Are we really in debt? YES WE ARE

tolip

Well Done TTMCMschine

tolip

First SOA

Monthly Incomings:

My salary - £5,300
Partners salary - £0
Child Benefit - £69.80

Total - £5,369.80


Monthly Outgoings: - To be Done !


Debts

Amex CC – Balance £13,363 (limit £17,500) APR 3.9% Life Of Balance

Virgin CC – Balance £5,240 (limit £6,000) APR 0.0% Just about to run out

Halifax One CC – Balance £4,995 (limit £5,850) APR 4.9% Life of Balance

NSPCC CC – Balance £5,842 (limit £6,150) APR 6.95% Life of Balance

MBNA CC – Balance £10,580 (limit £11,000) APR 6.9% Life of Balance

Egg Loan – Balance £7,845 APR 7.6% Runs Until December 2010

Amber Loan – Balance £12,400 APR 6.5% Runs Until November 2009

Smile Loan – Balance £8,885 APR 6.6% Runs Until July 2009

Overdraft - £5,500 (limit £6,000) APR ??? Unsure But Got To Be High %

Secured Loan – Balance £28,000 APR 7.5%


Working on list of outgoings, and will post.

I really appreciate your comments, I feel light a weight has been lifted already. Thank You

spud30

Do you not get any child benefit tolip hun?

Mozette

Are you still able to do LOB transfers to your Amex card at 3.9%? If so you could put a fair bit of the Virgin balance on it. Obviously don't ruin the deal you have, and you might be able to get another 0% card to transfer the Virgin balance if you're still up to date with your payments.
Just a thought!

tolip

Spud30, now added to SOA ! Thanks

Mozette, Amex is no longer offering the 3.9% so unable to add to this card. We have another virgin card with £0 balance, just got some cheques for 4.9% until Feb 2008, with 3% (£75 Max) Bal Trans Charge. Or Have a CoOp Card with £0 Bal and offering 5,9% Life of Balance and no trans fee, it might be better?

Karmacat

Hi Tolip
Well done you - its hard to come on here and work on your budget, I know. From the way you've controlled the former store card, and all the life of balance/0% interest credit cards, you're obviously savvy with the details now (tho as spud has said, child benefit belongs in there somewhere!). When you've done the outgoings of your soa (and don't forget annual costs, as well as monthly!) stick it up here so people can give you feedback on cutting back. Often thats about getting the same service for less money, as Martin says on the home page. We often have to cut down, of course - but its also about not paying more than you need to for things, which feels *very* good!

Good luck

dudleyboy

Congratulations on facing your debts, you'll get a lot of help here with addressing your outgoings when they're posted .

Something that struck me tho... and it's a genuine question (nothing personal)... but how is someone who earns £5,300 a month (after tax, no less) entitled to state benefits??

That just seems crazy

tolip

Thanks for all your comments, Will work on SOA outgoings tonight and tomorrow and will post then.

Gota go now, and will log back on tomorrow.

I honestly mean it, THANKS EVERYONE

tolip

Hi dudleyboy, just seen your post.

Child Benefit is not means tested, everyone who has a child is entitled to it.

We dont get any form of tax credits

SuSu1871

Welcome to the board Tolip! :wave:

You'll find loads of useful tips when you post your full SOA. I was a quiet lurker until recently, but just by reading other people's diaries and the subsequent advice I was able to reduce my outgoings and overpay my debts by far more than I could've imagined. My original debt free date was 5 years away, and thanks to this site I have halved this.

My top tips:
Use the snowball calculator - it really helps to focus your thoughts and actions
Sign up to cashback sites (Quidco's my favourite, but there are plenty of others out there)
Prioritise your debts
Set realistic targets
Keep posting posting posting - we're all here to help and support each other

Look forward to reading your diary with interest.

SuSu1871