my road to recovery

russellbarrett

well ive finally decided to post my SOA, have gone through my finances tonight and now have got that sick feeling in my stomach that im sure many reading have had at some point. i knew my debts were quite bad but always told myself that they were easy to deal with and i would do something about them sooner or later.
i know there is people on here with worse debt but up until about 2 1/2 years ago ive never been in debt to anyone and would never buy anything unless i could actually afford and have money left over for just incases.
so here it is:
natwest personal loan:£10719.22 (£181.68per month) 4yrs11months remaining
natwest account:£1505.18od
virgin cc:£2431.25
woolwich openplan:£1888.59od
woolwich mortgage:£70207.88(£421per month)

income:
wages:£1213.33
tax credits and child benefit:£114.64

outgoings:
loan £181.68
mortgage £421.51
insurance for mortgage £38.64
buildings+contents £23.38
t.v licence £10.99
broadband/phone/tv £30
car insurance £28.45
washing machine insurance £3.99
sofa £54.88 - finishes in september
council tax £85
water £28.82
mobile phone £50 - me and my partner
gas and elec £84
food and nappies and stuff £160
petrol £80
clothes £15

plus car maintenance, birthdays, christmas, other stuff.
i pay the minimum repayments on credit card which is normall about £60.
does any one have any suggestions? thanks in advance
russ

sammiboo

do you know whag APR you are paying?

No point in paying high interest as this goes straight to the card companies not the debt. Better in your pocket than thiers.

Welcome to MSE :T

russellbarrett

not sure on the apr but a balance transfer was the first thing on my list

sammiboo

to get a real idea on what debt you have then it would be wise to find out your APR

For example you could be paying high interest and your payments are £100 a month and £40 is going straight on interest a month before you are even paying off your debt.

when you look it like this based on the £100 a month and £60 goes to pay off debt in a year out of paying £1200 a year £720 goes to paying off the debt and £480 goes straight to the credit company in interest for the pleasure of the debt.

Little_Miss_Winner

Hi and welcome to DFW :hello:

Is the wages for one person or two? I see you buy nappies do you just have one baby?

russellbarrett

the wages are just mine, my partner is a stay at home mum and yes its just the one baby.
russ

nonsensefactory

If I've got my maths right, you're around £30 pcm down ?

Quick Wins:
i) Is the washing machine under warranty ? If so, cancel the insurance...maybe cancel the insurance anyway = £50 per year, you could get a recondition machine for that ?
ii) Can you switch your mobiles to PAYG and simply resolve not to use them ?

Harder to achieve :
iii) Petrol seems high, can you switch to a diesel ?
iv) Can your missues not work a few hours per week part time (evening work) ?

Karmacat

Hi russellbarrett
Welcome to mse and dfw, hope the sick feeling didn't stop you sleeping for too long (tho with a baby in nappies you may be pretty sleepless anyway). There are plenty of people on this board who know a lot more than I do, but I've snippedyour message, and here's some feedback:

russellbarrett wrote: »

outgoings:
loan £181.68
mortgage £421.51
insurance for mortgage £38.64I know its often a requirement of the mortgage, or a safety net for you, but could this be cancelled?
buildings+contents £23.38
t.v licence £10.99
broadband/phone/tv £30
car insurance £28.45
washing machine insurance £3.99As someone else has said already, this probably should go.
sofa £54.88 - finishes in september
council tax £85
water £28.82
mobile phone £50 - me and my partnercan you expand this a bit - what contract? this could come down.
gas and elec £84Yike, this is pretty high, get to uswitch or similar to find a cheaper option.
food and nappies and stuff £160My suggestion in this area is a spending diary - find out what the stuff is, go over to the old style board here and find cheaper ways of doing things.
petrol £80
clothes £15

plus car maintenance, birthdays, christmas, other stuff.
i pay the minimum repayments on credit card which is normall about £60.
does any one have any suggestions? thanks in advance
russ

Thats a start, more people will be along soon.
All the best.