet I don't have anything to show for it.

I've already used alot of tips on this site and i wanted the benefit of your wisdom on how I go about clearing our debts.

thanks Again

WifeofDJFLP
xxx

I_was_a_fool

No-one here is annoyed at your post, many many many of us are just the same (especially me!)

Loads of good advice can be found here for all kinds of different circumstances and we can all make our way to being debt free, no matter what got us here!

Warning, once you get started on this DFW lark you can get pretty obsessed!:o

chevalier

Sometimes it is difficult to assess someones 'voice' from an email. I certainly wasn't annoyed at your post, if you think I was. So apologies if it came across that way.

sammy115

SPENDING DIARY IS A MUST! And yes I am shouting. I had no idea where my money was going until I kept a diary. You don't seem to have budgeted for birthdays, christmas, holidays, clothes, dare I say it 'socialising' hairdressing, car repairs, maintenance etc etc. I am sure you are getting the picture. It is hard to budget when you are paid monthly and weekly but can I suggest a couple of seperate accounts. One for bills, one for debts and maybe one for weekly spending. I get paid monthly and that pays my bills and debts by DD (automatic and no thinking involved). Then my weekly CTC and CB goes into another account and that pays for weekly things like shopping, petrol, childminding etc.

HTH