Struggling - whats my next move

racing_blue

rotherham123 wrote: »

declined on mortgage and a low rate loan due to being over committed.. scissors were at the ready...

I don't get that. You have a house worth £140k and a mortgage for £50k, debts of £20k. Why can't this be rearranged as mortgage £70k+ debts nil? It would be SO much cheaper

Surely you are a good prospect for a £70k mortgage (50%LTV) given that this will be 2x wage & you would have no other debts to consider

Could a mortgage broker/ advisor help you sort it?

Orange_Ena

rotherham123 wrote: »

hi

just done the gas/elec compare..

Can save £391 per year ( £32.58 per month) if i switch to Spark Energy.

so my bill comes down from £166 to £133 per month, a saving found but i still think its high.

I used the british gas local compare and i use twice as much elec and gas as most people in my postcode...

so i either has massive leaks, wastage through laziness or uneconomical boiler..

what so you reckon to Spark Energy? or should i speak to british gas?

thanks

Hiya

That is still high really but a good saving. If you're going on past meter readings and have perhaps not been so careful with switching lights off etc it probably will still be quite expensive.

When I switched from British Gas to EDF (via a comparison on Uswitch) my monthly gas and electricity payment went from £74 to £45. I've done a recent meter reading and now its dropped to £42. I'm in a mid terrace, live alone and am out at work all day. I am a bit careful about not leaving things on standby and not having all the lights on etc but not obsessively.

Maybe have a look at Uswitch if you haven't already and get the bill as low as possible (any savings will be a huge help), then try to be more energy efficient (if not already) and after a 2 or 3 months, do a meter reading and you may find further savings.

I agree with everyone else about groceries, there is room there for a saving.

When I had my LBM last year I went through all my outgoings and cancelled anything that wasn't necessary and then worked on the bills that I have no choice but to pay to try and get them as low as possible.

It gets quite addictive in the end. As well as my gas and electricity saving, I got rid of Virgin and went with Plusnet for calls and broadband and got a freeview telly. I save at least £25 a month because of that. I also checked my house and contents insurance and went from paying about £27 a month to paying £96 for the YEAR! I'd just been too lazy to sort it myself and let Swintons just sort it out and tell me that was the cheapest it was! :mad:

After all my savings I worked out that I'd saved about £150 a month as well as one off savings like ditching £50 McAfee protection for free Microsoft Security Essentials or whatever its called. All these savings here and there do really add up. And all of these savings were "painless". I didn't make any sacrifices. All my essential outgoings are as low as possible so that I don't have to make sacrifices on some of the fun things. Not yet anyway :rotfl:

Good luck OP and remember, make every penny a prisoner

Moneymash

rotherham123 wrote: »

also how do you get you debt detail at the bottom of your posts?

On the first green menu bar, click on user cp, under settings and options - click on edit signature.

zagubov

rotherham123 wrote: »

hi

just done the gas/elec compare..

Can save £391 per year ( £32.58 per month) if i switch to Spark Energy.

so my bill comes down from £166 to £133 per month, a saving found but i still think its high.

I used the british gas local compare and i use twice as much elec and gas as most people in my postcode...

so i either has massive leaks, wastage through laziness or uneconomical boiler..

what so you reckon to Spark Energy? or should i speak to british gas?

thanks

You should really read the reviews on Spark energy before you consider switching.
This thread and this one arejust a few of the ones showing up their problems.

kittiej

I don't get why OP is just concentrating on gas/electric and remortgaging.

In the first post they mention entering a DMP or IVA so the whole of the family outgoings need to be looked at not just selected areas.

OP if you contact a debt charity then you will be expected to live within certain budgets for your outgoings. Your grocery bill is way too high as I and others said previously but you seem to be disregarding this in favour of trimming fuel bills *shrugs*

matttye

rotherham123 wrote: »

declined on mortgage and a low rate loan due to being over committed.. scissors were at the ready...

i have a capital one card with a nil balance and a 6k limit.. should i cancel it?

Yes!

That would have been a factor when your mortgage company said you were over committed. They look at the amount of available credit, not just what you've actually borrowed.

FatVonD

rotherham123 wrote: »

declined on mortgage and a low rate loan due to being over committed.. scissors were at the ready...

i have a capital one card with a nil balance and a 6k limit.. should i cancel it?

Does it have a balance transfer offer on it?

I'd be looking to move as much of those CC debts onto 0% as I could.

Does your wife drive? It might be a pain with 2 kids in tow but if she's not working then she is ideally placed to be in the right place at the right time for supermarket reductions (ask nicely and the staff will tell you what time that is.)

Buy everything you know you would normally eat, (even if there's only 1 of everything and you all end up eating something different) freeze and cook from frozen when needed.

FatVonD

rotherham123 wrote: »

it may be old fashioned but i bring the money in and she runs the house and kids.

You don't need to apologise for this, it's a system that's worked well for many years for many people and in my opinion the best one (and I say this as a career woman!)

Don't take this the wrong way but does your wife know the extent to which you as a family are overspending? If you are going to make a significant difference you need to get her on board and not shield her from the reality.