Looking for some advise please

Samw_2

Hi

As the title really, my husband has been signed off work due to illness. We are currently 6 weeks in with little improvement to his health and we need to make some changes to our outgoings to keep a float.

I couldn't copy and paste the soa calculator hopefully the below makes sense.

Any help is greatly welcome

Thank you

Household
2 adults
2 children
2 cars

Monthly Incomings:

My salary - £1203
Partners salary - £376
Benefits - £136

Total - £1,715

Monthly Outgoings:

Mortgage/Rent - £320
Council Tax - £70
Gas/ Electric - £144
Water-£31
TV License - £13
Virgin-£60
Mobile- £80
Food - £240
Car Insurance - £120
Petrol - £200
Life Insurance £25
Contents Insurance- £20
Pet Insurance/ Bills- £100
Children's dinner money- £80

Total: £1503

Provident loan £1000- £151 a month 254%apr
Vanquis credit card £1500 min payment £85 39.9%

[Deleted User]

The two which stand out straight away are, Virgin and the Mobile Phones.

Those two are costing you £140 pm, which is £1,680 pa. :eek:

If you aren't still within the contract period, get rid of Virgin, and go with Freeview/Freesat instead.

If you are still within the contract period, reduce the package to minimum, and get rid completely, as soon as possible.

Likewise with the Mobile Phones, if out of contract, go PAYG @ about £10pm.

If still in contract, reduce call package to cheapest available, and get rid completely, as soon as possible.

Samw_2

Thanks for the reply

The virgin is for phone/ tv and Internet and I have another year to run on these

I didn't know it was possible to change call packages mid contract I will give them a call tomorrow

nardocott

I'm sorry to hear about you situation and I hope things start to improve for you. I will go down the list and make suggestions where I can.

One thing I have heard a lot of people doing is reducing down to a single car. This might be completely impractical for you but I thought I would mention it as you would be paying 2 lots of insurance and perhaps one is not doing a lot. If you do decide to then make up a reason you are selling it like you want to replace it as a lot of garages will offer you very little if they know you really need to sell it.

Gas/Electric - Make sure you are on the best tariff for you, try uSwitch if you aren't sure. If you do decide to move (remember to check contracts etc) then try using topcashback or similar as they might give you some cash for setting up a contract.

Virgin - as Bedsit Bob says, if you are out of contract change to freeview/freesat if you are in contract then reduce it as much as you can. Virgin isn't the cheapest broadband/home phone provider either so maybe try talktalk/plusnet and have a quick look around at other offers. - Again try a cashback site if you do decide to move (but always go with the cheapest as you might not get any cashback).

Depending on your no claims history etc you might get cheaper car insurance, use the comparison sites and cashback sites (you can even get cashback for searching through some without even taking a policy).

If you can make lunches it is nearly always cheaper than buying it, perhaps do it some of the time might save you a bit.

Looks like you are doing well with other things, food especially.

I would always say buy everything with cashback where you can (cashback websites and credit cards are available). The usual prioritize the debts with the highest interest rate. Depending on your credit history you might be able to get a 0% credit card put shopping on that for a couple of months and repay the loan faster as the interest rate sounds quite high. Bear in mind the total debt though as you don't want to end up in a worse position.

Hope that is of some help.

nardocott

Just seen your post, if you are mid contract maybe explain your circumstances and ask if there is anything they can do. They might be willing to let you change contracts early. It can't hurt to ask.

Chicca1

Sorry to hear about your struggles. Is it at all possible to give up one of the cars for now at least?

Samw_2

Thanks for all the replies guys, I never thought about the car, we couldn't sell it as when hubby is well again he will need it for work, but could we sorn? And cancel insurance

I alway thought virgin was good value, just goes to show how much I know. I believe we are only in contract for the tv as we swapped packages not long back I haven't seen any paper work for the phone or Internet since we took I it out in 2009 another phone call to make tomorrow :-)

pennypusher

Hi, your Gas and Electric seem high. See if you can turn down the thermostat, maybe have it on for less time. Dry your washing outside if hubby is there he can put it out, only fill your kettle with enough water to make your cups of tea. You could get an energy monitor to see where it is all going. If you google saving energy you should be able to get some good tips. I think you could save £50 per month if you try.

Can you cut your petrol usage down at all. Share lifts for work, combine two trips into one, walk more, use the car which uses least petrol for your bigger journeys.

Can you get cheaper pet insurance?

Cancel School Dinners until you get back on your feet financially. It can be far cheaper to do it yourself.

Hope these ideas help.

Samw_2

Thanks pennypusher I will google and have a look. We are stuck with the pet insurance, our dog has an on going medical condition and if we change it won't be covered :-( they have us by the short and curlys. Kids will be packed lunches after the Easter holidays in fairness we would have changed this anyway, getting sick of hearing all they have had us bread, cheese, peas and grapes!

seekert

Samw wrote: »

Thanks for all the replies guys, I never thought about the car, we couldn't sell it as when hubby is well again he will need it for work, but could we sorn? And cancel insurance

I alway thought virgin was good value, just goes to show how much I know. I believe we are only in contract for the tv as we swapped packages not long back I haven't seen any paper work for the phone or Internet since we took I it out in 2009 another phone call to make tomorrow :-)

As a former employee of the DVLA, I would urge you to be careful. We had many people who sorn and stopped the tax and then got into a situation with an emergency, like taking a child to the hospital, they jumped in the car and drove there, got caught and ended up with massive fines. The DVLA hear the 'sick kid' storey every day and it does not wash with them.

joedenise

seekert wrote: »

As a former employee of the DVLA, I would urge you to be careful. We had many people who sorn and stopped the tax and then got into a situation with an emergency, like taking a child to the hospital, they jumped in the car and drove there, got caught and ended up with massive fines. The DVLA hear the 'sick kid' storey every day and it does not wash with them.

They currently have 2 cars and are talking about SORNing one of them; so that scenario shouldn't happen as they will still have one car taxed, MOT'd & insured to use.

Denise