Please help, reaching the end of the road

theoretica

Especially as you are getting the train to work I think you really need to take a hard look at that car and consider trading it in for something cheaper to run, tax and insure.

frank_butcher

Fair point. I owe £12100, it's worth probably £16000. Is it worth it deducting the cost of another car?

Bublin1

If your partner isn't working why are you spending so much on childcare?

happycamel_2

I'd replace the car, yes, freeing up £4k at 29% is worth it but also you'll bring the running cost down which will help towards your monthly deficit.

I drive a 10 yr old BMW, all the fancy electrics work but it only cost £7.5k and my mechanic says its good for another 50k miles. It's only £400 a year to insure too.

chevalier

Welcome to the boards. The first steps are always the hardest. My comments are in blue.

frank_butcher wrote: »

Statement of Affairs and Personal Balance Sheet

Household Information
Number of adults in household........... 2 Does your OH know about the debts, and is on board about cutting back to clear them?
Number of children in household......... 2
Number of cars owned.................... 1

Monthly Income Details
Monthly income after tax................ 2500 Can you do overtime?
Partners monthly income after tax....... 0 Can your partner get a job that fits around yours? Or do surveys/mystery shopping/ ebaying/car booting to boost your income.
Benefits................................ 0 Really no benefits?
Other income............................ 0
Total monthly income.................... 2500

Monthly Expense Details
Mortgage................................ 761 Is this repayment and up to date? If so have you asked for a payment holiday or to go interest only? You will be paying far less on this debt than any of the others.
Secured/HP loan repayments.............. 212 What did this buy and can you sell it?
Council tax............................. 145 Have you checked you are in the correct band? If you aren't overpayments are backdated. You can also ask to pay over 12 months rather than 10 to help with budgeting.
Electricity............................. 65
Gas..................................... 110
thanks for the explanation re the above, but are you still:- switiching applicances off at the wall, turning off lights when you leave the room, got the thermostat turned down and jumpers on. You can also save by baking something when you are say roasting something. Is your water scalding hot? If so then you can turn it down and save there.
Water rates............................. 30
Telephone (land line)................... 0 Is this in with the satellite?
Mobile phone............................ 20
TV Licence.............................. 15
Satellite/Cable TV...................... 110 ouch this is really expensive, even assuming that your land line and broadband are bundled with it.
Internet Services....................... 0
Groceries etc. ......................... 500 This is pretty high. And a potential area for saving. First step is to do an inventory of all cupboards and freezers to see what you have. Then have a challenge to see how long you can eat out of them (and just buy milk and veg to bulk out). You may have some weird meals but hey.

Then the only way I could cut my grocery bill (I am the lady in our partnership), was to go on my own. Kids stayed with dad. That way none of them (dad included lol), could buy stuff that wasn't on the LIST. I could stick to the list and that was a godsend to me.No impulse buys that then got thrown away, what a waste of money.

I meal plan from what I buy, and that saves on waste too. I also cook alot from scratch because one of my kids has a severe allergy.There is a oldstyle forum on here with several threads for cheap nutritious meals. Worth your OH and youself having a look.
Clothing................................ 0 YOu need to have a pot for this so that when things are needed you don't need to reach for a card to eg pay for school uniform, assuming your kids are going.
Petrol/diesel........................... 120
Road tax................................ 20
Car Insurance........................... 50
Car maintenance (including MOT)......... 0 Unless the car is less than 3 years old, you need something in here.
Car parking............................. 0
Other travel............................ 0 Shouldn't your train fares be put in here?
Childcare/nursery....................... 0
Other child related expenses............ 200 Ouch, could maybe grand parents pay for these for birthdays and christmas?
Medical (prescriptions, dentist etc).... 0 really none the whole year?
Pet insurance/vet bills................. 0
Buildings insurance..................... 30 Seems a bit high. Maybe you can look at getting a combine building and contents insurance?
Contents insurance...................... 0 How about this for an exercise, go round your house and say each item is 20 pounds. Can you afford even that low total if you house was gutted by fire?
Life assurance ......................... 20
Other insurance......................... 0
Presents (birthday, christmas etc)...... 0for each of these you need to budget something. Otherwise they 'surprise' you and you need a credit card again. Check on a few months of bank and credit card statements to see what the true figure is.
Haircuts................................ 0
Entertainment........................... 0
Holiday................................. 0
Emergency fund.......................... 0
Total monthly expenses.................. 2408


Assets
Cash.................................... 0
House value (Gross)..................... 240000
Shares and bonds........................ 0
Car(s).................................. 16000
Other assets............................ 0
Total Assets............................ 256000


Secured & HP Debts
Description....................Debt....Monthly...APR
Mortgage......................163000....761)....3.49
Hire Purchase debt ......12000....212)....11
Total secured & HP debts...... 175000....-.........-

Unsecured Debts
Description.....Debt......Monthly...APR
Virgin Credit Card.............8000......100.......0
Natwest Credit Card............3000......100.......29.9
Tesco Loan............24000.....212.......7.2
Total unsecured debts..........35000.....412.......-


Monthly Budget Summary
Total monthly income.................... 2,500
Expenses (including HP & secured debts). 2,408
Available for debt repayments........... 92
Monthly UNsecured debt repayments....... 412
Amount short for making debt repayments.-320
I am sure that you will be able to get this to at least balance which would be a big plus at this stage.
Personal Balance Sheet Summary
Total assets (things you own)........... 256,000
Total HP & Secured debt................. -175,000
Total Unsecured debt.................... -35,000
Net Assets.............................. 46,000

Created using the SOA calculator at www.stoozing.com.
Reproduced on Moneysavingexpert with permission, using Firefox browser.

It is crucial that you have your OH on board. By shopping more frugally (downshifting brands and supermarkets for example), they will be able to make a big difference there.

Good luck
chev

System

I can see some fantastic advice here already. I would say that you should consider another SOA where you use exact figures, to the penny. The TV licence is wrong by over £2, it is £12.12 a month actually, that is only a small thing but what else are you slightly over or under estimating?

Congratulations on making the first step, MSE can be an absolutely fantastic place for helping with money! Really and truly

Consider asking your OH to partake in surveys, mystery shopping and other online things. The amounts raised in my signature are all through online channels, so it can be done!

frank_butcher

Thanks again for the replies, I am taking on board what all of you are saying. I did rush the statement, I am going to do another one now.

frank_butcher

Statement of Affairs and Personal Balance Sheet

Household Information
Number of adults in household........... 2
Number of children in household......... 2
Number of cars owned.................... 1

Monthly Income Details
Monthly income after tax................ 2500
Partners monthly income after tax....... 1000
Benefits................................ 100
Other income............................ 0
Total monthly income.................... 3600

Monthly Expense Details
Mortgage................................ 761
Secured/HP loan repayments.............. 210
Rent.................................... 0
Management charge (leasehold property).. 0
Council tax............................. 143
Electricity............................. 60
Gas..................................... 115
Oil..................................... 0
Water rates............................. 34.53
Telephone (land line)................... 0
Mobile phone............................ 0
TV Licence.............................. 0
Satellite/Cable TV...................... 110.41
Internet Services....................... 0
Groceries etc. ......................... 500
Clothing................................ 100
Petrol/diesel........................... 120
Road tax................................ 20
Car Insurance........................... 60
Car maintenance (including MOT)......... 22.46
Car parking............................. 0
Other travel............................ 0
Childcare/nursery....................... 0
Other child related expenses............ 0
Medical (prescriptions, dentist etc).... 30
Pet insurance/vet bills................. 0
Buildings insurance..................... 15
Contents insurance...................... 15
Life assurance ......................... 10.39
Other insurance......................... 0
Presents (birthday, christmas etc)...... 50
Haircuts................................ 0
Entertainment........................... 100
Holiday................................. 0
Emergency fund.......................... 0
Total monthly expenses.................. 2476.79


Assets
Cash.................................... 0
House value (Gross)..................... 240000
Shares and bonds........................ 0
Car(s).................................. 16000
Other assets............................ 0
Total Assets............................ 256000


Secured & HP Debts
Description....................Debt......Monthly...APR
Mortgage...................... 163000...(761)......3.49
Hire Purchase (HP) debt ...... 12099....(210)......7.6
Total secured & HP debts...... 175099....-.........-

Unsecured Debts
Description....................Debt......Monthly...APR
Tesco Loan.....................24000.....207.......7.2
Virgin Credit Card.............9000......100.......0
Nat West Credit Card...........3000......100.......29.9
Relative Loan..................5500......200.......0
Total unsecured debts..........41500.....607.......-


Monthly Budget Summary
Total monthly income.................... 3,600
Expenses (including HP & secured debts). 2,476.79
Available for debt repayments........... 1,123.21
Monthly UNsecured debt repayments....... 607
Amount left after debt repayments....... 516.21

Personal Balance Sheet Summary
Total assets (things you own)........... 256,000
Total HP & Secured debt................. -175,099
Total Unsecured debt.................... -41,500
Net Assets.............................. 39,401

Created using the SOA calculator at https://www.stoozing.com.
Reproduced on Moneysavingexpert with permission, using other browser.

[Deleted User]

sell the house, clear debts and rent for a while.

frank_butcher

To explain my partners income. She is self employed (Beauty Therapist) and works about 20 hours a week (parents cover childcare). Her income varies but she (usually) pays for the food and clothes for the children, she doesn't pay any bills etc. None of the debt (apart from the mortgage) is in her name. And she doesn't know about the majority of it bar the car. And even then she doesn't know what I am paying.

You can see the mess I am in and having to hide things from my own family to cover it. It's not something I am proud of.