Lots if issues in one! Advice needed

lavalamp

SternMusik wrote: »

I understand the need for haircuts. I wouldn't want to go longer between cuts myself. However your local college may offer haircuts for a much cheaper price. Worth a try?

You mention your weekend socialising. Given that you have sky sports, why not invite some friends round to watch some footie at home? Everybody could contribute a bit to the snacks and drink.

Great suggestions!

lavalamp

cfcboy wrote: »

If im brutally honest to myself the going out is a huge killer and possibly part of the reason why im a some of this debt. I dont have a drink problem but living in a high street brings all sorts of socialising oppurtunites. I have a mentally draining job so come every Friday (and now my son is old enough to fend for himself and go out, 17) im almost depserate to get out for a much deserve drink. Misses is the same, she runs two mental health homes and by the time the week is out she is also in need of a drink. Come Saturday and im out for hair of dog, Saturday kick off game which turns into most of the day. Not only do i feel like crap the next im also so guilty ive spent a fair bit at the pub.

Time to face problems head on now and grow up i guess, i have a fincial issue and it really needs sorting!

Can you still go out and not drink so much? do you think that's a possibility? So, rather than a pint, have a shandy and then a soft drink alternately - or is it the 'buying rounds' age old problem?

RAS

cfcboy wrote: »

Secure loans end in 29 months

Sorry whats meant by consumer debts?

The consumer credit act cover unsecured debt like store and credit cards.

HP is secured on the item so is secured debt


The debts that are coming off in next few months are:

Smoking - £200pm, we both plan to quit for Stoptober (Oct), hopefully full time if that goes well. Could be a nice chunk yearly (and maybe i should put this in a pot or savings?!)

No - use this immediately to pay off the store card

Catelogue - £86pm, finishes end of November - good news - another 86pCM to put towards the debts.

Car - Misses gives up HP and goes to interest free company loan of £3k to seek car. She plans to go smaller eco car so including all costs petrol etc - from approx £400pm to £200. Happening end of October. Better than now anyway.

Going out - plan to cut to max £150pm

So in total by the end of November we are probbaly looking at saving approx £600 per month... but then again I have 3 close family and birthdays so likely to put a spoke in the works!

You need to get real about the level of spends you can afford.

So for any spare money would you say i save to the start of the year and then start paying off chunks of the highest apr debts? Or pay off little bits here and there where i can?

Pay every penny you can off the store card and them pay every penny you can off the credit card debts. You need to pay the extra off immediately after pay-day so you are not tempted to spend it.

Ideally put £100 into an ISA to kick start the budgetting account (repairs) and then set up a standing order to pay £50 into that account each month.

First thing first though, i better cut up all cards!!

- no. for a reason

My thoughts are 6-8 months to pay off the cards.

With the HP and cards gone you now have an extra £200 per month to treat yourselves.

Allow your selves that money but put £600 at least into a savings account (could be an ISA in the other name).

Put the credit cards into a bowl of water and freeze them. Then store them at the bottom of the freezer. Available if there is a dire emergency but not otherwise. Cut up and close the store card.

Once you have £5000 savings start the extension process and start selling.

Silvercar advised that you then price for the extended lease and pay the lease money out of the sale price.

silvercar wrote: »

Standard procedure in your situation is to sell priced with an extended lease and extend the lease yourself at time of sale, the cost of doing this comes out of the sale price. Any decent solicitor will sort this for you as part of handling the sale.

However if push came to shove, by the time the lease extension is agreed you would probably have enough savings and still have enough credit left on those cards (buying everything those two months on card) to sort it out.

Babooshki

CFCboy, just to advise you from experience: we tried to sell our flat with 73 years remaining on the lease and we couldn't do it. We had 2 consecutive sales fall through because of the lease issue. This was 2 years ago, during which time we had a baby (!) and got the lease extended to 161 years although we had to go to LVT as our freeholder was a right bu**er.

However, I do believe the going rate for lease extension is generally around the 10k mark. I doubt this figure will go up significantly in 2 years time. HTH.

RAS

As for the weekend. Agree a budget and only take that much cash and no cards. When it runs out - time to go home.

If you save one week you can use it the next if you want. But no cards.

NervousHomeowner

awpvicki wrote: »

You can buy a pressie for your wife without it costing a lot of money. It really is the thought behind it that counts at the end of the day and if she loves you, which I am sure she does, and wants to get out of debt as much as you, she will love whatever you give her. Let me know if you want some suggestions and I'll try to help

Have been following this thread and I totally agree with this!

Last year my OH & I were short on money around my birthday so instead of buying me presents, my OH took the day off work and took me out for the day. It was so much cheaper but way more enjoyable! Any chance your wife would be interested in something like that? You could do a day where you just focus on her - make her breakfast in bed, buy her some nice bath/shower stuff so she can pamper herselfl (especially nice if she does a stressful job!), then cook her a meal in the evening? It would be so much cheaper but I bet she'd really appreciate the effort you put in

You can do that for friends and family too! Bake them a cake, make them some biscuits and put them in a nice box, cook them a meal, buy them a couple of nice beers etc. Really cheap things to do but that show you care. I am sure your family will understand if you're not particularly extravagant this year! Either that or start budgeting for the birthdays now - put aside a bit of money each week, plus any leftover change at the end of the day and then only spend that much when it comes time to buy the presents. That way the burden of paying for the presents won't happen all in one month and you'll have a budget to stick to.

cfcboy

So from a paying off bills point of view is it best to cut back and see what i have left at the end of month and pay off stuff?

Or plan a payment from the start?

Little worried that the latter might leave me in stook esp if something unexpected came out. But then again, its paid straight off the bat.

cfcboy

Well stoozing site says aim to pay off my high % cards first. So ive already made the first steps. Ive changd the payment from min to a monthly DD which will be paid off in 4 months, so that will be closed.

Let it begin...

lavalamp

cfcboy wrote: »

Well stoozing site says aim to pay off my high % cards first. So ive already made the first steps. Ive changd the payment from min to a monthly DD which will be paid off in 4 months, so that will be closed.

Let it begin...

Good for you! You will be surprised how addictive saving money becomes after the debts are gone! When I was in my early twenties, I had quite a bit of debt (for a twentysomething) and was always bad with money. When I met him, my hubby helped me a lot as he was great with money and savings and now I am really good with money (if I do say so myself) and love saving - it makes me feel really secure for the future. Good luck and keep us updated on how things are going.

mlz1413

cfcboy wrote: »

If im brutally honest to myself the going out is a huge killer and possibly part of the reason why im a some of this debt. I dont have a drink problem but living in a high street brings all sorts of socialising oppurtunites. I have a mentally draining job so come every Friday (and now my son is old enough to fend for himself and go out, 17) im almost depserate to get out for a much deserve drink. Misses is the same, she runs two mental health homes and by the time the week is out she is also in need of a drink. Come Saturday and im out for hair of dog, Saturday kick off game which turns into most of the day. Not only do i feel like crap the next im also so guilty ive spent a fair bit at the pub.

Time to face problems head on now and grow up i guess, i have a fincial issue and it really needs sorting!

As others have said £250 on clothes and £350 on entertaining is something really easy to reduce, but you don't have to be a martyr either!
Take £100 out with you on Friday night and come home when it is spent, even if your drinks are £5 each that's 10 rounds for you and misses - so you will have relaxed by then!

As you won't be spending going out any other night (unless you don't blow the whole £100 in an evening....) you don't have to feel guilty you are ultimately working to live and not living to work.

I'd put the £250 not spent on entertaining into a savings pot for your lease and the £250 not spend on clothes onto the store & credit cards. Then as each card is paid off put that money into your lease savings.

Re the birthdays you have coming up you, your budget says you spend approx £65pm on birthdays, this is plenty (even a bit high) for each birthday and that includes your 17yo too.
For Xmas you could put all your smoking savings into a piggy bank at home and spend that on xmas that would be approx £500 for oct/nov/half of dec, which is plenty for buying presents and food and for new year celebrations too.

As you are making so many changes I'd stick to the £400 food bill for now, this is very high to what it could be, but again one step at a time, live within this until the new year and then when all the changes have been started you can look at this spend and see what can be done. I like online shopping - you don't get incited by in store promotions and 'bargains', you tend to shop to a list and it gets delivered to your door and a time to suit which is worth a £3 to 5 delv cost to me)

And well done for taking the first steps to change - you're already over the biggest hurdle - just a couple more jumps and it'll be a sprint finish to the garden you have always wanted.